Longtime performing arts organization Tacoma Arts Live has filed for receivership, a court process similar to bankruptcy, according to public records.
The nonprofit’s board of directors has officially dissolved and its interim CEO now reports to a court-appointed receiver.
TAL announced earlier this year that it would close for good this summer and sell the historic Tacoma Armory, its sole remaining building, citing debts incurred in part due to declining ticket sales following the pandemic.
(Tacoma Arts Live will hold ticketed events through June.)
The receivership process — in which an independent custodian manages a company and its assets as a voluntary and quicker alternative to bankruptcy — buys the nonprofit some time to pay off its debt and find a suitable buyer, said the appointed receiver, Shelly Crocker.
Crocker said the nonprofit’s interim CEO and board entered into receivership to give the organization breathing room to figure out next steps: dissolution, closure, restructuring or spinning off parts of its nonprofit into a separate organization, among other options.
Another benefit, Crocker said: The process gives the nonprofit more influence over who buys the building.
“I don’t need the bank’s approval for who I’m going to sell to, and I have a longer timeline to get it done,” Crocker said.
Crocker is currently the receiver for the Bellevue Arts Museum. She was appointed to that role in 2024 after the organization financially collapsed and has since helped the museum spin off into a smaller nonprofit focused on an annual arts fair. The museum building was sold in October to KidsQuest; that sale should close by May 18, Crocker said, and she hopes BAM’s receivership process can wrap up in June.
“They were well aware of what’s happened at Bellevue Arts Museum,” Crocker said of Tacoma Arts Live leadership. “And I think they’re hoping for an equally favorable outcome.”
“They’re not going to do it via performing arts venue anymore,” Crocker continued. “But hopefully, there’ll be an education program. Maybe there’ll be a community art program. Maybe even a way to preserve that space with a different business model where it’s more participatory, less performance.”
The process of receivership for cultural organizations has become more common in recent years. Belltown music venue the Crocodile is also in receivership as it deals with postpandemic financial challenges.
Crocker said she doesn’t know yet what’s next for the dozen or so staffers employed by Tacoma Arts Live — which has an operating budget of about $7.5 million, per 2024 tax records — but she said that additional layoffs are possible.
Court records provide a deeper look into the nonprofit’s financials.
While the potential “liquidation value” of the land and building are estimated at $5.3 million, the organization currently has more than $3 million in debt secured by the Armory, records show.
The documents indicate TAL also owes about $166,000 to several groups, including a ticketing platform; local accounting and fundraising firms; and separate artist management firms for what appear to be the upcoming performances by Isaac Mizrahi ($11,450) and writer David Sedaris ($43,950).
Crocker’s mission is to find a buyer for the building, figure out what’s next for the organization and keep it running in the meantime. She said that, much like with BAM, she’ll have many conversations with people in Tacoma about what the community wants from a cultural venue.
Crocker said it’s too soon to discuss details but that she hopes to keep TAL’s education programming running and to preserve as many of TAL’s other arts programs as possible — like incubator space for artists and offices for creative businesses.
“There’s a real dearth … of places for the performing arts to rehearse, to gather, to put on their work,” she said. “And so many of those places in Tacoma, particularly, they’re being taken over by for-profit enterprises. So I don’t know yet. We’re going to see. I’m going to see what I can come up with.”
Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this report.
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