Seattle Center Teen Tix Passes 20,000 Ticket Milestone

Seattle Center Teen Tix, an innovative arts access and engagement program for teenagers, passed a milestone this year in facilitating over 20,000 member tickets since its start in 2004 to participating arts and cultural venues in the region. The achievement places Seattle Center at the forefront of a national movement to help sustain performing and visual arts by engaging young people, and it validates the belief that teenagers will seize opportunities to embrace the arts.

Launched in 2004, Teen Tix engages young people in the arts in ways that encourage and support further arts exploration. The hope is to expose teenagers to new creative experiences, while building future audiences for the arts. The program makes it possible for teens, ages 13 - 19, to purchase $5.00 day-of-event tickets at 38 participating arts and cultural venues throughout the Puget Sound region. Since the start of the program, participating venues have provided over 20,000 tickets through the Teen Tix program.

Teen Tix has been a frontrunner in the creative use of social media for arts promotion. Through its website, weekly e-newsletter, and social networking presence, the program works to demystify arts-going and nurture a community of arts-loving youth. A Teen Steering Committee, whose members meet local arts administrators and learn about arts leadership first-hand, guide the program. Members of Teen Tix's Teen Press Corps publish arts reviews on the Teen Tix blog, and 11th and 12th graders with an interest in writing dive more deeply into the world of arts criticism through Teen Tix"s annual Young Critics Workshop.

Participating organizations include some of our region's most venerable arts presenters, including Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Art Museum, and Seattle Repertory Theatre as well as smaller, community-based organizations like The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, Taproot Theatre Company, and Northwest Film Forum.

Teen Tix has been called one of the best programs in the city (Jim Jewell, Marketing Director at Seattle Children's Theatre). The program was shortlisted for The Stranger Genius Award in the in 2009. 70% of Teen Tix members say that they now attend the arts more - or a lot more - frequently than they did before joining.

Any teenager 13 to 19 years of age may register for free membership in Teen Tix. Teens from throughout Western Washington have made use of the program. In fact, over 67% of registered members in 2010 lived outside of Seattle.

For more information on Teen Tix, contact Teen Tix Program Manager Holly Arsenault at 206 233.3938 or click on www.seattlecenter.com/teentix. For information on public programming and other free and affordable activities at Seattle Center, click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200.

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