The Bellevue Arts Museum has a path to permanent gallery space on the Bellevue College campus. Rooms D274 and D275 are earmarked for the organization once the college's new W Building opens in spring 2027.
BAM moved onto campus Sept. 18 and is operating out of the D Building, according to a Bellevue College announcement posted Oct. 22. The building already houses the college's art gallery, the BCTV television station, Carlson Theatre and Stop Gap Studio.
The permanent space hinges on the W Building's completion. That 56,000-square-foot structure, partly a rebuild of the aging C Building, will pull arts classes out of the D Building and into new workshops for sculpture, woodworking, metalworking and a revamped makerspace, The Watchdog reported. Construction began in May 2025, and classes are expected to start there in spring 2027.
Once those classes relocate, BAM will take over rooms D274-275, the college said.
The move caps a turbulent stretch for the arts nonprofit. BAM operated out of its Steven Holl-designed building at 510 Bellevue Way NE for more than 20 years before closing on Sept. 4, 2024. Attendance, fundraising and retail sales had all dropped after the pandemic, and BAM filed for receivership to restructure, the Downtown Bellevue Network reported. The organization kept a small staff to run private events and the Bellevue Arts Fair.
In October 2025, BAM agreed to sell the downtown building to KidsQuest Children's Museum for $5 million. The sale closed in May 2026, and Cassandra Johnston, previously BAM's head of finance and operations, became CEO. KidsQuest plans to open in the former museum building in 2029.
BAM Board of Directors President Adam Harrison said the college partnership marks a new direction.
"We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Bellevue College as we reinvent what our nonprofit organization will become outside of our former museum walls," Harrison said in the announcement. "We will continue to produce the Bellevue Arts Fair and evolve our brand to respond to the needs of our partners and our community."
Johnston said the campus was a natural fit. Rich Fukutaki, chair of the Bellevue College Board of Trustees, said the partnership would enrich students' education "through direct engagement with world-class art."
The two organizations said they are exploring collaborations that include arts fair internships for Bellevue College students, co-designing BAM's new space with the college's Interior Design department and cultural art workshops open to the community.
The W Building will also add a student art gallery on its second floor, bringing the campus total to three alongside the existing BC gallery space and BAM's future home in the D Building.
