A New Third Place: The Delta Air Lines Foundation Community Space

By Leilani Polk

When the planning for a refreshed Benaroya Hall began, one of the main objectives was to add public spaces that better served and engaged the community. Once The Delta Air Lines Foundation Community Space was added to the designs, the next objective was to figure out how this space would operate and be used. How could we best welcome members of the community, without barriers, while collaborating and cultivating partnerships with local artists and organizations, and showcasing the people who make up the unique fabric of Seattle’s creative culture? 

The Symphony’s Education & Community Engagement team looked to Lincoln Center for inspiration. That iconic New York City venue features thousands of square feet of public space for diverse cultural performances and community uses, all free and open to the public. Benaroya Hall’s Community Space, located at the north end of The Boeing Company Gallery, would be autonomous, open to the public during normal business hours for free, offer livestreams of concerts happening on any given day within the Hall or video recordings of past concerts, feature works by local artists adorning the walls in rotating quarterly exhibits, serve as a quiet space for families and attendees seeking a sensory-friendly concert experience, and host events by community organizations and nonprofit groups — classes, conversations, intimate performances and gatherings. Ensconced within the newly reimagined Gallery, with its brand-new café, coffee bar and new and expanded seating areas, the Community Space is essentially a third place within a third place, acting as a home-away-from-home, a meeting place, a workspace (free Wi-Fi included) or just a beautiful space to relax, with an intricate wood ceiling inspired by sound waves and wood paneled walls, all of it imbued with warmth and character and decorated with the works of local denizen.  

“To complement the three wonderfully different performance venues within Benaroya Hall, the Community Space gives us an opportunity to present visual arts that will augment artistic dialogue with everything else going on in the Hall — speaking to the music happening here while connecting to its themes from a local point of view,” said Jérémy Jolley, Senior Director of Education & Community Engagement. “We found it important to offer a space to exhibit art by local artists, while also making it a lively, engaging stop on Third Avenue from 9 to 5 — bringing people together around coffee, food and creative expressions.”

The rotating visual art exhibits will run September–December, January–March and April through the summer, and align with the Symphony’s programming at any given point during the season. 

The first exhibition in 2026/2027 is presented by Arte Noir, a multidisciplinary arts and cultural organization dedicated to celebrating and sustaining Black art, artists and culture, and creating opportunities for Black artists. Centering on a thematic framework titled Portals of Imagination, the exhibit is organized into four interconnected portals: Wonder, Becoming, Rooted and Play. (Step on a Crack... by Bonnie Hopper, pictured right, will be among the works on display.) Arte Noir Executive Director Jazmyn Scott personally curated the collection. Scott was a member of our Marvel Studios’ Black Panther in Concert Community Advisory Board and Arte Noir was a participant in our lobby activation for that program. Scott said that when she was originally approached by the orchestra, she immediately recognized that “there was genuine intention behind it, pure intentions.” Arte Noir went on to curate art featured in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby during the Rick Ross and Morgan Freeman Symphonic Blues Experience concerts.  

“Collaborating with local organizations is an important part of what we do, and because this space is for our community, it’s important for us to make and sustain these community connections,” said Dr. Lorin Green, Senior Manager of Community Relations & Partnerships. “Rather than doing an open call for art, we are relying on the expertise of local art groups like Arte Noir, which is already doing great curation work and has a rich and expansive list of artists to draw from.” Partnering with a trusted local organization means teaming up with community members who are working directly with local talent, finding those next important creative voices in their regions, cultivating relationships, commissioning works and curating collections. 

“This all ties into who we are moving forward — not just as an orchestra and an organization that produces concerts, but one that is closely tied to our community, both serving it and entrenched within it as an active participant,” said Green. “We are challenging ourselves by expanding what we see the role of an orchestra in its community to be.”