Push/Pull

Who We Are

Push/Pull is hard to define. It usually comes down to "art space," but we're an art gallery, an art store, a supply store, an educational space, a gathering space. We're a cooperative business with a nonprofit programming division.

Our mission is to support creativity and curiosity in our community. 

We want to promote underground art and comics; foster community between those creating and viewing art; encourage emerging artists, illustrators, and cartoonists; innovate on the way art is consumed by presenting it in a unique environment with nontraditional events; and stimulate diversity by actively seeking out marginalized and under-represented artists.

Goal

Along with our retail operations and paid classes, we run a variety of free programs throughout the year.

We hold space for bimonthly queer artist meetups, monthly peer critique, poet & casual artist meetups and work sessions, and more. We provide advice and resources for artists, run a free teen art program, and provide full or partial scholarships for classes when we're able -- we don't want cost to be a barrier to art! Through our new Riff Raff League, we're fostering neighborhood resistance and resilience and advocating for positive change through zines, which we print and distribute for free.

It costs us around $10,000 a year to run these programs. We're often not able to make that goal in donations and make up the difference ourselves, but this has been increasingly difficult in recent years as the economy has suffered blow after blow. We know that community matters and that providing a gathering space for artists matters -- we don't want to cut any of our programs, but now more than ever, every little contribution matters a lot. 

Your support means everything and allows us to prioritize community-building over profits as we support artists across the region.

Contributions directly support:

• Opportunity cost of running events
• Event labor costs
• Class scholarships
• Zine printing costs

They also help with generally with:

• General support and maintenance
• Equipment upgrades
• Ability to increase staff & teacher wages
• Ability to expand artist opportunities (open call shows, buying wholesale from artists, class expansion, etc)

Thank you for your continued support.

Recognition

Our free programming is supported by Allied Arts Foundation, which allows your contribution to be tax-deductible.

Push/Pull wouldn't be possible without our hardworking members that keep us going. Thanks to Vladimir Verano, Morgan Robles, Kaylyn Chileen, Kiri Yu, Seth Goodkind, Summer Clarke, and Liz Courts. 

(Thanks from Maxx Follis-Goodkind, your dedicated Director)