MoPOP 2021 Annual Report

2021 REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY

WELCOME

OUR MISSION

Making creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities.

THESE CORE VALUES GUIDE OUR WORK OPEN ARMS

We practice radical hospitality and equitable access.

CREATIVE EXCHANGES

We create space for community voices and collaborations.

LIGHT BULB MOMENTS

We use pop culture as a catalyst for learning, connecting, and creating.

PURSUING EXCELLENCE

We believe integrity, innovation, and hard work lead to amazing things.

EXCITEMENT

We value the thrill that comes from experiencing creativity together.

Too often, the arts can be seen as a “nice-to-have” — proverbial icing on the cake, but not a necessity. With so many challenges facing society, it may be easy to forget that arts and culture remain critical to developing and nurturing our deepest selves, and are fundamental for building healthy and vibrant communities. Nothing was proven more true in 2021 as we continued to navigate the ongoing pandemic.

Pop culture can also be an escape from troubling times. During lockdowns, people dug into video games, discovered new hobbies, enjoyed new streaming shows, and developed their musical chops. But these pursuits also helped people find meaning, community, and optimism, despite turbulent times. MoPOP continued being there for all of us, fostering those passions and creating connections whether in-person at the museum or via its online offerings.

Creative expression is one of humanity’s greatest salves. Its amazing power — one that lives inside all of us — is one reason my brother Paul and I started MoPOP more than 20 years ago. We all need beacons of creativity in this world, and we need people to support them with their time, talent, and treasure. As both an imagining of what is possible and a reflection of our values, arts and culture are an immutable part of society.

I am proud to continue my support of this organization and the amazing work we all do together. Moreover, I am grateful to our dedicated staff and many supporters that enable us to serve the community every day.

Warmly,

Jody Allen, MoPOP Founding Director and Board Chair

MoPOP excels when we combine the power of our core values with the spirit of our ever-changing, multi-faceted, norm-challenging content — applying them to our day-today work and accomplishing our mission. That was 2021 for us in a nutshell. Experimenting, adapting, lamenting, growing, celebrating.

After reopening our doors following a long closure, we got more used to the term “hybrid” than any of us imagined we could, combining in-person and athome experiences to continue to share the joy of pop culture. We learned the value of contingency plans with options “B” and “C” (and sometimes “G” and “H”) for almost everything we did.

The key to making things work in 2021 was our people. The frontline staff who showed how adaptable and resilient they are while never diminishing their passion for the museum. Staff behind the scenes flexing their creativity to develop innovative, COVID-friendly ways for visitors to engage. Our volunteers, our financial supporters, and our local community who stepped up when visitors to the area were still scarce. I cannot thank you all enough for being a part of MoPOP through a thoroughly unpredictable year.

As this report lays out, we accomplished tremendous things, no matter what circumstances we faced. With three new exhibitions, dozens of programs, important progress in our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility journey, and more, we’re so proud of what we were able to do together.

With immense gratitude,

Jennifer Chu, Interim Executive Director

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MoPOP is grateful for the leadership and service of our board members.

Paul G. Allen

Founding Director in Memoriam

CHAIR

Jody Allen

Founding Director, MoPOP

PRESIDENT (through November)

Chris McGowan

President + CEO, Portland Trail Blazers

VICE-PRESIDENT +

SECRETARY (through November);

PRESIDENT (beginning December)

Shaunta Hyde

Director, Global Associate Experience + HR Communications, WW Consumer/ Operations, Amazon

TREASURER

Marjorie Thomas CFO, Allen Institute

SECRETARY (beginning December)

Davina Inslee

General Counsel, Global Health Labs

Jeremy Beasley

Senior Interaction Designer, Google

Tim Bierman

General Manager, Pearl Jam

Ten Club

Dana Frank

General Managing Partner, TTRD Properties Ltd.

Gregg Goldman

EVP, Business + Legal Affairs, Recorded Music, Concord

Chris Oxley

Senior Vice President –Government Affairs +

Strategic Initiatives, Portland Trail Blazers

Michelle Quisenberry

Managing Director, Advisory, KPMG US

EXHIBITIONS + ARTIFACTS

MoPOP reopened and welcomed back visitors for three new exhibitions that celebrated hip-hop culture, LGBTQIA+ history and representation, and the art of Disney costumes.

Our Curatorial, Collections, and Exhibits teams renewed focus on harnessing community expertise, collaborating with local organizations and individuals on content, and making experiences more accessible. We also adapted to the challenges of developing exhibitions for a low-touch and distanced environment, coming up with innovative ways to welcome people back safely.

With these changes, our exhibitions and artifacts still shined as physical manifestations of the power of popular culture, rousing memories and weaving together themes across works and genres.

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS IN 2021

+ Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic

+ Guitar Gallery

+ Indie Game Revolution

+ Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction

+ Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses

+ Pearl Jam: Home and Away

+ Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film

+ Science Fiction + Fantasy Hall of Fame

+ Wild Blue Angel: Hendrix Abroad, 1966–1970

Getting to see an entire museum dedicated to pop culture was a real treat. Our entire family are lovers of learning and there was something for everyone.”

Donald Bronson, MoPOP visitor

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK CONTACT HIGH: A VISUAL HISTORY OF HIP-HOP

The exhibition examined the genre through the camera lens — not just as a revolution in music, but in politics, race relations, fashion, and culture — and its continuing evolution as the most popular music in the world.

Co-curating were hip-hop industry veteran Vikki Tobak (drawing on her book by the same name) and hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy. Visitors got to take in four decades of hip-hop photography from the late 1970s to today through more than 170 iconic images of influential artists like Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Queen Latifah, Tupac, and more.

Our own substantial hip-hop collection added multiple other dimensions with artifacts like Biggie Smalls’ suit and Flavor magazine issues published in Seattle. Community members were excited to see pieces of local history they remember, showcased with the same care as fine art.

We opened the exhibition with programming including a streaming conversation with “Mother of the Mic” Sha Rock, the first female MC to get a record contract, and a virtual paint + sip with local artist Claudia Villalobos.

ABOVE : Visitors explored hip-hop’s intersections with other elements of popular culture.

ABOVE : To support local businesses and artists, we hid free admission “golden tickets” in five record stores across Seattle, which generated excitement and buzz among the community.

TOP LEFT : A visitor examines the 9-foot by 8-foot illuminated wall at the entrance to the exhibition, which opened in October 2021 and will stay into 2023.

BOTTOM LEFT : Guests pose for a photo in the gallery on opening day.

MIDDLE : Biggie’s “King of New York” magazine cover is iconic, but visitors saw rare images of his playful side on contact sheets from the session with photographer Barron Claiborne.

EXHIBITION GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY THE ANNENBERG SPACE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

BE OUR GUEST

HEROES & VILLAINS: THE ART OF THE DISNEY COSTUME

The first new exhibition of 2021 was a true slice of pop culture magic — not just the incredible content, but how we navigated unique pandemic challenges.

Drawing on the Walt Disney Archives’ expertise and vast collection of costumes, the exhibition showcased the vision, process, and craft behind some of the most recognizable outfits in pop culture. Fans marveled at multiple iterations of Cinderella’s ball gown, comparing the 270 yards of fabric from the 2015 film’s dress to the bejeweled version worn by Brandy as the first Black Cinderella in 1997.

As the first exhibition designed amid COVID, our team tackled our signature interactive elements with safety in mind. They developed a “magic mirror” that used depth cameras and proximity sensors so visitors could learn about and “try on” their favorite costumes using a

6,686

People who took our online costuming quiz to see which designer’s aesthetic spoke to them

touchless, gesture-based interface. Reinventing “hands-on” preserved guests’ ability to directly engage with our content, and the selfies on social media were a testament to the inspirational power of Heroes & Villains

The impact of hosting a collection that holds deep meaning for people across generations was significant. Just picture a child getting wide-eyed at their grandma’s spot-on impression of Cruella de Vil. Or a teenager marveling at Maleficent’s headpiece and telling their parents they want to be a costume designer. It’s tear-jerker stuff and emblematic of pop culture bringing people together and inspiring future creators.

LEFT : Sometimes visiting and seeing the costumes wasn’t enough, so many guests — especially the younger ones — came in their best Disney regalia.

CENTER : Queen Narissa’s costume from Enchanted demonstrated designer Mona May’s ingenuity in creating a piece that transformed from a two-dimensional animated character and then into a computer-generated dragon.

RIGHT COLUMN, FROM TOP: Heroes & Villains was a hit for all ages, opening in June 2021 and running for a full year.

We lost count of the hundreds of “magic mirror” selfies posted on Instagram. The exhibition was center stage as part of MoPOP’s presence at Emerald City Comic Con where we were the presenting sponsor of the family zone.

Jacqueline Durran designed a physical costume for the Beast in 2017’s Beauty and the Beast so that artists could program its movement into the CGI images that actually appeared in the film.

Working with MoPOP was a dream. The collaboration with their creative and installation teams was one of the best we’ve experienced. We can’t wait to work with them again.”

Becky Cline, Director, Walt Disney Archives

EXHIBITION GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY GUENDOLEN CARKEEK PLESTCHEEFF AND THE WALT DISNEY ARCHIVES

Just in time for Pride month, we explored the pop culture touchstones, political battles, creative luminaries, and enduring challenges of the LGBTQIA+ community that mark an ongoing period of change in American history.

While most of the exhibition was developed by the Newseum (an affiliate of the Freedom Forum), we worked closely with the local queer community to craft an entirely new Seattle section. More than 70 groups and individuals collaborated on a community wall, custom art installation, artifact loans, and more. Honoring the local LGBTQIA+ legacy meant thousands of visitors

learned about Seattle’s queer history while providing a platform for the community to celebrate and share resources.

The heart of the exhibition lives in the fact that representation in pop culture matters. Over the years, queer icons have risen in fashion, film, TV, and so much more, influencing our culture and giving the world a fuller picture of the multi-talented, multi-dimensional, and multifabulous community.

EXHIBITION GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY 4CULTURE AND SEATTLE OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE

LEFT: Visitors to the exhibition, which ran through fall 2021, enjoyed numerous artifacts like gay publications from the 1950s, an early version of the pride flag, and the gavel used in presiding over the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

BELOW: Young people were especially stirred by the exhibition with one parent telling us, “My son LOVED [it]. It helped him find his voice and be true to himself.”

ABOVE

RIGHT : MoPOP curators had to consult about the installation of pieces like these hanging signs via livestream with Freedom Forum staff who couldn’t travel.

UNDERNEATH: A community resource wall profiled dozens of local LGBTQIA+ organizations from activism to healthcare.

WE’RE HERE, WE’RE QUEER, ENJOY IT RISE UP: STONEWALL AND THE LGBTQ RIGHTS MOVEMENT

It was incredible to be able to see kids and parents and grandparents, and aunts and uncles and noncles, and just, everyone — everyone was so interested in seeing and learning LGBTQIA+ history. And it was also empowering to me. Like, I felt seen.”

Chris Moore, MoPOP Exhibits Projects Manager

THE OLD SWITCHEROO COLLECTION CARE + ARTIFACT SWAPS

Our permanent collection grows all the time, and we are also constantly updating our mainstay exhibitions with new artifacts that showcase treasures on loan from other institutions and individuals.

This year, we added a ton of new artifacts to our collection of more than 80,000 pieces. MoPOP is now home to cool stuff like costumes from Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Nicki Minaj, original Sir Mix-a-Lot album art, and objects from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

With great treasure comes great responsibility, and our team never sleeps on stewardship. Artifacts are regularly swapped, not only to keep content fresh, but to preserve and maintain their integrity. (After all, Xenomorphs can’t clean themselves.)

In keeping with our goal to ensure our collection is widely accessible, we began an extensive digitization of our hip-hop collection, generously

sponsored by Bank of America and the Council on Library and Information Resources. This digital archive will increase accessibility to fans as well as cultural scholars and museum partners.

BY

sOME Of ThE DOZENs Of NEW ThINGs YOU COULD hAVE sEEN AT ThE MUsEUM IN 2021:

+ Fuchs’ burnt body prop from The Thing

+ Buddy Holly’s Gibson J-45 guitar (pictured at left)

+ Ariel’s thing-a-ma-bob box from The Little Mermaid Live!

+ Combat uniform from Starship Troopers

+ Puppets from Puppet Master X: Axis Rising and Puppet Master: Axis Termination

+ Mark III stunt helmet mask from Iron Man

+ Jimi Hendrix’s jacket from his performance at Maui’s Haleakalā Crater

+ Costume worn by Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family

+ White Walker mask and dragonglass machete from Game of Thrones

+ Rare cards from Magic: The Gathering

ON THE ROAD (AGAIN) TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS + CONTENT

Our pop culture content just can’t be contained, so we regularly tour our exhibitions and lend artifacts to peer institutions.

As travel restrictions lifted in 2021, our Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibition hit warp speed and left the black hole of our warehouse, completing its 5-year mission at the Skirball Cultural Center in California. Not built for long-term space travel, artifacts like Klingon armor, captain’s chairs, and replicating tribbles were cared for, wrapped up safely, and sent back to lenders.

Travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International and San Francisco International airports got their pop culture fix with artifacts from MoPOP’s collection on view. We also displayed neverbefore-seen images of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and more from photographer L.E. Hertel at Seattle’s Hotel Max.

ABOVE: The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles was the final touring mission for Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds

COLLECTIONS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED

FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT IN CONSERVATION PENDLETON AND ELISABETH CAREY MILLER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, AND TRU VUE FOUNDATION.

ABOVE: Buddy Holly ca. 1943/44 Gibson J-45 guitar. MoPOP permanent collection, gift of Michael and Barbara Malone.

EDUCATION + PROGRAMMING

While experimentation and adaptation were pandemic mottos of the whole organization, it was especially true for our public and educational programs.

After pivoting to new models of virtual offerings the previous year, 2021 brought back in-person engagement while still offering online options. With livestreamed music, movie watchalongs, teacher lesson plans, and more, the Public Programs and Education teams were relentlessly adaptive in finding ways to serve and connect with our community, wherever they were.

MORE SHOWCASE, LESS SHOWDOWN SOUND OFF!

Nothing was going to stop our signature young artist program in a year when music was a key creative outlet. With backyards and carports often the only safe places to rehearse, participants were breathing a new spirit into the garage band.

Live performance with an audience was not an option, so we designed Sound Off! as a pre-recorded event from the beginning. Submissions were digital, and guidelines were relaxed to encourage creativity and scrappiness from participants.

Most importantly, we changed Sound Off! from a competition to a showcase, based on previous years’ feedback from participants and mentors. This shift in philosophy and format allowed young artists to focus on their musicianship and making connections, rather than the pressure of competitively seeking a title. Feedback was universally positive, with participants reporting collaboration, community, and connection as key outcomes of their time with the program.

ABOVE : Kiddus Fecto didn’t need a live crowd to connect with the streaming audience during his performance.

ABOVE : Later in the year, Sound Off! artists had a chance to perform live and meet fans at Lumen Field for the Seattle Sounders’ Jimi Hendrix Day.

ABOVE : “This band coming together — it couldn’t have come at a better time for all of us collectively to create and be passionate about music again, and… be what’s gotten us through this past year.” –Henry Parker of Aurora Avenue.

SOUND OFF! 2021 GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY LOOKING OUT FOUNDATION; AUDIO MIXING GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY LONDON BRIDGE STUDIO.

MAKING CAMP EVEN MORE CAMPY SUMMER CAMPS

After a year of remote school, campers were thrilled to be back in person at MoPOP for an array of summer offerings.

With camps on music, comedy, fantasy art, Minecraft, and more, young creatives had an outlet for fun and learning. A standout experience was our first Art of Drag camp, with a professional performer helping campers explore creative expression through crafting their own personas.

After learning about drag history, trying out hair and makeup techniques, and developing their character’s stage presence, campers put on a showcase for friends and family. As much as participants enjoyed exploring and sharing, our camp instructor Josh was moved by the opportunity to create the kind of inclusive space they didn’t have as a young person.

NEVER STOP LEARNING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Using pop culture as an educational tool opens up new avenues for young people to learn and grow, using content that they already know and love.

With educational norms and routines upended, empowering teachers — be they in a classroom, over Zoom, or parents at the kitchen table — was our priority. Since MoPOP educators weren’t allowed to visit school, we instead created outreach kits based on tabletop role-playing games (including a fully produced radio play, interactive props, and custom artwork) that teachers were able to use to facilitate activities themselves.

Further equipping educators, we offered seven different virtual teacher programs including both professional development workshops and educator exhibition previews with 141 total attendees across the programs.

To build connections while many young people were experiencing isolation, virtual student clubs grew from one to four clubs in 2021. Through exploring their passions

with their peers, club family members reported they experienced positive changes in students’ ability to communicate and problem-solve.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY THE BOEING COMPANY (STEM-ARTS SPONSOR); ALISON FOUNDATION, D. V. & IDA J. McEACHERN CHARITABLE TRUST, AND THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION (DIGITAL MATERIALS SPONSORS); AND ARTSFUND YOUTH OPPORTUNITY FUND (EDUCATION SPONSOR).

TEACHER ADVISORY BOARD

Members of MoPOP’s Teacher Advisory Board act as key community advisors for all educational programs (below are members who served over the 2021 calendar year).

Lulu Carpenter

Karen Coulombe

Claudia Conroy

David Edwards

Sara Fraser

Micah Gibbens

Patrick Hill

Liz Lamb

Clifton Maxie

Bryan Melerski

Kenneth Maldonado

Brian Morris

Caitlin Motter

Mari O’Meara

Eric Pfaff

Susan Rogers

Becca Sager

Beth Williams

Ray Yang

Samuel Williams

Michelle Zimmerman

My son really appreciated the opportunity to play a game he loves while using new social emotional tools like group expectations and common goals.”

Minecraft Student Club parent

ABOVE: A parent explains an activity to their young learner during one of our Homeschool Day workshops.

WHAT’S CULTURE WITHOUT FOOD? THROUGH THE EYES OF ART

Our annual Black History Month event in partnership with The Chosen Few is a platform for the community to explore and celebrate all the many textures and dimensions of the Black experience in pop culture.

The 2021 theme focused on a rich cultural topic — food. Through a series of virtual events, the community explored what “the cookout” and soul food mean through the context of heritage and legacy.

Panels on fitness, health, and a celebrity chef cookalong with Danielle Alex, as well as a virtual marketplace, celebrated leaders and change agents in the PNW Black community and encouraged viewers to support Black-owned restaurants. This showcase allowed us to put money back into the community and helped spotlight and celebrate Black-owned businesses.

LEARNING FROM TRIAL AND ERROR HOT TAKES

We tried experimenting with new program ideas and formats — some didn’t quite work, but we learn from failure as much as success.

With our Hot Takes series, we wanted to celebrate nerdiness in a space for fans to wax poetic on their strongest pop culture opinions. While we had a great time debating old versus new Klingon design and the Sharknado phenomenon, it felt more like an academic symposium than a conversation. It was also tough to build a strong audience with a flurry of other streaming options. The experience taught us we needed to better understand how our community wanted to interact, and so the program was paused while we explored feedback.

ABOVE LEFT : Chicken and Waffles made by 13-year-old aspiring chef Mady in Snohomish, posted in the chat of the virtual cookalong.

THROUGH THE EYES OF ART GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY SAFEWAY, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, AND U.S. BANK

NOW STREAMING FILM PROGRAMS

While enjoying film can often be a solitary activity, our virtual watchalongs provided a space for people to come together to dish about their favs and experience the camaraderie of a close-knit community.

MoPOP offered 22 virtual screenings in 2021, all part of three thematic series: So Bad It’s Good (movies you love but might be a little embarrassed to admit), It’s Coming from Inside the House (our wildly popular horror watchalong), and The Comeback (feel-good underdog stories that we all needed in 2021). Plus, a whole festival of sci-fi shorts rounded things out.

So Bad it’s Good brought fans together to watch flicks like Trolls 2 (including a Q+A with one of the film’s stars, George Hardy), Anaconda (with an actual expert on reptiles and amphibians), and Con Air (clearly one of Nicolas Cage’s underrated works).

It’s Coming from Inside the House featured American Psycho, The Ring, The Hunger, and more — all with our special blend of low-budget costumes, trivia, special guests, and raucous Zoom chats. Psycho Gorman was the crowdchoice season finale as a story of a ragtag group coming together that resonated with this special film community.

The Comeback closed out the year on an optimistic note with cinematic treats like Legally Blonde, Cool Runnings, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. With 9 to 5, we were joined by a workplace equity expert from Legal Voice to discuss the history of women in the workplace and enduring inequities.

Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival (SFFSFF)

We held this annual festival virtually for the second year, with record-shattering submissions and more than 500 viewers. 423 total short films from 53 countries were entered for consideration, more than double the previous year. Participation for the youth track also increased from 29 to 197 films. Plus, with the virtual format, filmmakers from England, Israel, South Korea, and Spain were able to interact with the audience in a rare opportunity to be in community with each other across the globe.

YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

This panel helps develop youth programming throughout the year, including Sound Off! and other initiatives.

Adam Frey

Chunya Apichatpichien

Daniel Park

Eleanor Linder

Joyin Akinola

Kaley Roughton

Katia Babko

Kay Lam

Madeleine Schenk

Marianne Villamil

Megan Lorich

Nathan Hu

Paige Olson

Savannah Warning

Sylvia London

8,500+ Total program participants in 2021

THE COMEBACK SERIES GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY GREAT NOTION BREWING

COMMUNITY + PLACE

“NORMAL” IS OVERRATED ADAPTATING + INNOVATING

Starting out reopening on a limited basis and ramping up to a regular schedule later in the year, we had to adjust knowing things weren’t going to be the same as they were before. While adapting to shifting public health mandates, we continued to give our visitors experiences that were both memorable and comfortable. We made hundreds of modifications across the museum for our short-lived reopening in the fall of 2020, and we continued to refine and improve upon them by designing and implementing new safety trainings and protocols, sourcing personal protective equipment for staff and guests, and more.

MoPOP struggled with staffing like many other cultural institutions. In reopening, we focused resources on ensuring that all MoPOP personnel had the option of full-time employment with benefits, moving away from the part-time and contingent staffing model.

It means so much to me to see something I created on display in a museum. It’s an honor and a triumph to produce something so thoroughly queer and have it celebrated in this way.”

Evan J. Peterson

on

his roleplaying game Drag Star! being featured in our Indie Game Revolution exhibition

In a pandemic, you tend to focus on the things that matter. For MoPOP in 2021, it was community — learning, adapting, and growing together.

A museum should be more than exhibitions and artifacts and programs, especially a museum that celebrates a shared love of pop culture. We’re made up of people in community and as a space that can convene and amplify ideas and creations. As part of our commitment to being a place for every fan, we continued our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility journey throughout museum operations, program content, and exhibition design.

ABOVE : Washington Governor Jay Inslee (right) visits with MoPOP Director of Curatorial, Collections + Exhibits Jacob McMurray (left) to see how we had adapted.

BELOW: Masks and plexiglass became the norm, but Visitor Services staff made sure guests still enjoyed amazing MoPOP experiences.

from

GIVING THE GIFT OF TIME VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Through closure and reopening, our amazing group of volunteers revamped the program right alongside us and provided invaluable service.

With reopening, many volunteers used their service as an opportunity to reacclimate to public spaces through staffing the information desks or leading tours. Others found new ways to contribute remotely by translating materials into Spanish and writing for our blog. Expanding the scope of the program allowed volunteers to stay involved in their community and give back, providing focus and meaning during a time of uncertainty.

2,416

Hours of volunteer service in 2021

124

Volunteers who served in 2021

A SPECIAL NOTE OF APPRECIATION TO OUR STAFF ON THE FRONT LINE

LIVING OUR VALUES AN UPDATE ON OUR DEIA JOURNEY

The racial reckoning of 2020 and beyond held up the mirror to many nonprofit organizations, and MoPOP was no different.

Building on those foundations, this year we were more intentional toward centering diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) internally and externally. Work included staff training to identify and combat personal and institutional biases, racial caucusing, and nurturing a culture of belonging. Further, we strengthened our board recruitment efforts, created a community engagement staff role, and conducted a climate survey among all employees that set the benchmark as we began hiring a People + Culture Director.

With our partners at LTHJ Global, we set in motion long-term strategic and operational planning processes which strive to be more inclusive and values-driven. The MoPOP community at all levels — among volunteers, staff, board members, and the public — engaged in conversation and self-reflection, doing the hard and uncomfortable work together. This endeavor was and continues to be difficult as we strive to elevate diverse understandings of and representation in pop culture. We will certainly fail, but we will dream bigger and grow together. This journey of self is reflected in all of us and our community, and we invite our community to come along for the ride with us.

No one bore the brunt of the shifting mandates and COVID requirements like the frontline teams in the museum. With frequent changes to safety guidelines and a world full of uncertainty, they rose to the occasion, delivering on our mission through multiple reopening phases, three exhibition openings, and daily operations.

We are deeply grateful for all these team members and volunteers who exemplified our values and kept our focus on making sure visitors enjoyed a safe, fun, and enlightening MoPOP experience. Thank you from everyone in the MoPOP community.

Kyoung Yoon MoPOP Senior Manager, Visitor Services

ABOVE: Museum volunteers get a curator-led tour to help them learn about exhibition highlights and to better answer visitors’ questions.

A PLACE FOR EVERY FAN ACCESSIBILITY

We work with partners that represent communities most impacted by barriers — like deaffriendly Consulting and The Arc of King County — to increase accessibility to our museum, whether through admissions, making the physical experience widely accommodating, or creating sensory-friendly space.

Easier Entry

MoPOP partners with organizations to offer several programs providing free or reduced admission including our Community Access Partners (nonprofits who enjoy free access to our space), Museums for All (free admission for EBT card users), and the King County Library System and Seattle Public Library pass programs. The pandemic reduced many partners’ ability to distribute physical tickets, so with their feedback we modified our procedures to provide ticketless entry for groups. We also eliminated the need to book advance tickets for accessibility programs and created new processes to accommodate walk-up guests utilizing these programs.

8,468 Community Access tickets provided

Pricing Changes

We implemented several changes to ticketing systems that lower barriers to entry — the biggest of which was using a dynamic pricing model where the earlier you buy a ticket, the less you pay. This had the effect of lowering our baseline ticket price across the board. We also piloted a pay-what-you-can model for public programs, which allows participants to decide what’s appropriate for their budget, instead of paying a fixed price.

Sensory Friendly

Throughout the year, Sensory Friendly Programs continued to offer an opportunity for anyone to experience the museum with lowered volume and reduced light levels. These events were offered for free outside of regular museum hours, and participants received materials ahead of time to let them know what to expect so they could focus on enjoying their visit.

200 Sensory Friendly guests welcomed in 2021

ACCESSIBILITY WORK GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY HUMANITIES WA SHARP GRANT INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES – AMERICAN RESCUE, AND TULALIP TRIBES CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS FUND (COMMUNITY ACCESS PARTNERS SPONSOR).

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME BUILDING + FACILITIES

Our striking building is a big part of our identity, and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Seattle. We are honored to be stewards of an iconic Frank Gehry structure — the only one in Washington state.

As our home ages beyond the 20-year mark, we have been investing in its long-term health and improving its systems to increase accessibility and resiliency. Thanks to a state Heritage Capital Projects grant, we began an overhaul of our HVAC automation system to increase efficiency and upgraded the building lighting system from one that still used floppy discs. We also replaced humidifiers that maintain air quality and help with the preservation of artifacts.

“My family — all 3 of us deaf — visited the museum and LOVED IT! We are native Californians now living in Austin, TX, and we really connected with many of the themes, artifacts, and history in this museum. As a deaf family, we also appreciated the open captions on many of the videos shown, thank you for that. Several areas within the museum also resonated with the work my team does at the National Deaf Center (NDC).”

CAPITAL PROJECTS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY HERITAGE CAPITAL PROJECTS – WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

LORE KINAST, M o POP VISITOR

Who knows, through Museums for All we could possibly inspire the next generation of musicians, actors, filmmakers, photographers, and artists that normally wouldn’t have a chance to visit us.”

Carolyn Nicolls, MoPOP Operations Supervisor, Visitor Services

TOP LEFT : The Minecraft Ender Dragon looms large over the main ticketing lobby, one of two dragons that can be found around the museum.

MIDDLE LEFT : Guests enjoy the Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic exhibition (hint, the other dragon is nearby).

BOTTOM LEFT : A parent lives the motto that it’s never too soon to expose kids to pop culture.

SUPPORT + FINANCIALS

2021 was the second year that the pandemic had a significant impact on both earned and contributed revenues.

Our annual fundraising event was postponed, and with steep decreases in visitation, our admission and venue experiences revenue were severely reduced. We were deeply grateful for the assistance that government recovery grants provided, which enabled us to retain staff and reopen our doors early in the year.

We also kept a close eye on expenses, making strategic decisions and delaying projects when necessary. We finished the year with a balanced budget, demonstrating both our resilience and the steadfast support of our community.

AUDITED FINANCIALS

for the year ending December 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES (UNRESTRICTED)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

THANK YOU TO OUR 2021 SPONSORS + FUNDERS

4Culture 100 Women Charitable Foundation

Alison Foundation

Annenberg Space for Photography

ArtsFund

Avatar Alliance Foundation

Bank of America

The Boeing Company

Charlie’s Produce Council on Library and Information Resources

Daniel V. and Ida J. McEachern Trust

First Tech Federal Credit Union Foundation for Advancement in Conservation

Great Notion Brewing Grousemont Foundation

Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff

Humanities WA

Institute of Museums and Library Services

International Center of Photography

London Bridge Studio

Looking Out Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

The Norcliffe Foundation Pacific Office Automation

PEMCO Insurance

Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation

Port of Seattle

Rave Foundation

Raynier Institute and Foundation

Safeway

Seattle Center Foundation

Seattle Office of Arts and Culture

Seattle Seahawks

Tulalip Tribes Charitable Contributions Fund

Tru Vue Foundation

U.S. Bank

U.S. Small Business Administration

Walt Disney Archives

Washington State Arts Commission

Washington State Department of Commerce (Heritage Capital Projects)

Washington State Historical Society

WESTAF

To our volunteers —

A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers who supported MoPOP in so many ways in 2021. Everyone who stayed involved and kept in touch with us throughout the closure truly meant so much, and welcoming you all back to the museum was the true highlight of the year. Your presence was a daily reminder of the support we have from our community and an assurance that — despite all the challenges related to the pandemic — the museum would return as strong as ever. We cannot thank you enough!

Brian Capozzoli Volunteer Engagement Manager

Jane MacDonald Volunteer Engagement Coordinator

To our members —

We are so grateful for all our MoPOP members! It is such an amazing feeling see our community grow… a community tied together by a love of pop culture, fandom, and excitement for our museum. Your support during the pandemic — keeping your membership active even when our doors were closed, coming back with excitement for our Member Preview Days — means the world to our organization, and we were honored by your support. I can’t wait to share the future of MoPOP with members both new and old. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing your passion with us!

Bradford Talley Membership Manager

To our donors —

Your support during reopening and throughout this year (and the year before) was genuinely an inspiration to us at MoPOP in tackling the challenges of the pandemic. Pop culture really does connect us all, and your joy and passion for our programs and exhibitions are true gifts for which we are deeply grateful. As we work toward being a place for every pop culture fan and inspiring the next generation of creators, we thank you for being partners in our community who support our vision and share our love of movies, music, geekery, and more.

Errin Patton Annual Fund Manager

COVER : Aerial photo by Lukas Hess, 2022.