The Occidental Fine Arts Center's goal is to become the epicenter of the most ambitious art.
Our goal is to bring people together around beautiful things and exceptional art while being a service to the city. Occidental Square is such a beautiful, historic part of Seattle, and we built this place to highlight that beauty.
Founder · Conru Art Foundation
Occidental Fine Arts is Andrew's physical expression of the Conru Art Foundation's mission: support artists, raise the standard of craft, and make beauty available to the public.
The building connects the Foundation's work to a real place in Seattle: studios upstairs, exhibitions at street level, workshops for artists, and programs that ask art to serve Beauty, Truth, and Love.
Farm-raised in Indiana, Andrew is an engineer, entrepreneur, artist, and philanthropist — a Stanford PhD who built and sold internet companies, then turned that same restless energy toward painting, sculpture, and the public good. More at conru.com.
"My goal was never just to make beautiful art, but rather to remind us what we have in common."
Everyone who walks through our door walks in over those three words. They are not branding. They are the quiet foundation under the whole place.
Beauty
You know it when you see it. It resonates with your higher self and makes you want to become a little better.
Truth
Human experience, honestly seen. Not slogans, not clever poses, but the real stuff of a life.
Love
The artist creates with a purpose: to help the person who sees the work understand and feel love. It is the part that makes the suffering of life worth it.
Great art isn't made in isolation. It is a product of dedication, guidance, community, and meaningful purpose. We've been filming the journey of these artists for a feature-length documentary film coming out next year, so you can witness what it truly takes to create art that matters.
