POP CULTURE IS WHO WE ARE
Our mission is to activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play.
MOPOP is grateful for the leadership and service of our 2025 Board of Directors.
Paul G. Allen
Founding Director in Memoriam
Jody Allen
Founding Director and Board Chair
Shaunta Hyde Board President
Davina Inslee Board Secretary
Marjorie Thomas Board Treasurer
Tim Bierman Board Member
Dana Frank Board Member
Janie L. Hendrix Board Member
Matthew Norman Board Member
Michelle Quisenberry Board Member
Benoni Tagoe Board Member
Pop culture is who we are—it defines us, and we define it. In an era of digital and physical isolation, pop culture serves as a powerful connective force. MOPOP is an essential organization that unites diverse communities, both near and far, to tell interconnected stories through fashion, film, gaming, music, and more. We stay on the pulse of pop culture and push the boundaries of what it means to be a museum.
We envision a world where everyone recognizes and wields their cultural power. Our exhibitions, programs, and educational offerings create space to explore pop culture firsthand—through the past, present, where we are all creators and consumers, and into the future. Our museum expands the scope of every story, bringing together an array of perspectives, including guest stories, shared experiences, and collective fandoms in conversation with the museum and broader pop culture community.
In 2025, as we celebrated a quarter century of culture, we expanded our boundary-pushing exhibitions, amplified PNW voices through musical events like Sound Off!, and deepened our community roots through an array of educational programming.
At MOPOP, the future of pop culture doesn’t live behind glass. It’s alive, evolving, and just getting started. Here’s to the next 25 years of disrupting, imagining, and creating the culture of tomorrow.
Dear Supporters,
As we celebrate 25 years of MOPOP, we reflect on our journey and the incredible impact of pop culture. Over the past quarter-century, we have evolved into a vital institution that showcases the power of creativity and community.
This year, our commitment to sustainable growth has never been stronger. We are focused on innovating our exhibitions and expanding our educational programs, ensuring that MOPOP thrives for future generations. Our organizational health remains a priority, fostering an inclusive environment where diverse voices contribute to our narrative.
The future is now, and we embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead. Our ability to adapt and inspire is fueled by the very pop culture that courses through our veins, connecting us all.
I am profoundly grateful to our members, donors, sponsors, and partners. Your unwavering support plays a crucial role in our mission, enabling us to empower and engage our community through the magic of pop culture.
Here’s to another vibrant year together!
With heartfelt appreciation,
Michele Y. Smith MOPOP CEO
Dear Supporters,
Reflecting on the past year, and as MOPOP marks 25 years, I’m reminded that museums like ours are living spaces where the stories that shape us are shared, challenged, and carried forward. In a vibrant arts and culture landscape, they serve as anchors that connect generations, spark dialogue, and invite discovery.
MOPOP was founded to celebrate the innate creativity in all of us, with the belief that pop culture reflects and strengthens a community’s identity and resilience. Over the past year, we’ve seen that vision come to life through exhibitions that elevate new voices, programs that bring students and families through our doors, and collaborations with artists, educators, and partners across the region that continue to move us forward.
At the same time, none of this happens by accident. If MOPOP is to thrive for the next generation, we must be intentional about building a strong and sustainable foundation. That means investing in our people, caring for the collection and spaces entrusted to us, and continuing to evolve so our work remains relevant, accessible, and welcoming to all.
And the truth is, the future depends on you. Whether you visit, bring a friend, attend a program, volunteer, or share your perspective, you help shape what MOPOP becomes. Philanthropy of all kinds is critical, from sustaining exhibitions and underwriting public programs to strengthening operations and expanding access for those who might not otherwise experience all that MOPOP offers.
To our members, donors, sponsors, partners, volunteers, board, and especially our staff, thank you. Your trust and commitment make this work possible.
As we look ahead, we are deeply grateful for the role each of you plays in this community. Together, we will continue to center creativity and carry forward the power of pop culture to connect, inspire, and shape who we are.
With gratitude,
Michelle Quisenberry MOPOP Board President
POP CULTURE CONNECTS US
Pop culture is a global conversation shaped by the people, stories, and communities that define it. At MOPOP, our role is not only to reflect that culture, but to expand who gets to participate in it.
Through meaningful experiences, educational opportunities, and a commitment to uplifting underrepresented voices, MOPOP serves a worldwide audience while remaining deeply rooted in community. Programs like our Community Access Program (CAP) and the national Museums for All program help remove financial barriers to visitation, welcoming underserved communities to the museum, and influencing the cultural narratives we share.
This work is strengthened through a wide network of community partners. From youthfocused organizations to groups supporting older adults with fixed or limited incomes, these collaborations ensure that access is not one-size-fits-all, but responsive to the needs of diverse communities.
In 2025, MOPOP also contributed to the future of access on a national scale through our participation in the Museums for All Impact Study, in partnership with Institute of Museum and Library Services. This work helps inform and evolve the program nationwide, reinforcing MOPOP’s role in shaping a more inclusive museum field.
Together, these efforts transform arts and culture from something exclusive into something shared—broadening the scope of what we recognize as popular culture, and ensuring more people can see themselves reflected within it.
53 CAP Partner Organizations CAP Participants 1,119
6,783 MOPOP Library Pass Participants
13,968 Museums for All Participants
21,870 MOACCESS Tickets Distributed
3,620
Total tickets donated to 891 non-profits
TOTAL COMBINED DONATED TICKET REVENEUE
$130,899 Total Revenue Donated Tickets to non-profit organizations $1,002,470
$871,517 Total Revenue Donated Access Tickets
“What I liked best about volunteering was seeing visitor’s joy and excitement”
– Microsoft Volunteer
In 2025, MOPOP’s volunteer program reached new heights. We had the immense privilege of working with 217 volunteers who contributed an incredible 7,063 total hours of service. Our corporate partnership program saw significant momentum, welcoming 64 volunteers from KPMG and Microsoft who led hands-on experiences and completed behind-the-scenes preparations in support of our Education Programs.
Beyond the numbers, we deepened our youth volunteer program through specialized career-building initiatives. We continued our partnership with the Washington State Department of Services for the Blind’s YES2 Program, welcoming two student volunteers for a multi-week career preparation experience. This coincided with the third year of our Youth Volunteer Summer Program, offering young leaders an exclusive look at museum operations through tours and panel discussions with key staff.
Our adult volunteers filled vital roles within summer camps, supporting young creators in music production, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), comic art, and drag performance. By helping facilitate these experiences, they fostered the next generation of pop culture innovators.
Whether supporting young artists, exploring professional paths themselves, or creating memorable in-museum experiences, our volunteers remain the heartbeat of MOPOP. Each day, they remind us how transformative the power of pop culture can be, and for that, we are incredibly grateful.
64 Corporate Volunteers +4% YOY from 6,803 volunteer hours in 2024
217 Total Volunteers
7,063 Total Volunteer Hours
YOY from 198 volunteers in 2024
POP CULTURE IS POWERFUL
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
MOPOP’s educational programs champion pop culture and the arts as essential pathways to learning, belonging, and creative possibility. We harness the power of pop culture—past and present—to spark curiosity, elevate representation, and empower today’s learners to become tomorrow’s creators. As arts education faces unprecedented cuts and students encounter increasing barriers to meaningful arts learning, MOPOP provides critical access to high-quality, culturally relevant educational experiences. Our programs foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation through inclusive, transformative learning opportunities that ensure every learner sees themselves reflected, valued, and inspired.
In our programs, students work together to define community, learn how their skills can be instruments for change, and explore identity alongside community mentors. Through educational opportunities that expand equitable access to the arts, we support the next generation of creative thinkers, positive disruptors, and culture-makers.
In 2025, MOPOP launched new Title I programs for workshops and field trips, reducing financial barriers to the arts and increasing access for the students and communities who need it most. Since launching these new discounts, we have seen registrations for our Title I schools increased by 5 times over 2024.
“Many of my students of color specifically mentioned the exhibit upstairs highlighting black popular culture. They mentioned to me that they rarely see their cultures portrayed in a positive light, or that museums focus on what white people have done to black people vs black resilience and joy. Representation matters and MOPOP is killing it with representing so many cultural influences on American pop culture.”
MOPOP25: A QUARTER
CENTURY OF CULTURE + PUBLIC
PROGRAMS
MOPOP’s public programming centers pop culture as a community driver and connector, sparking curiosity and inspiring lifelong learning. We celebrated MOPOP’s 25th birthday and the 25th anniversary of Sound Off!, which welcomed home three alumni bands for our 2025 showcases. We expanded daytime programming with new and returning partners and introduced new pop culture–centered experiences like Supper Fan Club to explore the intersection of food and fandom.
This approach allowed us to establish new ways to serve MOPOP’s fan communities throughout the year. From playtesting new tabletop games to a totally rad ’80s-themed Fashionably Undead and a culinary journey through all seven hobbit meals, our programs celebrated the global impact and power of pop culture.
Our programs also help MOPOP strengthen relationships with community artists and organizations, many of whom are deeply rooted in driving social impact in our community. Partnerships with organizations such as KEXP, The Vera Project, 206 Zulu, Push/Pull, Mox Boarding House, and Scarecrow Video introduced visitors to organizations driving positive change in our community.
72 Individual partnerships
32 Organization Partners
536 Sound Off! Attendees
21,764
2025 YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
2024-2025 COHORT:
Kristin Chiu
Gabby Kim
Lauren “Ren” Latendresse
Zoey Lin
Sayaan Nagpal
Bryan Pine
Mehr Poddar
Elsei Rea
Sakina Rizvi
Efrata Solomon
Keegan Stringfellow
2025-2026 COHORT:
Leah Archer
Collette Barnes
Ava Korinne Cherry
Zella Davidson
Sofia Del Villa
Daniel DeWeese
Akiko Gietzel
Gabby Kim
Lucy Lambert
Lauren “Ren” Latendresse
Liliana McPeak
Mehr Poddar
Owen Porter
Miles Sabin
Emelyn Wood
Capala
Oscar Warnersmith
Pruett Rose Peak
Samweli Scumbag
ALUMNI BANDS
POP CULTURE LIVES HERE
EXHIBITIONS + ARTIFACTS
Pop culture encompasses the stories that define all of us, from our local community to the global stage. In 2025 MOPOP continued our pop culture journey, exploring our content pillars of music, gaming, fashion, and film with major exhibitions on comics across Asia and a deep dive into the African American music forms of gospel, blues, jazz, and soul. We amped up our Guest Curator Program with two exhibitions on perspectives about hip-hop and the Jewish origins of superheroes. In addition, we shared with our audience pop-up displays for Black History Month, Pride Month, 45 years of PAC-MAN, Princess Diana, and the Seattle Seahawk’s 50th anniversary.
As pop culture continues ever onward, we continue to grow MOPOP’s permanent collection to feature artifacts that are deeply personal to our audiences. In 2025 we added several iconic objects from across the pop culture universe, including a Jean Paul Gaultier couture dress, stage and screen-worn outfits by Chappell Roan, Miley Cyrus, Lisa from Blackpink, and Stephanie Hsu from the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once, along with World Cup player-worn jerseys, and a number of puppets and props from the 2019 television series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, such as this SkekOk puppet.
SkekOk, Skekis’s Scroll Keeper, in Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance MOPOP permanent collection, gift of The Jim Henson Company. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance © 2019 Netflix, Inc. © 1982, 2018 The Jim Henson Company
458, 672 Overall Museum Attendance
3,620 Non-Profit Donation MoACCESS Tickets
43,356 Combined MoACCESS Tickets
295 Sensory-Friendly Program Attendees
NUMBERS
12,503 Overall Member Visits
927 Individual Donor Households
7,728 Pop Culture Fan Level Member Households
63 Pop Culture Visionary Households
POP CULTURE IS ALIVE
Pop culture thrives at MOPOP because of your continued support. The stories we amplify and the experiences we share are made possible through your generosity. We are deeply grateful to the individuals and organizations who give their time, talent, and resources to advance our work. You keep pop culture alive today and for future generations.
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTERS
4Culture
Alaska Airlines
Allen Family Philanthropies
Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence
Arctic Club Hotel
Armanino
ArtsFund
Ballard Spahr Lane Powell
Bandai Namco
BLICK Art Materials
Bloomberg
BMO Bank NA
Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture
Butler Valet
Cedarstrand Properties LLC
Clark Nuber PS
Creature Coffee Co
Daydream State
Deloitte
Experience Hendrix LLC
First Choice Health
FOX 13
FRS Clipper
Gibson Foundation
Grousemont Foundation
Hoffman Construction
Honeywell Inc.
Hyatt House
Hyatt Place
iHeart Radio
Jane Henson Foundation
Julien’s Auctions
KidsQuest Children’s Museum
KPMG LLP
Leavenworth Adventure Park
London Bridge Studio
Luly Yang Design Group
Mackie
Made Sewing Studio
McKinstry Company
Mithun
Moccasin Lake Foundation
MOHAI
Most Incredible Studio
Muckleshoot Charity Fund
Museum of Flight
Musicology Co
Pagliacci Pizza
Paycom Seattle
PJ Hummel & Co.
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
PNC Foundation
Port of Seattle
Portland Trail Blazers
R90 Lighting
ReedPOP
Saltchuk Logistics
Science Museum of Minnesota
Scout Lab
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Choruses
Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Seattle Opera
Seattle Seahawks
Shannon & Wilson
SIFF
Space Needle LLC
SSA Group
Staybridge Suites Seattle
Downtown
SuperGraphics
Talking Rain
The Bellevue Collection
The Edgewater Hotel
The Works Seattle
Top Pot Doughnuts
Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund
Vale Group
Vintage Ambiance
Visit Seattle
Voodoo Doughnut
Western Washington Toyota
Dealers Association
Woodland Park Zoo
Statement of Operating Revenues & Expenses
Experience Learning Community
Unrestricted Statement of Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2025 (Rounded to the nearest thousand)
Statement of Financial Position
Experience Learning Community
Unrestricted Statement of Financial Position For the year ended December 31, 2025 (Rounded to the nearest thousand)
