Help our friends at CAM Save El Rey!
By Rose Lindsey
Last month, Hinton Publishing partnered with the artists at Common Area Maintenance to bring you the latest edition of Speak the Sojourner, highlighting the remarkable talent that comes from CAM and the local Seattle arts community. This month, we put forward a call to action for our newsletter subscribers: help CAM in securing ownership of the El Rey Building.
The El Rey Building, found in the Belltown neighborhood, has been a community landmark for years. Although its interior was once composed of standard apartment buildings, by the turn of the century it became residential facilities for those seeking mental health support. Its doors shuttered in 2020, and now the city is intent on demolishing the building.
CAM is seeking to change that. Next door neighbors to the El Rey, they know about the importance this building has had for the Belltown community, and they hope to maintain its legacy for years to come. Their vision for the future of the El Rey is a bright one: artist studio spaces, affordable housing for the local community, and openings for residencies or visiting artists, alongside retail support and rooftop events. It’s a thrilling opportunity for the ever-shrinking Seattle arts community – a chance to maintain an essential community hub in the face of attempted pricing out.
But the process of acquiring the El Rey Building is not a simple one, and CAM needs the community to support them. You can find more information on their efforts on the CAM website, and find multiple ways you can support them. There is a formal letter to sign, an interest form, and a spot to donate anything you’re willing to CAM. Additionally, you can read more about the efforts in their focused article in The Stranger.
As friends and common collaborators with Hinton, CAM has demonstrated effortlessly their interest in keeping the Seattle arts scene thriving. There are few arts organizations acting so supportively of ground-level artists, and they need artists to support them back. Consider assisting however you can, and hopefully soon, the El Rey can return to being the community centerpoint it has always stood to be.