Center on Contemporary Art

The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) is a non-profit located in Seattle, Washington. CoCA was founded in 1980 by a group of artists, art patrons and arts activists. Since its inaugural exhibition (James Turrell's "Four Light Installations", 1982, at the Lippy Building in Pioneer Square), CoCA has provided continuous programming that presents work by both established and emerging artists. CoCA originally existed without a permanent gallery space, and the organization has since inhabited numerous locations in Seattle. Its most recent location, as of September 2016, is the Tashiro Kaplan Building in historic Pioneer Square, CoCA estimates that it has exhibited over 2,000 artists in approximately 200 shows. This includes artists such as R. Crumb and Peter Bagge in Misfit Lit: Contemporary Comic Art, collectives such as Neue Slowenische Kunst, authors such as William S. Burroughs, and performers such as Karen Finley. Today, CoCA "serves the Pacific Northwest as a catalyst and forum for the advancement, development, and understanding of Contemporary Art", a mission achieved through exhibitions, artist residencies, publications and discussions.

Members, staff, donors and volunteers work to exhibit international, national and local artists in a gallery setting, create events and host annual programs. CoCA launched their Archives Project in 2013 as a way to preserve, catalog and share the printed materials, slides, video and other materials gathered over the organization's history.

CoCA is a tax-exempt non-profit run by a working Board of Directors. As of August 2016, its president is Miguel Edwards. The vice president is Sara Everett. The chair is Tina Gonsalves; vice chair is Lorrie Cardoso. The treasurer is Dan Hawkins. The secretary is Talia Silveri Wright. The director and curator is Joseph Roberts. Directors are Joseph Bisacca, Kalindi Kunis, Todd Lawson, Travis Monroe, Michele Osgood, David Ruggiero, Jackie Schultz and Kate Vrijmoet. On the Advisory Board, Ray C. Freeman III acts as advisor and publisher, and David Francis acts as advisor and curator at large. As of August 2016, Nichole DeMent is CoCA's Executive Director, and Caroline Parry is Administrative and Program Associate. As of August 2016, the Archives Project is headed by Anna R. Hurwitz as Project Director and Joel Irving as Lead Archivist.

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