About NASH

“The mission of the Northwest Arts Streaming Hub (NASH) is to serve as a channel guide and digital venue for multidisciplinary artists and their content. We help artists find audiences, and audiences find meaning.”

Along the way we provide free marketing and promotional services, one-on-one technical support, resources, and mentorship. We want to work with you to build community - and awareness of the vast amount of talent in the Puget Sound.

We center the creativity and leadership of BIPOC, LGBTQIA, womxn, disabled, low-income folks, and other community members burdened by systemic oppressions; our vision is a platform and leadership team that embodies the complex identities, understandings, and outstanding talents of our region. We are committed to being anti-racist and pro-justice.

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS

On March 11, 2020, in response to the rising novel coronavirus pandemic, Governor Inslee shut down all public gatherings of more than 250 people. Shortly thereafter he prudently stopped virtually all gatherings. This essential step to slow the spread of COVID-19 also immediately closed all public venues for artists. It was clear that creatives would need a new virtual space to reach audiences both old and new, and help generate revenue. Thus, NASH was born. We are building a website that aggregates the best live and on-demand video content in the Northwest. As we continue to develop NASH, you will be able to find a wealth of incredible projects - from theatrical productions, to concerts, to arts education classes ready to stream to your living room, to informal comedy hours, to gallery and backstage tours of cultural sites across the region, to podcasts and talks with cultural leaders.

HOW WE BENEFIT ARTISTS

Artists and arts organizations who join us benefit from a collaborative and unified marketing approach which helps to build a larger audience and more awareness for our entire creative community. Our marketing team will consistently feature new artists both on our homepage, and our social media pages. Artists who need technical assistance to raise their production value will find NASH a great source of technical mentoring, better lighting and audio equipment, and a connector to talented production technicians and resources.

Additionally, we will consistently promote individual donation pages and opportunities, asking our audience to donate directly to the artists themselves if they see something they like. NASH is committed to never taking a cut of these donations - we want 100% of what artists raise through their work to land directly in their pockets.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

By creating this central site for live and on-demand Northwest art, we will not only make it easy for the art loving public to find work by their favorite artists - but we will also be creating a space where people can discover new and emerging talents. Come for a concert, stay for a puppet show. Lastly, while our immediate focus is promoting Northwest artists, our work will now have global reach and can be discovered by people anywhere in the world. If you see something you like, don’t forget to donate. We hope that NASH will inspire you to support living artists and their work!

OUR STORY

NASH was founded by a small group of artists, technologists, and community organizers who saw the sudden closure of physical venues as both a crisis and an opportunity. In the early days of the pandemic, our founders began hosting informal virtual open mics and streaming experiments to keep creative connections alive. What started as a few Zoom rooms quickly grew into a shared vision: a permanent digital home for Northwest art that would outlast the emergency and become a lasting part of the region's cultural infrastructure.

We are not a traditional presenting organization. We do not curate a season or select a handful of artists to feature. Instead, we build tools, share knowledge, and amplify the work of our member artists and organizations. Our role is to lower the barriers to digital presentation, so that artists can focus on what they do best: making art. We believe that the future of arts presentation is hybrid—part in-person, part online—and we want Northwest artists to be leaders in that future.

WHAT WE DO

NASH operates as a multi-faceted platform and service hub. Our core activities include:

• Channel Guide: We maintain a searchable, easy-to-navigate directory of live and on-demand arts content from across the region. Audiences can browse by genre, artist, or format.
• Digital Venue Support: We help artists and small organizations set up their own streaming capabilities, from choosing the right platform to configuring ticketing and donation tools.
• Marketing and Promotion: Our team creates featured artist spotlights, social media campaigns, and email newsletters to bring new audiences to member content.
• Technical Mentorship: We offer one-on-one consultations and group workshops on topics such as lighting, audio capture, multicamera streaming, and post-production.
• Equipment Lending: Through partnerships and donations, we maintain a small inventory of cameras, microphones, lights, and capture cards that members can borrow for their productions.
• Community Building: We host regular networking events, peer learning circles, and co-working sessions to help artists share skills and collaborate.

All of these services are offered free of charge to our member artists. We are committed to removing financial barriers to digital participation, especially for artists from historically marginalized communities.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

There are several ways to become part of the NASH community. Artists and arts organizations can apply to join as members and list their content on our channel guide. Community members who want to support the work can volunteer as technical mentors, marketing assistants, or event moderators. And audiences can simply browse the site, attend events, and donate directly to the artists they love.

We also welcome partnerships with local arts councils, cultural institutions, and businesses that share our commitment to equity and access. By working together, we can build a more resilient and connected arts ecosystem for the entire Northwest.

OUR VALUES IN ACTION

Our commitment to anti-racism and pro-justice principles is not just a statement; it is embedded in our daily operations. We prioritize outreach to artists who have been excluded from mainstream arts funding and presentation opportunities. We actively seek feedback from our community to ensure our programs are accessible and responsive. And we hold ourselves accountable to transparent decision-making and equitable resource distribution.

We believe that art has the power to heal, to challenge, and to bring people together. By centering the voices of those most affected by systemic injustice, we hope to create a platform that truly reflects the diversity and creativity of the Puget Sound region.

LOOKING AHEAD

As the world slowly reopens, NASH will continue to evolve. We are developing new features for our website, including improved search filters, artist profiles with integrated donation buttons, and a calendar of live events. We are also exploring partnerships with local venues to support hybrid events that combine in-person and remote audiences.

Our long-term vision is a sustainable, artist-led digital infrastructure that complements, rather than replaces, physical arts spaces. We invite you to join us on this journey. Whether you are an artist, an audience member, or a supporter, there is a place for you at NASH.

Together, we can ensure that the arts in the Northwest remain vibrant, accessible, and deeply connected to community.