New digs New digs New digs

Sarah Traver, ’02, grew up immersed in the Seattle art community through her father’s legendary William Traver Gallery. Founded in the late 1970s, the gallery gained national attention showcasing artists from the emerging studio glass movement, including celebrated figures Dale Chihuly, ’65, and Lino Tagliapietra.

In 2012, on the gallery’s 35th anniversary, Traver stepped into the roles of president and director. Thirteen years later, she made the bold decision to relocate the gallery from a space downtown near the Seattle Art Museum, into a new 3,000-square-foot home in the West Canal Yards, on the north end of Queen Anne.

Sarah Traver with her father, William, founder of the legendary Traver Gallery. Photo by Autumn Lane.

The move was driven by a desire to create a more inviting and sustainable environment. After the pandemic, the gallery saw a steep decline in foot traffic, and the high rent made staying in the original location less viable. “It has always been a priority to make a welcoming space and remove barriers,” Traver says. “People with no experience viewing art in a gallery, or collecting, could just walk in and see art.” But clients lost interest in coming downtown and wanted more inviting encounters—to slow down and spend time with the art. Traver saw the benefits of moving the gallery to a revitalized waterfront location and, in the process, lower the overhead and create new programming opportunities.

The new location offers flexibility with access to a large common space—a breezeway that connects the parking lot to the ship canal, ideal for performances, events and artist talks. “It can be a little hard to find, but once you get here, it feels like you’ve discovered a new part of Seattle,” Traver says. The former industrial maritime site is “part of the city that’s so quintessentially Seattle. It’s great to be a pioneer in the space.”

The West Canal Yards is now home to a growing creative community. The gallery’s neighbors include Arcade Magazine, the Mango Ink letterpress and design studio and Lane Williams Architects. A vibrant new a co-working space is in the works.

Though Traver holds a BFA in photography and a minor in art history from the UW, she knew early on she wouldn’t be an exhibiting artist. “It’s one of the bravest pursuits to make art and put yourself out there,” she says. “It’s such a personal expression. You’re opening yourself up to all this feedback and criticism. You have to be really committed to your work.” During her time at the UW, she realized she loved working with artists and being involved in this creative field.

When Traver took over her father’s gallery, she remained committed to focusing on glass. But she also wanted to broaden to other art forms that the artists were producing. “Studio glass has moved from exploration of the craft, technique and tradition of glass and its potential to being about how glass can convey meaning,” Traver says. “That naturally starts to involve other media. Lots of artists use glass as one dimension of their work, but it’s not exclusive.” From this perspective, Traver has pushed the gallery towards showing more mixed-media artists. like Anna Mlasowsky, ’15, who combines her knowledge of the material with performance art to create incredible works. “She’s one to watch,” Traver says. “She works technically with the material, while being highly conceptual.”

Traver maintains longstanding ties with the UW School of Art + Art History + Design and its faculty. “My dad gave Jamie Walker, ’81, his first show, and we’ve continued to show his work.”The gallery has also featured work by Associate Professor Emeritus Mark Zirpel, Associate Professor Amie McNeel and lecturer Granite Calimpong, ’19.

Traver Gallery is now located at 1100 W. Ewing Street and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday. This fall brings new exhibitions featuring Bronson Shonk (Oct. 4 to Oct. 25) and Lauren Grossman, ’83 (Nov. 1 to Nov. 29).