OUR HISTORY
Spark Central is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that ignites the creativity, innovation, and imagination necessary for people to forge the path to their best future. We break down barriers to creativity like cost, confidence, and access by offering transformative programs, access to innovative technology, and a welcoming creative community for youth, teens, and even adults of all economic backgrounds. While our station and many of our programs are open to anyone, we have a special focus on serving the West Central neighborhood, which has been historically underserved due to redlining and few allocated resources.
Before Spark Central, there were two organizations: Spark Center and INK Art Space.
The seeds of the original Spark Center were planted in the summer of 2014 when local community leaders Jim and Joe Frank of Greenstone Homes, Ben Stuckart of Spokane City Council, Vinny Alfonso of Gonzaga University's School of Education, and Debra Park, a Kendall Yards resident, gathered to talk about equitable education resources for the West Central community. Greenstone Homes and Greenstone Foundation made a commitment to move forward with plans to create a “library of the future” for West Central community and beyond.
On the other side of town, INK Art Space, a youth arts education program founded by international bestselling author and West Central resident Jess Walter and artist/developer Dan Spalding in 2014 was growing thanks to the leadership of the first executive director, Bess Butterworth, and Mischa Jakupcak, an award-winning writer, director, and film producer who now resides in Seattle.
INK Art Space and Spark Center collaborated closely for a year. In July 2016, with Brooke Matson as the founding executive director, these two mighty organizations merged to form Spark Central, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a new focus on igniting the creativity, innovation, and imagination necessary for people to forge the path to their best future. This organization has been igniting imaginations ever since.
