Arts First Mission:
Inspiring youth and adults to demonstrate civic and cultural engagement through Film, Literature, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, and Dance.
Arts First is an Arts & Culture 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
History:
The Arts First Create Films Summer Film program was founded in 2019 with the generous fiscal sponsorship of local non-profits and funding from the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. The program earned the honor of participating in the Extended Learning Opportunity pilot project with the YMCA and Tacoma Create in both 2019 and 2020. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department sponsored the filmmaking program, providing complimentary filmmaking courses for youths and encouraging them to produce insightful youth-inspired Covid-19 public announcement videos.
In the following year, Schools Out Washington proudly sponsored the 2022 Summer Film Camp, hosted at the Eastside Community Center, while the Create Film program partnered with Greentrik to establish an engaging filmmaking club at Hunt and Stewart Middle School. To accentuate the importance of art education, Arts First took the initiative to incorporate as a non-profit organization in Washington State and received 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization status from the IRS in 2022.
Currently, Arts First offers several exceptional programs, including after-school filmmaking programs at local middle schools, weekly filmmaking classes at the Salishan Family Investment Center, a yearly 5-week summer filmmaking camp, open studio film class for adult, and a dance program.
Board:
Thuch Mam – Board President
Thuch is an experienced strategic advisor who has worked in the Seattle Mayor’s office and the Seattle Public Utilities Department. In the Mayor’s office, she managed the office’s policy review process and developed a robust summer internship program. At Seattle Public Utilities, she developed and administered the sponsorship program and the summer internship program, managed the general manager’s calendar, and provided support for the design and innovation lab and policy board. Additionally, she analyzed quarterly strategic business plan responses and developed a quarterly performance report for various stakeholders. Currently, she holds the position of Board President at Arts First.
Richard Myers – Vice President
Richard is a legal professional with a specialization in employee and tenant rights. He possesses a robust background in politics and public policy in Washington State, having served as an aide to a labor leader in the state house of representatives, managed a successful legislative campaign, and worked as a lobbyist. His wealth of experience in these areas has equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of the legal and legislative frameworks that underpin employment and tenancy matters. Currently, he holds the position of Board Member at Arts First.
Jeremy Winans – Board Secretary
Jeremy Winans earned a B.A. at The Evergreen State College, with an emphasis in Performing Arts. Since then he has worked mostly in landscaping and plant nursery trades, and he is passionate about growing food and the outdoors. He enjoys small-venue live performances, especially theater, music, and storytelling. Jeremy is a father of two elementary school-aged children, and he wants to support increased opportunities for creative expression for young people.
John Tam – Board Treasurer
John is a retired VP of Engineering with a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. He has worked in various contract engineering roles for Boeing, Audi, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Alcoa Technical Center. John is an active volunteer and board member with several organizations including Snohomish County Superior Court Guardian Monitoring Program, AARP Tax-Aide, Habitat for Humanity, Washington State Parks Services, Homage, The Compassionate Friends, and more. Currently, he holds the position of Board Treasurer at Arts First.
Chhay Mam – Artistic Director
“… all good things – trout as well as eternal salvation – came by grace; and grace comes by art; and art does not come easy.” – Norman Maclean.
Chhay, a Cambodian American artist of remarkable breadth, wields a multi-talented brush across the canvases of fine art, encompassing both visual expression and the dynamic pulse of performance. He is a modern-day Renaissance individual, masterfully weaving together threads of expertise in visual arts, filmmaking, performance, mathematics, and the sciences to forge a path of dynamic, interdisciplinary creation. This artistic soul thrives not only on technical skill but on an insatiable intellectual curiosity and an unyielding commitment to lifelong learning. The discipline honed in mastering these diverse fields allows his exploration to extend beyond the studio’s embrace, finding fertile ground in the abstract elegance of advanced mathematics and the intricate beauty of the sciences. These analytical pursuits don’t merely inform his art; they fundamentally enrich its conceptual framework, allowing him to marry unerring precision with breathtaking imagination. An adventurer at heart, Chhay has traversed the globe and calls the Pacific Northwest home, where he honed the quiet art of fly fishing, each journey and each cast a wellspring of inspiration. The tapestry of global cultures, the grandeur of diverse landscapes, and the richness of lived experience coalesce within him, shaping a body of work that is as intellectually stirring as it is emotionally profound—a harmonious testament to the exquisite balance of art, science, and the wild heart of nature, a balance that speaks to the profound rewards of dedicated artistry.