Marketing and Communications Mindset

Meet Chris

Chris Woodward is the newest staff member of the Alliance for Pioneer Square. He adds to the organization a diverse skill set including marketing and communication strategy development, social media community management, and project management. As Marketing Manager, Chris helms the Alliance for Pioneer Square’s social media, email communications, website management, amongst other duties.

Foster/White Gallery

Founded in 1968, Foster/White Gallery is a premier gallery on the West Coast and has been a prominent landmark in the Seattle arts center of Pioneer Square. The Gallery has attracted worldwide attention with its diverse and exceptional contemporary painting, sculpture, and glass exhibitions. The gallery maintains a high level of aesthetic quality through the representation of emerging, mid-career and established artists whose works are varied in scope yet similar in mastery of materials.

Phen Huang, the director of Foster / White has managed the gallery for many years. After founder Donald I. Foster sold one of Seattle’s oldest galleries, Foster/White, to Canada’s Bau-Xi Gallery, the acquiring Huang family appointed their daughter, Phen, to take care of matters in Seattle in 2002.  The gallery regularly experiences a high number of visitors throughout the year, with each First Thursday Art Walk seeing hundreds of art connoisseurs observing the newest exhibition on display. First Thursday Art Walk, an organic event first took place in 1981, and is a pillar of the Pioneer Square culture. Each month, art lovers flock to the neighborhood to visit the neighborhood’s countless galleries. The gallery is an anchor of Pioneer Square’s arts area.

What’s Chris Excited About This Week

Each week, Chris manages a variety of marketing projects for the Alliance for Pioneer Square. This week, Chris is focusing his attention of an emerging video series which will highlight the unique businesses and business owners operating in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. This week’s production schedule focuses on three business areas of Pioneer Square- tasty restaurants, hand-crafted cocktails, and the robust arts scene. “It’s incredible to hear the business owners and key business staff tell their story,” Chris comments after sitting in for an interview with Megan, the owner of Lady Yum.

The video production is a part of a larger effort to tell the story of the folks making the Pioneer Square neighborhood great. Chris is excited to use storytelling as a communications and marketing tool to promote the businesses in the area. “Storytelling is a powerful tool to show the community what these businesses are all about, and what I’ve observed consistently a sense of authenticity across the interviews with business operators,” Chris states.

The video series will be released in the coming months following post production work. “I think the impact of the videos will be profound. We are using new media to lift up the businesses in Pioneer Square. I’m really excited to see how they turn out,” Chris says. Keep an eye out for the videos on the Pioneer Square social media channels.

Follow the Pioneer Square on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (@PioneerSquare) for neighborhood highlights. Follow the Alliance for Pioneer Square on Facebook (@AllianceForPioneerSquare) for the latest neighborhood news.