Annual Report 2023

REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY

POP CULTURE IS WHO WE ARE

MoPOP is grateful for the leadership and service of our Board of Directors.

Paul G. Allen

MoPOP Founding Director in Memoriam

Jody Allen

Founding Director and Board Chair

Shaunta Hyde, MoPOP Board President

Director People Experience & Technology (PXT3)

Transformation Team, Amazon

Davina Inslee, MoPOP Board Secretary

General Counsel, Global Health Labs

Marjorie Thomas, MoPOP Board Treasurer

CFO, Allen Institute

Jeremy Beasley

Senior Interaction Designer, Google

Tim Bierman

General Manager, Pearl Jam Ten Club

Dana Frank

General Managing Partner, TTRD Properties Ltd.

James Miles

Executive Director, Mentor Washington (Jan - Sept, 2023)

Chris Oxley

Sr. VP - Government Affairs + Strategic Initiatives, Portland Trail Blazers (Jan - Jun, 2023)

Michelle Quisenberry

Managing Director, Advisory, KPMG US

Our mission is to make creative expression a life-changing force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities.

Why does pop culture deserve a museum? Because it shapes how we see the world, influences what we consume, drives the ways we express and define ourselves, and connects us through the simple power of shared enthusiasm, forging global communities out of music, fashion, gaming, film, protest, literature, art, and dance. And MoPOP is here for all of it.

We envision a world where everyone sees and wields their cultural power. That’s why our exhibitions, programs, and educational offerings create space to explore pop culture firsthand through both the present moment—in which we are all pop culture creators and

consumers—and the malleable lens of historical positioning. Our goal is to bring guests’ stories, lived experiences, and fandoms into conversation with the museum and the wider pop culture community, furthering our shared understanding of what can be possible in all our tomorrows.

Pop culture is who we are at MoPOP, in every sense, and we are proud of the work we did in 2023 to help build a more equitable and vibrant arts and culture sector that truly represents the richness of our diverse world. Thank you for being a part of the journey.

At MoPOP, we understand the profound influence that popular culture has on our society. It has the power to shape our values, drive social change, and preserve our cultural heritage. As a museum, we play a pivotal role in shaping the narrative around popular culture while serving as advocates for our community both here at home and around the globe.

Through our commitment to innovation, creativity, and inclusivity, we strive to create a dynamic and diverse platform for expression. Our exhibitions, programs, and initiatives aim to bridge cultural gaps and promote dialogue, allowing for emotional connection and introspection.

Moving forward, we remain dedicated to embracing all aspects of this work as we celebrate the people-first power of popular culture. We will continue to challenge our own assumptions, exceed our perceived limitations, and create a lasting legacy in our field. With your support, we can continue to be a catalyst for change, fostering a sense of community and accessibility for all.

We are immensely grateful for your participation in the MoPOP community and your unwavering support of our mission. Together, we can reshape the narrative and create a more inclusive and diverse cultural landscape for the generations to come.

With gratitude,

Michele Y. Smith MoPOP CEO

Music is a form of storytelling. Art is thought-provoking and can be a form of activism. Film and fashion can represent the past as beautifully as they are a vision of the future. These examples, and all forms of popular culture, shape our identities, influence our perspectives, and foster a sense of community that transcends boundaries. That is why MoPOP remains so relevant and inspiring, locally and globally.

The museum recognizes and celebrates the significance of popular culture because it reflects human experience. And MoPOP’s commitment to innovation, creativity, and inclusion fuels its understanding of the role that popular culture plays in shaping societal norms and values alongside being a vibrant tapestry of expression. Through exhibitions, programs, and so much more, our team works to change the narrative around pop culture and bring to life what it is, why it matters, and what could be possible. Through its platforms for creative and cultural expression, MoPOP fosters dialogue, evokes emotion, and provokes introspection, sparking conversations that transport our guests to new places and invite them to explore diverse perspectives.

As we look ahead, we remain steadfast in our commitment to embracing and celebrating popular culture in all its forms. We will continue to push boundaries, defy expectations, and leave an indelible mark on the cultural landscape and community we are proud to be a part of.

Thank you for being part of the MoPOP community and for your continued support of its mission.

With gratitude,

Jody Allen MoPOP Founding Director and Board Chair

POP CULTURE CONNECTS US

Popular culture is, by definition, of the people, and as MoPOP grows to become a global pop culture resource, ensuring equal access to the museum’s work takes on an increasingly fundamental importance.

Community engagement is central to our outreach goals at MoPOP, and we were delighted to see significant increases in our access and inclusion programs in 2023. Overall, we saw a 122% increase in attendance through the Museums for All program for EBT and WIC participants, the King County Library Pass Program, the Seattle Public

Library Museum Pass Program, and Community Access Partnerships. Museums for All was particularly successful with a 179% usage increase over 2022, thanks largely to word-of-mouth advertising and improved visibility and messaging on our website.

Continued investment in DEIA training and education, our popular Sensory-Friendly Mornings, and the expansion of our free Online Collections Vault joined with these initiatives to help make 2023 a pivotal year in making the work we do truly of and for the people this museum exists to serve.

$1,046,193 in admission donated through Community Access Partnerships, King County Library Pass, Seattle Public Library Museum Pass, and Museums for All programs. Includes: 27,415 General admission tickets, 23,202 Special exhibition tickets.

122%

Increase in all access program attendance over 2022

179%

Increase in Museums for All attendance over 2022

“I met people who were from different states and even countries. Helping them out gave me more self-esteem and confidence.”

—Youth

Volunteer Summer Session Participant

129 MoPOP Volunteers

5,720 Volunteer Hours

Volunteers are a crucial part of MoPOP operations and how we connect one-on-one with our community. In 2023 we grew our team with the launch of our inaugural Youth Volunteer Summer Session, in which ten young volunteers spent their summers assisting guests on the museum floor and gaining firsthand knowledge about careers in the museum field.

MoPOP also saw increased investment in the core group of volunteers who form the heart of what we do. Whether offering a helping hand at an information desk, leading an architectural tour of our unique building, or organizing a jam session up in Sound Lab, each of these pop culture champions is an integral part of the culture of the museum, bringing our mission to life for first-time guests, longtime members, and staff. Much of our work would be impossible without our volunteer community, and we are so grateful for their knowledge, enthusiasm, and support.

POP CULTURE IS POWERFUL

Camps, Clubs & Education

Connecting young minds with the opportunity to express and explore their own power, inspiration, and vision is one of our core aims here at MoPOP. Pop culture allows youth of all ages to approach learning from a position of enjoyment and enthusiasm, and 2023 marked a highly successful year for our Education, Camp, and Club programs.

Hundreds of learners from kindergarten through high school participated in our in-museum and outreach offerings, diving into courses such as Shape Shifters: The Art and Math of Costume Design, Fantastic Creatures, and This Machine Kills Fascists: Pop Culture and Activism.

Homeschool Days visitors studied poster making, DJing, Foley sound design, stop-motion animation, and the science of ghost hunting in 2023, while eager summer campers signed up for Fantasy STEAM Explorers Camp and Drag-tastic: The Art of Drag. None of this work would have been possible without the support of our Youth Advisory Board and Teacher Advisory Board members. Their commitment to furthering dynamic educational opportunities and the diverse perspectives they bring from their own lived experiences demonstrate the power of education as a focal point for true community collaboration in envisioning and building a full, creative, and more equitable future.

“What we hear most often from our campers and our teaching artists is how needed and valuable this space is. We are able to create a safe space where campers can feel comfortable expressing themselves in whatever way feels right to them.”

–Michele Y. Smith MoPOP CEO

298 Homeschool Participants

158 Camp Participants

45

Teachers served through Professional Development Programs

518

Students & Teachers served through outreach programs bringing MoPOP into the classroom

11,615

Students served through In-Museum Field Trips

2023 YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Isabel Amaya

Isabel Baraff

Adrael Enquobahrie

Ricardo Gurango

Sayana Isaac

Saisha Lakkoju

Sylvia London

Preethika Makineni

Rachel Ann Maristela

Ella Nichols

Lila Padfield

Bolan Peppler-Delange

Manya Pradeep Narayan

Shriya Prasanna

Joshua Silverstein

Viraaj Singh

Ava Snow

Emma Wang

Harper Wilken

2022–2023 TEACHER ADVISORY BOARD

Lulu Carpenter

Karen Coulombe

Sharif Crawford

Cinder Crowe

Genesis Day

Lauren Edwards

Sara Fraser

Izzy Garcia

Micah Gibbens

Patrick Hill

Cait Motter

Mari O’Meara

Adam Othman

Eric Pfaff

Kari Ramadorai

Susan Rogers

Frances Tee

Linda Tiffany

Samuel Williams

Michelle Zimmerman

2023–2024 TEACHER ADVISORY BOARD

Katie Cassidy

Genesis Day

Lisa Frystak

Amber Gonzalez

Alicia Gray

Yolanda Jones

Andrew Kieta

Shelby Leyland

Mari O’Meara

Adam Othman

Eric Pfaff

Steven Simpson

Mim Turnbull

David Watson

Samuel Williams

Sound Off!

2023

2023 marked the 23rd annual installment of our Sound Off! music showcase. As always, this wildly popular program offered musicians 21 and under a chance to be mentored by industry insiders, join an awesome community of young artists, elevate their skills and sound, and taste the superstar life performing center stage at MoPOP’s Sky Church for crowds of screaming fans. This year a cohort of returning performers brought a special element to the program, offering the confidence of experience to first-timers while building on their own ongoing success.

Sound Off! made the transition from a “Battle of the Bands” format to a collaborative showcase 2 years ago, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Participants have reported significantly more enjoyment during the program and increased opportunities after, and we cannot wait to see where every one of these incredible young artists takes their sound next.

955

419

322

Attendees at Sound Off!

Attendees at SFFSFF

Total Submissions to SFFSFF

Celebrating pop culture means celebrating film, and 2023 was a banner year for MoPOP’s film programming.

The 18th Annual Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Film Festival (SFFSFF) saw an enormous number of submissions furthering the festival’s legacy as a destination event and strengthening the PNW’s ties to the international filmmaking community.

Summer welcomed the return of Movies at MoPOP, bringing packed crowds into Sound and Vision Theater to share

the experience of live cinema enhanced with trivia, prizes, and crafts. Films featured included family favorite Jumanji; modern horror classic The Descent; and LAIKA Studio’s latest, Missing Link.

Both programs show the power of pop culture to bring people together in community to celebrate the past and engage with energizing and challenging visions of the future.

POP CULTURE LIVES HERE

66 Outgoing Loan Artifacts to 5 Institutions

48 Incoming Loan Objects from 12 Lenders

70 Image Licenses to 13 Licensees

MoPOP’s exhibition offerings are always growing and changing, reflecting the complexity and living nature of pop culture itself. In 2023 we extended Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop throughout the year as a testament to its popularity as well as to honor the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as an art form. Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA opened in March, the culmination of a four-year collaboration between MoPOP and LAIKA Studios to showcase the magic and technology of stop-motion storytelling in a major exhibition. We also expanded our Guest Curator Program this year to bring

80,000+ Permanent Collection Objects

1631 Online Collections Vault Objects

200 Acquisitions and Donations

more up-and-coming curators an opportunity to reflect upon MoPOP’s permanent collection from their own lens and lived experience. Adeerya Johnson presented My Mic Sounds Nice: Hip-Hop Feminism in History, and Olivia Ross explored Queens of the Guitar

The critical examination of which items are featured in our museum, whose voice gets heard, and how value, authority, and culture are expressed remains at the forefront of our work here at MoPOP. We look forward to continued evolution and growth in the years ahead.

MoPOP’s permanent collection of over 80,000 objects gained a few thousand more in 2023 with a generous Paul G. Allen Trust bequest featuring artifacts related to music as well as film and television props from the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. In concert with this large donation, Collections staff installed additional storage in the Vault to allow for future growth as we continue to expand our collection while actively embracing the global nature of pop culture.

In June MoPOP celebrated the digitization of our hip-hop collection, allowing access to fans worldwide through our Online Collections Vault. This increased visibility of MoPOP’s world-class collection jumpstarted our already healthy loan and licensing programs, strengthening our bonds with museums around the globe and introducing our engaged, energetic approach to pop culture to new and diverse communities.

(LEFT): T.I.E. Fighter filming miniature from Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, 1977 MoPOP permanent collection

(RIGHT): Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, New York City, 1999

Photograph by Annie Leibovitz MoPOP permanent collection Gift of the Artist

ca. late 1980s Cloud guitar played by Prince

Created by luthier Andy Beech MoPOP permanent collection

MOPOP BY THE NUMBERS

2023 Overall Attendance

577,721

MoACCESS Tickets

27,415

Overall Member Visits

18,646

Fan Member Households

2,797

Donated Tickets

2,913

Total Number of Individual Donors

912

Sensory-Friendly Program Attendees

415

Total Number of Council Households

168

POP CULTURE IS ALIVE

Your continued support allows powerful pop culture experiences to thrive at MoPOP. The stories we share evoke the essence of pop culture itself, constantly changing form and medium as they are brought to life by people and communities from right here in Seattle to around the globe. You showed up to support the museum in a major way in 2023, and for that we are deeply grateful. Because of your participation, we continue to push boundaries, expand the definition of pop culture, create new modes of storytelling, and redefine what it means to be a museum. Thank you for your generous contributions; they propel our work forward.

Institutional Supporters

4Culture

Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence

AmazonSmile Foundation

Artmrkt Productions LLC

ArtsFund

AT&T

Benevity Community Impact Fund

Big Bang Distribution

Bloomberg

Clark Nuber PS

Council on Library and Information

Resources

Drum Workshop Inc.

Expeditors International

First Tech Federal Credit Union

Google Ad Grants

Google Inc.

Grousemont Foundation

Hoffman Construction

Jane Henson Foundation

KPMG LLP

London Bridge Studio

McEachern

McKinstry Company

META Facebook Seattle

Microsoft

Molson Coors Beverage Company

Mortenson Construction

National Endowment for the Arts

Nike

One Roof Foundation

Paycom Seattle

Port of Seattle

Raynier Institute & Foundation

Safeway

Seattle Mariners

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Seattle Seahawks

Shannon & Wilson Inc.

SSA Group

Start It! Foundation

Synapse Product Development

The Boeing Company

The Norcliffe Foundation

The Stranger

T-Mobile

Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund

U.S. Bank

Urban League

Vulcan LLC

Washington State Arts Commission

Washington State Department Of Commerce

Experience Learning Community Unrestricted Statement of Activities For the year ended December 31, 2023 (rounded to the nearest thousandth)

in-kind