For both Elles exhibitions, SAM will be open on Tuesdays, October 16, 2012–January 8, 2013. After the exhibition closes on January 13, 2013, the museum will resume open hours Wednesday–Sunday.
Tuesday–Sunday: 10 am–5 pm
Thursday & Friday: 10 am–9 pm
Closed Mondays (except Member-Only Mondays)
It's likely that the museum will be most busy on First Thursdays & weekends. For a quieter experience, we encourage you to visit during the week or on Thursday or Friday evenings, when the museum offers a reduced admission price from 5–9 pm.
(includes Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou, Paris and Elles: SAM—Singular Works by Seminal Women Artists)
Length of Time to Visit Elles
You may want to plan an hour or more to completely view the Elles exhibitions on the 3rd and 4th floors. Some visitors require more time and some less. Your ticket includes all-day access to the SAM Collection Galleries. Try to save time to check out all that SAM has to offer.
Seattle Art Museum Gallery Map
To help plan your visit, use this map of the SAM gallery spaces (PDF).
Download the Audio Guide
Your ticket to Elles: Pompidou includes a FREE audio guide with commentary about selected works in the exhibition but audio wands are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. However, you can download the app to your smartphone before your visit. The audio guide is offered on multiple platforms:
Special Guide for Low and No Vision Visitors
There is a second guide on the audio wand that offers extended visual descriptions of the same objects for visitors who are blind or partially-sighted (or anyone seeking an in-depth guided looking at the objects). To use this guide look for the text that says “low or no vision” near select works of art. Enter the number next to this text and then press the green play button.
Visitors with Disabilities
Museum facilities are wheelchair accessible. View the variety of services for visitors with disabilities.
Bringing Children
Some of the Elles exhibition content is found to be mature for younger audiences. Discretion is advised.
However, we recommend using our Kids Activity Guide to plan a family-friendly route along with activities throughout the galleries. Hard copies are available at the SAM Ticketing Desk.
Coat & Bag Check
There is complimentary coat and bag check located in Sarkowsky Hall, in the north side of the building, behind the Information Desk, at the 1st Avenue and Union Street entrance.
Strollers & Wheelchairs
Wheelchairs, baby backpacks and magnifying glasses are available from the Coat and Bag Check in Sarkowsky Hall at the 1st Avenue and Union Street entrance in exchange for your ID. Sorry, no reservations are accepted. Baby backpacks may be used in the galleries as long as they are forward-facing and not on your back.
Gallery Policies
Please leave the following items at our complimentary coat and bag check:
Restrooms
Restrooms are located on every floor of the museum. We encourage you to use the restrooms or grab a bite to eat before you enter the galleries.
Photography
Due to copyright restrictions, no photography will be allowed in the Elles galleries. Photography is allowed in the SAM Collection Galleries. Read our complete photography policy.
Groups and Private Tours
Bring a crowd! Groups of 10 or more people receive discounted tickets and other special benefits! For an additional fee, a 60-minute private tour can enhance your visit. Reserve group tickets or a private tour at least 2 business days in advance of your visit by emailing groups@seattleartmuseum.org, calling 206.344.5260 or by filling out the online form.
Group Benefits
Coupons & Discounted Tickets
No coupons are accepted, including Entertainment Book coupons or Chinook coupons, for Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou, Paris. These coupons are valid for the SAM Collection Galleries only.
Visitors that have a Flash or Gold card are eligible for a reduced price admission ticket of $5 to visit Elles. This offer is only valid on-site—sorry, no phone or online requests can be accepted. SAM offers a $3 off each ticket on Thursday and Friday nights from 5–9 pm and further discounted rates on the first Thursday of each month.
SAM offers a limited number of free and discounted tickets to underserved communities. Make a request.
Plan an Event
SAM is the perfect location for events large and small. Meeting rooms and lecture halls are offered during the day and our grand, light filled lobbies are available for after-hours affairs. Treat your group to cocktails, live music and a chance to celebrate over 100 years of creative women!
Exquisite catering is provided by the artistic team at TASTE Events, serving fresh, local, and sustainably farmed ingredients with a world-class wine list. For more information view room information and pricing or contact SAM’s Facilities Marketing Manager at 206.654.3140.
Closest Parking Garage
The Russell Investments Center Garage entrance is below the SAM building on Union Street between First and Second Avenues.
This is an ADA-accessible garage; it has an elevator that will leave you around the corner from the museum's main entrance or inside the museum. Call 206.264.8444 for more information.
Parking Discount
3rd and Stewart Garage
Up to 4 hours for $6
Request a discount voucher at the SAM Ticketing Desk to apply as you leave the garage. The garage is about 4 blocks from SAM’s 1st Avenue and Union Street entrance, with entrance on Stewart Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Drop-off areas for visitors with special needs, other paid parking lots and metered parking are available near the Seattle Art Museum. See real-time downtown parking information courtesy of the city of Seattle.
Bike Racks
Need to park your bike? There are bike racks on the corners of First Avenue and Union Street, Second Avenue and Union Street, Second Avenue and University Street and First Avenue and University Street.
Bus Information
Contact the following transit systems for detailed rider information:
For a list of buses that stop near SAM Downtown visit Metro's website.
In true feminist fashion, Elles is not an argument, it’s an invitation: A survey of women artists of the 20th century that suggests there’s nothing so definitive, so limiting, as women’s art. Instead there is conversation, there is sharing, there is everything. –City Arts
The work is shocking, funny, disturbing, sexual, pissed off, poignant and exuberant (as all good art tends to be). –Seattle Magazine
(But) this is not a tidy, feminized re-telling of the flow of art historical movements. It is, instead, a revelation, in fits and starts, of the varied positions—hidden, forthright, peripheral and integral—occupied by women artists. –Seattle Times
