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The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) is a non-profit, contemporary art gallery located in Seattle, Washington. CoCA has provided continuous programming that presents work by both established and emerging artists since 1980. Such artists include R. Crumb and Peter Bagge in Misfit Lit: Contemporary Comic Art, collectives such as Neue Slowenische Kunst, authors such as William S. Burroughs, and performers such as Karen Finley. Today, CoCA " serves the Pacific Northwest as a catalyst and forum for the advancement, development, and understanding of Contemporary Art", a mission achieved through exhibitions, artist residencies, publications, and discussions.

History
CoCA was founded in 1980 by a group of artists, art patrons, and arts activists. In 1982, CoCA held its inaugural exhibition, James Turrell's "Four Light Installations", at the Lippy Building in Pioneer Square. CoCA has gone on to host almost 3,000 artists in over 200 major exhibitions plus hundreds of smaller exhibitions and events over the past 35 years. CoCA launched their Archives Project in 2013 as a way to preserve, catalog and share the printed materials, slides, video and other materials gathered over the organization's history.

Facilities
CoCA originally existed without a permanent gallery space but ran through pop-ups all over Seattle. The main gallery's most recent location, as of September 2016, is the Tashiro Kaplan Building in historic Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle. The CoCA Archives are housed in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. Starting in 2016, the Archives began digitizing its contents and has an online presence as of July 2017. CoCA still maintains pop-ups across Seattle.

Operations
CoCA is a tax-exempt non-profit arts organization run by an Executive Director and a working Board of Directors with thirteen elected members. The current Executive Director, Nichole DeMent, was hired in 2015 after being on the Board of Directors for 3 years. CoCA and its archives are maintained by the support of the Board of Directors, volunteers, interns, members, and donors. Board members, interns, and volunteers all take part in the committees within CoCA that help to maintain the infrastructure of the organization. Such committees include curatorial, development, technology, finance, governance, and a committee for CoCA's Annual 24-Hour Marathon and Auction.

Membership
CoCA has a growing membership base consisting of artists, students, donors, collectors, and art enthusiasts. Members have access to certain perks, including admittance to member-only events, access or discounts to calls for artists, and promotional opportunities. Membership dues, along with grants, donors, and CoCA's Annual Marathon and Auction, help provide funding for the organization.

24-Hour Painting Marathon
Originally titled "They Shoot Painters Don't They?", CoCA's 24-Hour Art Marathon and Auction has been an annual fundraising tradition since 1993. CoCA invites artists to create work in one 24-hour period, which is then sold during a live auction. The event also includes a silent auction and a dessert dash, where patrons bid on various desserts for their table. All artists get a 50% commission on any of their artwork that is sold.

Annual Members' Show
CoCA's Annual Members' Show is a juried exhibition of artwork created by CoCA Members. Past jurors include David Francis, Joseph C. Roberts, and Deborah Paine.

Northwest Annual
The Northwest Annual was originally operated under the Seattle Art Museum until CoCA took over the program in 1989. The group exhibition showcased current work by local artists of various mediums selected by a juror. Past Northwest Annual jurors include visual artists Leon Golub and Nancy Spero in 1989, painter and sculptor Kerry James Marshall in 1999, and Canadian visual artist Ken Lum in 2004.

Heaven & Earth
CoCA also founded and produced Heaven & Earth, a group show of outdoor, temporary installations in Carkeek Park inaugurated in 2009 until the exhibit went independent in 2015.

Exhibitions
CoCA estimates that it has exhibited over 2,000 artists in approximately 200 major exhibitions (with hundreds of smaller exhibits and events). Description of how exhibitions are done