Summary

Story

WHEREAS, Massachusetts-born Peter Donnelly arrived in Seattle in 1964 as a Ford Foundation intern at Seattle Repertory Theatre and rose quickly through the ranks to become its Managing Director in 1965; and

WHEREAS, Peter Donnelly helped draft the legislation that created the Seattle Arts Commission in 1971; and

WHEREAS, in 1983, Peter Donnelly was the driving force behind the construction of the Bagley Wright Theatre, the first major capital project for an arts group on the Seattle Center campus since the 1962 World’s Fair; and

WHEREAS, Peter Donnelly became the president and CEO of Corporate Council for the Arts, now ArtsFund, in 1989 and led it through an astonishing two decades of growth until his retirement in 2005; and

WHEREAS, Peter Donnelly helped ensure the survival of the National Endowment for the Arts in the early 1990s when the agency was under attack in Congress by securing the key support of Senator Slade Gorton; and

WHEREAS, Peter Donnelly was the staunch advocate and prime mover behind the establishment of the statewide Building for the Arts Program in 1991 that has since distributed more than $58 million to 150 arts capital projects in Washington state; and

WHEREAS, Peter Donnelly was the force behind the transformation of Seattle from a mid-sized American city with a few arts organizations to a nationally recognized cultural capital with major institutions in music, visual art, ballet, opera, and theatre, including two Tony award winning regional theatres, and an extensive network of independent artists and arts organizations; and

WHEREAS, the King County Council expresses its profound appreciation for the life of Peter Donnelly and expresses its deep gratitude for the choice he made to use his many talents, creativity, charm, humor, and vision to demonstrably and permanently enhance the quality of our community;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, hereby proclaims April 20, 2009, as

PETER DONNELLY DAY

in King County, and all communities are encouraged to celebrate Peter in the way that he would most appreciate: by participating in, attending, and supporting the arts in our region.

DATED this twentieth day of April, 2009.