Longtime\u00a0performing arts organization<\/a>\u00a0Tacoma Arts Live has filed for receivership, a court process similar to bankruptcy, according to public records.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofit’s board of directors has officially dissolved and its interim CEO now reports to a court-appointed receiver.<\/p>\n TAL announced earlier this year<\/a> 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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Tacoma Arts Live will hold ticketed events through June.)<\/p>\n The receivership process \u2014 in which an independent custodian manages a company and its assets as a voluntary and quicker alternative to bankruptcy \u2014 buys the nonprofit some time to pay off its debt and find a suitable buyer, said the appointed receiver, Shelly Crocker.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crocker said the nonprofit\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another benefit, Crocker said: The process gives the nonprofit more influence over who buys the building.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Crocker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crocker is currently the receiver for the Bellevue Arts Museum. She was appointed to that role in 2024 after the organization financially collapsed<\/a> and has since helped the museum spin off into a smaller nonprofit focused on an annual arts fair<\/a>. The museum building was sold in October to KidsQuest<\/a>; that sale should close by May 18, Crocker said, and she hopes BAM\u2019s receivership process can wrap up in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey were well aware of what’s happened at Bellevue Arts Museum,\u201d Crocker said of Tacoma Arts Live leadership. \u201cAnd I think they’re hoping for an equally favorable outcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re not going to do it via performing arts venue anymore,\u201d Crocker continued. \u201cBut 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n