Our Mission is to be a vibrant community venue for people of all ages and incomes to be supported in their artistic & social development through new collaborative arts & cultural experiences. 

The Abbey focuses on music, dance, visual, literary and culinary arts in formats including multi-arts performances, group classes & workshops, individual lessons, new exhibits and artistic life celebrations.

Over 8000 Square Feet of Possibilities!

The Abbey is a nonprofit and non-religious Arts Center where people can learn & develop through education & performance in many different art mediums.  Striving to be a "3rd place" in North Seattle, the Abbey is a comfortable & welcoming space where a wide variety of people from different income levels, skills, ethnicities & backgrounds interact.  Both art students & the general public experience high quality performances by artists from Seattle and around the world.

A beautiful 1914 brick church building, The Abbey underwent major renovations in late 2007 that were completed in March 2008 with a Grand Re-opening party.  Abbey Director, Nathan Marion (www.LonelyBuildings.com), managed the renovation & "greening of the Abbey" project including final designs & interiors.
A broad base of support from many volunteers from the community made it all possible along with major donations of materials and labor from Belfor, Hermanson, and others. Approximately $50-80k was added to the project via volunteer hours and donations.
Architectural plans by Vandervort Architects with initial design work supervised by Karen Ward & Ryan Marsh.

Special thanks to Church of the Apostles (COTA), a young progressive church with Lutheran & Episcopal roots who bought the building in 2005 and invited the Arts Center to curate Monday-Saturday. We are a separate nonprofit entity and COTA asks us to pay our share of the Operations & Maintenance expenses. Since we are fulfilling a portion of their mission to serve the community, they do not charge the Arts Center market rate rents.

This unique new model of sharing a beautiful old building means you know your donations are going to support the Arts Center and it's community work, and not going to a corporate entity charging high rents for a space in such a busy part of Seattle.


Our Niche is providing a space for both instruction & performance opportunities in a beautifully restored historic building.  Our unique location in the center of Seattle & low operation costs allows audiences to attend events & performances that are accessible for all ages, incomes, and skill levels.  The Fremont Abbey also fulfills the Fremont Neighborhood Plan's directive for a community Arts Center.  We pull in people from many other neighborhoods who do not have Arts Centers such as Ballard, Greenwood, Wallingford as we are currently the only nonprofit arts center in all of North Seattle (as far as we know).

Sustainability is achieved in part through being community driven and volunteer powered with a small staff.  We also partner with existing non-profits & neighborhood teachers. In addition, we've renovated & re-purposed an old 1914 building to encompass a myriad of uses. It's an ongoing process, but we've built in various "green" elements as well with efficient furnaces, lighting, insulation, as well as green cleaning supplies, toilet paper, composting, etc. We even require events to reduce their waste and compost/recycle.

Local organizations we've supported & hosted at the Abbey include:
BF Day Elementary School
Fremont Arts Council
The Center School
Seattle Girls School
Boys & Girls Club
Community Schools of WA
Girls Rock Camp
NW Girls Coalition
Sierra Club
Global WA (Gates Foundation)
Seattle Works
SPU
Seattle Rock Orchestra
Seattle Theatre Group - Education
Chimp Sanctuary NW
FAWN Neighborhood Safety Group
Simple Measures
Seattle Dance Project
Karin Stevens Dance
Sapience Dance
46th Street Mural Project
Many small orgs under Shunpike
many more



We also allow the space to be used for weddings, receptions, and events which fund our staffing, supplies, rent and building costs. We work hard to set a good example for sustainability on the Environmental side as well by using natural handmade cleaning supplies, efficient heaters, insulation, composting, recycling, reduced waste, and more.

The Abbey does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. Freedom of expression & creativity is encouraged within the boundaries of respect for all peoples. Some events may be labeled or rated (ie. PG-13, etc.).


Not only does the Abbey fulfill the Fremont Neighborhood Plan's directive for an Arts Center, we pull in people from many other neighborhoods who do not have Arts Centers such as Ballard, Greenwood, Wallingford and other North Seattle neighborhoods.