Watershed exists for three purposes:

• To build The Bend: an affordable live/work community
• To sustain the community of artists and artisans with affordable work spaces at Equinox Studios
• To nurture a community of neighborhood organizations through fiscal sponsorships and community partnerships

Watershed Community Development formed in 2019, through the union of the development plan that is now called The Bend and Equinox Studios. Anchoring art in Georgetown since 2006, Equinox Studios provides affordable studios for artists and artisans across crafts and disciplines. Equinox attracts visitors to experience and participate in art making every second Saturday when the artists of Equinox open their doors as part of the monthly Georgetown Art Attacks.

Our approach to building community rests on collaborating with individuals and organizations who are also placekeeping and building community capacity and resilience, like Duwamish River Community Coalition and Friends of Georgetown History.

We bend towards justice by centering people who live and work here; BIPOC individuals; artists; and those who come from communities being pushed out. Annually our work directly benefits 200+ artists and artisans and residential tenants in affordable spaces, 12,000+ event attendees, and thousands of audience members, students, and clients of our tenants

A sampling of Watershed’s current sponsorships and partnerships:

“At its simplest form, art is medicinal, and speaks when I am unable to. It is the method I process and understand.”

— Julie Brooks, metalsmith

“In an inclusive community, the members value diversity because it enriches their lives. They promote equal treatment and opportunity and work to eliminate discrimination. All are respected, all have full access to resources, and all are welcomed in decision-making processes that affect them.

— Adapted from The Community Tool Box, Center for Community Health and Development