Arts Council hosts free workshop on chemical safety in the Arts

Artists and Crafters Unite! Time to put your business hats, roll up your sleeves, and get down and dirty with the safety and business side of being an artist.

This fall the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council will be hosting a series of Art/Business Workshops designed to help you put your best foot forward. You’ve already done the hard work of pouring your talents and skills into your art, now let us help you take that next step and polish your professional side.

The series kicks off this week with a free “Hidden Hazards in the Arts” workshop. 

Hidden Hazards in the Arts - FREE!

Please register online (so they can get a head count)

September 16, 6:30pm – Shoreline City Hall

Artists can learn about safer chemicals, storage and disposal at a free Hidden Hazards in the Arts workshop sponsored by the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County (LHWMP), and the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council. Participants will learn helpful tips on how they can protect themselves from the many toxic chemicals typically used in a variety of artistic mediums.

Donna Galstad, a Health and Environmental Investigator with the LHWMP Art Hazards team, will discuss art techniques, options for less-toxic art supplies and ways to reduce risks from chemicals, as well as other services, such as disposal and recycling.

"Artists are very creative with the materials and techniques that they use. Most don't realize that they are often employing dangerous chemicals in dangerous ways," Galstad said. 

"We are here to help them take out some of the risks from handling these chemicals, particularly since many artists have home studios and we want to help them protect their health and their families," she said.

The LHWMP Art Hazards project team collaborates with artists, art colleges, cooperatives, museums, galleries and suppliers to help artists and art educators.

The group works to decrease arts-related risks by reducing potential exposures to chemical hazards; and to ensure hazardous art materials are properly recycled or disposed, when they are no longer needed.

The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program is a partnership of local governments including the City of Seattle, King County, suburban cities, and rural areas in King County, working together to manage hazardous wastes and protect health and the environment. Visit them at 

Email questions or call the office at 206-417-4645.

The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to nurture all of the arts in the community through programs and events, arts education, advocacy, and support for artists and arts organizations.