“Seattle Erotic Art Festival encourages the creation, enjoyment, and purchase of erotic art–sparking conversations to ignite personal and cultural evolutions.”

-Seattle Erotic Art Festival Mission Statement

It began with a desire to showcase stunning erotic art. To create a place to celebrate, discuss and support pieces that were rarely seen in mainstream galleries and museums. We dreamed of sexy people in a lush environment devouring amazing art; of an event that joyfully encouraged people to be as open and expressive as they wanted to be. And we brought it to life.

Our Rise to the Top

The first Seattle Erotic Art Festival was produced in 2003 by the Pan Eros Foundation and held at Town Hall in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. A jury of local artists selected hundreds of pieces of art that were enjoyed by more than 1,000 art patrons.

In 2004, we moved to the Consolidated Works. This larger space allowed us to add erotic films, curated by Festival Director Anna Hurwitz, and performances to the Festival’s offerings, as well as a Festival Store.

By 2005, our audience had tripled, art sales have become phenomenal, and our Festival Store became a vital marketplace. This year’s films were curated by Kathryn Albright/Sex on Screen.

In many ways, 2008 was the year we came of age. We moved to the historic Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, beside the famous Space Needle, and hosted a lavish one-night gala.

In 2009, we produced four full days of “Indulging the Senses”, with 300 works of exhibition art, thousands of pieces in the popular Festival Store, the premiere of our Literary Art Showcase, dazzling performance and installation art, and our first wildly successful (and free) Sunday Open House.

2009 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2010, we returned to the Seattle Center. We proudly presented our first-ever stage show production, sharing the glittering story of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Perhaps most exciting of all? Tickets sold out on Saturday night to thousands of excited guests.

2010 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2011 and 2012, we were in a fantastic venue: Fremont Studios. We partnered with 3 Dollar Bill Cinema for the return of erotic films to the Festival after a three year hiatus. The Erotic Short Film Exhibition featured two unique film screenings playing throughout the weekend in an on-site movie theater. The Literary Art Exhibition flourished with popular poetry art tours and our first ever Literary Art Anthology. The visual art and performances were more successful than ever.

2011 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

Additionally, the Festival began expanding beyond its annual weekend of events, reaching more people, and celebrating art in bigger and more beautiful ways.

We held our first annual fundraiser, an intimate and elegant soirée. We produced our second annual Launch Party, which grew from 300 to 900 attendees. We participated in Arts Crush, a month-long county-wide arts festival. And we concluded 2011 by producing Seduction, Seattle’s sexiest Halloween party, with over 1,500 attendees.

In 2012, our 10th Anniversary, we launched our first ever member program, the prestigious Art Activist Society, at our sold out Black Tie Affair. We unveiled our highest honor: the Masters of Erotic Art. We forged exciting new partnerships with Nude Nite and The Dirty Show, and are participating in the Fremont Fair and Seattle Pride, some of Seattle’s largest and most infamous events.

2012 Festival Gallery, Opening Weekend (Flickr)

2012 Festival Gallery, Grand Finale Weekend (Flickr)

In 2013, we occupied the decadent and intimate venue of the ShowBox SODO. We focused on our mission: …to encourage the creation, enjoyment, and purchase of erotic art … and we exceeded our Festival sales goals, selling nearly 30% of the exhibition art.

2013 Festival Gallery

In 2014, we returned to the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, an amazingly beautiful venue, where we expanded our offerings in all Festival categories of art.

2014 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2015, our goal was to fill the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall with as much performance art throughout the whole Festival. Performance artists such as Gender Tender tailored ambient performances to the visual art exhibition.

2015 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2016, we introduced Rm. 1618 and Aaaahz! to create more interactive opportunities at the Festival. Artist Rose Adare, as a guest curator, showcased Revolution in Restraint, an art festival within the Festival.

2016 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2017, we were delighted to call the Seattle Center our home for our 15th anniversary. Come peruse our world-class visual art gallery and shop in our museum-quality Festival Store. Admire dazzling performances and engage with interactive installations. Enjoy our erotic short film exhibition and captivating literary art. Attend enlightening lectures, workshops, and art tours. And indulge in so much more at this spectacular celebration.

2017 Festival Catalog (.pdf)

In 2018,