The focus of professional performance activities in Washington is Seattle Center, home of the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet Company, and Seattle Repertory Theater. The Seattle Opera Association (founded 1964), which also performs there throughout the year, is one of the nation's leading opera companies, offering five operas each season and presenting Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle at the Pacific Northwest Festival in July. Tacoma and Spokane have notable local orchestras.
The Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival has been a popular community event since its inception in 1975. The annual Diwali Festival, also in Seattle, is sponsored in part by the regional Cultural Society of India and the Washington State Arts Commission. It includes performances of traditional dance, music, and drama, as does the Hmong New Year Celebration, another popular cultural event in Seattle.
Among Washington's many museums, universities, and other organizations exhibiting works of art on a permanent or periodic basis are the Seattle Art Museum, with its Modern Art Pavilion, and the Henry Art Gallery of the University of Washington at Seattle. Others include the Washington State University Museum of Art at Pullman; the Whatcom Museum of History and Art (Bellingham); the Tacoma Art Museum; the State Capitol Museum (Olympia); and the Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Spokane).
In 2003, the Washington State Arts Commission and other Washington arts organizations received grants totaling $1,947,900 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The state of Washington has approximately 230 arts associations and 75 local arts groups. In 2002, Humanities Washington (est. 1973) sponsored 1,349 programs in 32 of 39 counties in Washington state. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $1,456,062 for 21 state programs. Contributions to the arts also come from state and private sources.