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The Seattle Art Dealers Association (SADA), the organization responsible for today’s vibrant gallery scene in Seattle (including the popular First Thursday Gallery Walk), is pleased to celebrate its 22nd year. SADA was created in May of 1990 to uphold high ethical standards among its membership and to promote cultural and educational activities. The driving force behind SADA is rotating visual arts exhibitions, and with diverse galleries, viewers have a huge variety of offerings from which to choose. In 2008, its members collaborated to jointly curate Century 21: Dealer’s Choice at the Wright Space. In addition, SADA has provided direct support to such organizations as Artist Trust, The Henry Art Gallery, Gage Academy, and the Seattle Arts Museum during the two decades it has been in existence.

Currently composed of 18 members, the dealers share a common goal of presenting one-person exhibitions for a specific group of artists or group shows based on a common theme, school or discipline. This commitment to a regularly changing exhibition schedule—at least eight shows per year—allows these dealers to offer a public service in the form of exhib-itions and educational opportunities which are free to the interested art viewer.

Of the original group of 13 founding member galleries, 8 galleries are still members: Davidson Galleries, Foster/White Gallery, Lisa Harris Gallery, Linda Hodges Gallery, Greg Kucera Gallery, Francine Seders Gallery, and William Traver Gallery. All of these galleries have been open for between 25 years and 45 years. Francine Seders is the senior member of SADA with over 45 years of service to her artists.

Other dealers who are active members now are Fetherston Gallery, Friesen Gallery, Gallery I|M|A, G. Gibson Gallery, Grover/Thurston Gallery, James Harris Gallery, Platform Gallery, Patricia Rovzar Gallery, and Winston Wächter Gallery. With the addition of our two new members, SADA has a total of 18 current members.

It is the goal of SADA to develop and promote programs directed toward expanding the art world of Greater Seattle and to increase the public confidence in responsible fine art dealers. Other purposes are to disperse information about issues of concern to us, and to seek out services for members, and our artists.