I arrived at Cascadia Art Museum at 5:06 PM, expecting to explore the exhibits during regular hours since Apple Maps had listed them as open until 6:00 PM. Unfortunately, the museum had already closed to the public. Luckily, Sydney kindly invited me to stay for a private evening event that was just about to begin. The $20 admission ended up being incredibly worthwhile. Before the event I was able to walk around and see the gallery entirely while the staff set -up. The event featured a guest lecture by Dr. Simon Lhopiteau, a Paris-based art historian who recently opened a studio in Seattle. His talk centered on Henry Saÿen, a chemist-turned-painter whose work is rarely acknowledged in mainstream art history. We discussed Saÿen's invention of the self-regulating X-ray tube, his move to Paris during the rise of the avant-garde, and the influence of Henri Matisse on his artistic development. Dr. Lhopiteau also spoke about how both Henry Saÿen and Henri Matisse were among the early artists to shape the foundation of modern self-portraiture. Their work explored internal perception just as much as external form, and this introspective approach helped redefine how artists captured the self. He also shared how abstract and impressionist art in the early 20th century was not just rejected by the public, but often met with deep hostility and even violence. One of the highlights of the evening was Saÿen's 1903 painting titled Primitive Agricultures. We also explored the legendary artist gatherings at Le Dôme café in Paris and discussed the deeper connection between light, geometry, and perception in modern painting. The entire conversation felt alive--intellectually rich, spontaneous, and deeply human. It was one of the most engaging experiences I've had in a long time. Before leaving, I visited the museum gift shop and picked out a beautiful orange floral scarf for my mom. The shop was just as thoughtfully curated as the rest of the space. I also had the pleasure of speaking with Nancy, one of the museum ambassadors, who was incredibly kind and insightful. She told me about her travels through the Balkan countries and the museums and art collections she visited abroad. I shared my love for Renaissance art and armor from the Middle Ages and she encouraged me to visit France to experience those collections firsthand. I mentioned that my niece is French and currently studying there, so now I have even more reason to go. Before I left, I met Julie, the museum's education director, and learned that her academic thesis focused on Renaissance art and the representation of women. It was such an energizing conversation. She even gave me a list of local spots to eat, which meant a lot since I needed to grab dinner for my family after the event. I have attached the photos part of the current exhibit to this review to encourage people to see art in person because it is of amazing quality and deserves recognition. Had I arrived during regular hours, I probably would have paid $12 or gotten in free with my student ID, but I'm honestly glad I came when I did. Cascadia is not just a museum. It's a place of conversation, discovery, and connection. Whether you're visiting for the art or open to the unexpected, it's absolutely worth the experience. read more

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I had the pleasure of attending a curator talk at the Cascadia Art Museum, and it was phenomenon!! David Martin is a dynamic speaker and is a world recognized art historian of northwest style arts. He walked us through an exhibit called "Urban Scenes of Seattle: 1910-1960". Apparently in the "old days" and before the internet, Eastern U.S. arts are influenced primarily by European arts, while Western U.S. arts are influenced by both European arts and Asian arts. As a result, these mid-1900s regional arts has an intriguing amalgam of art styles from other parts of the world while serving as a historical data point of our area. I highly, highly recommend attending one of his "coffee with the curator" talks that give so much behind-the-scenes story of the artists, many of whom David personally knows. Other than the Urban Scenes exhibit, they are currently featuring a special exhibit of Christmas cards that are individually made by local artists that were sent to family and friends. No two are the same! The museum is modest size but packs a punch! It is definitely a local gem. Housed in an old Safeway building, it shares space with a bistro in the same building. Their museum store also has excellent pieces from artists and/or uniquely curated pieces. And they sell books written by David Martin. He'll autograph them if you want! read more

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This past weekend was my second second visit to Cascadia Museum. I live in Seattle so it's a little ways for us to visit but my cousin and I enjoy coming when they feature a JapaneseAmerican artist. Usually around the time of Day of Remembrance which is nice. Last year we went for the Kenjiro Nomura exhibit this year we attended the George Tsutakawa exhibit. It's not the biggest museum but what they put together are wonderful collections and their staff is well informed and engaging. The museum is very open and flows smoothly and I love their gift shop. read more

Cascadia Art Museum - exterior - Art Museums Near Me - Edmonds, Washington

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Beautiful waterfront museum, it was great to see sone of the greater Seattle artwork on display. Seeing some of the early Seattle history in paintings as well as the Women print making history which made up the 'First Impressions' theme throughout the exhibition at this time. One room has a projection of early colorized films playing (without sound) some of it was of hiking through the Washington Mountains during the thirties - fifties, cool history to just relax and watch. Hiking attire has definitely changed! Lots of beautiful styles of art thorough out the displays. Nice and quiet atmosphere. The gift area has a wide array of gifts.. jewelry, books, artwork, glassworks, naive art and stickers for kids and adults. A great way to spend a few hours enjoying art on the waterfront in Edmonds. Enjoy! read more

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I believe the docent's name is Allison... she was amazing! Had a wealth of knowledge about the artists and shared interesting fun facts and stories about them in a way that felt more conversational. I went with a pretty big group and felt like she really managed the situation well while we threw a bunch of questions at her! The museum is small but their curations are unique and 100% worth visiting when they have special exhibits or if you've never been before. Their gift shop also has some actual unique art pieces being sold by local artists! read more

Wonderful art museum, beautiful collection of permanent and loaned art specializing in Washington state artists.

Great modern, mid century, local art. You might see art here that you won't see in other museums around Puget Sound area. It's a small place so don't plan on spending more than an hour here. You could easily make a day at this complex especially on a chilly, damp, Puget Sound winter's day. Keep in mind that the museum is only open certain days but it's really great to visit! Wonderful exhibits. Lots of parking. Cost is reasonable. Probably going back later in the year when the exhibits change. Staff and docents are very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this museum. Adults: $12 Seniors (65+): $9 Youth (0-18): Free Students: Free Monday - Tuesday: Closed Wednesday - Sunday: 11:00am - 5:00pm read more

The museum is awesome! The staff is friendly. The exhibits are nicely arranged & they have a great gift shop. I went to see the Kenjiro Komura art exhibit. What an incredible artist & he was well versed in several different media. It's worth seeing again & will be there til Feb! read more

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Woah! What a beautiful museum! I was there Feb 20th, which they recognized as "Day of Remembrance" and closing the Nomura exhibit (amazing!). They had a full day of activities, including a traditional Japanese drumming ceremony, traditional matcha tea service, poetry readings, ikebana how to's and much more. The museum store is nicely curated and they have monthly children's activities that include a craft kit that are only $1 each (classes via zoom). read more

Totally enjoyed strolling through this small but quality museum, wonderful selection of local artists with true talent, really one of the better museums displaying a variety of older and newer works. Friendly, informative staff; well-written, interesting notes on the lives of the artists. Best part, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg for admission. Lovely gift shop as well. Highly recommend if you're in the wonderful town of Edmonds! read more

We don't get up to Edmonds much, so it took a special trip to finally get us out to the Cascadia Museum. I'm glad to have seen it -- especially for free! -- but I don't think I'd call it a must-see, even for locals. Admission is normally $15, but we were able to get in free with our NARM affiliate membership. The museum is in a strip mall, so it has ample parking but it was a little confusing to find. Inside, the museum is fairly small -- a hallway gallery that opens into a few rooms. When we were there, the exhibition focused on Northwest Impressionist artists, with an exhibit of wood sculptures in the gallery. My understanding is that the museum primarily or even exclusively features Pacific Northwest artists, so it's fun to see local artists painting recognizable scenes from the region. There's a binder containing artist bios for many of the paintings, so check it out if you want to learn more about an artist. And the volunteers are happy to answer questions or chat about the art. The gift shop is surprisingly large and may be worth a visit on its own. It has the usual mix of art books, notecards, handmade jewelry, scarves, trinkets and toys. Prices were pretty affordable for a museum store, too. You don't have to enter the museum to shop at the store, so it's pretty easy to stop in and shop. Overall, this is a small, but friendly and welcoming, art museum where you can spend an hour or two on a rainy day. If you feel like you've already seen every art museum in Seattle, this one might be worth a visit! read more

I have been wanting to visit this relatively new Art Museum (I think I heard it is only 4 years old) for a while, and I finally found the time to visit it last week. Located in a former antique mall space, which was a Safeway store before it was an antique mall, it is beautifully re-done with gleaming dark woods, a grand piano, an inviting gift shop/entry space, and a surprisingly diverse collection of artwork. The current exhibits are mostly comprised of works by Pacific Northwest Artists. The current exhibits include: *Portraits - my favorite part of the museum, and the section that I spent the most time in (by far). Many fascinating portraits are on display, including a portrait of Kenneth Graves (one of "the 4 mystics" - artwork by all 4 mystics is currently on display at the Seattle Art Museum through September 7), and several self-portraits, including a portrait of 4 separate "moods" of the artist in 4 corners of a gigantic frame, done in charcoal, with the artist calmly wielding a charcoal pencil in the center of the frame. The portrait "Listening in the Dark" (2018), by talented artist Aleah Chapin, portrays a woman maybe in her late 30s (around my own age) who has clearly lived through a few things (and has a few tiny wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it). The woman is softly smiling to herself, with her eyes gently closed. She is resting her head on a blue-black tree, in the middle of nearly pitch-black surroundings. She herself shines brightly in the dark. Her facial expression conveys a knowingness, a subtle inner strength, a bit of wisdom, a hopeful optimism, and a hint of satisfying mischief. The woman appears to be listening for exactly what she needs to hear, and she seems confident that she will hear it. As with many outstanding pieces of art, it was personal enough that I instantly identified with it, but non-specific enough that many others (who have gone through things that are vastly different from what I myself have been through) could have easily also identified with it. It was hard to tear myself away from it to look at anything else. *Old-time photographs by award-winning photographer Yukio Morinaga, who was born in 1888. This internationally-recognized photographer sadly spent some time in the Japanese internment camps when he was a middle-aged man. I love how he captured the ethereal quality of steam in some of his photographs, and it's interesting imagining him needing to use film, a dark room, and technology of that day and age, since photography is predominantly digital these days. *Paintings - I only had about 90 minutes in the museum so I didn't get to those, however, I tend to stare at artwork for FAR longer than average. If you're not like me, 90 minutes should be plenty of time for you to see everything in this museum. *Sculptures - an interesting variety of mostly small-scale sculptures done by an array of talented northwest sculptors. Jan, the docent/volunteer on staff at the time of my visit, was extraordinarily friendly and engaging, in addition to being very informative. Jan told me that upcoming museum exhibits will include gay/lesbian art on display in October (this exhibit will be called "Lavender" - none of my lgbtq/pan/gender-fluid friends ever mentioned any connection to the word "Lavender," and Jan didn't know what the connection was either, so I'll have to ask my friends and/or google it to see if I can figure it out), and a holiday exhibit of Christmas Cards that were created by artists for their other artist friends. Neat! I'd love to make repeat visits to this lovely museum, both before and after the new exhibits arrive. At $10 per person, I thought this museum was definitely worth the price. I'm very happy I decided to visit this museum. read more

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This place is still so perfect for visit. Their focus on local stunning art from beginning to mid century is always a wonderful discovery. The current exhibition of Impressionism is absolutely amazing. The price to get in is very little and the gift shop is a delight as well. GO! Its a perfect destination before catching the ferry. Gotta love the PNW for affordable delights galore. read more

Went here Saturday and Sunday. Lovely art museum currently featuring work from local artists. The people are friendly and helpful, as there were a lot of activities on Saturday. Not a huge museum but i totally support the local focus!! We'll be back for the next exhibit! read more

When we visited Cascadia we had little expectations. What are you going to expect with a small local museum? I was surprised. Yes it is small, but it was very well curated. They have a great selection of new and old local artists. The staff was extremely friendly. The gift shop has great things. read more

A really unique Northwest art museum, if you want to see NW art that you wont see anywhere else, visit this museum.

A pleasant surprise! A great local art museum with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Beautiful paintings and pictures. This would be a wonderful place to visit in your are waiting in the long line for the ferry or before heading up to the Edmonds Farmers Market. Check it out! read more