After 35 years at the helm, Everett art curator plans to step down

Carie Collver is preparing to leave the Schack Art Center in Everett, ending a 35-year tenure that spans the organization's entire existence as a major regional institution. She served as the gallery director and chief curator, roles she held until her recent retirement announcement.

Collver’s career at the organization began in the early 1990s, shortly after the center was established as the Arts Council of Snohomish County. At the time, she was a glass artist working in Stanwood and living in her early 20s. She frequently drove to Everett to purchase supplies for her work at the Pilchuck Glass School and would stop by the council’s shop to buy gifts.

The operation was minimal when she arrived, operating out of a small space with only two employees. Collver often found the shop closed during her visits. She began volunteering to keep the doors open when staff were busy. After about six months of this arrangement, an employee resigned, and Collver was asked to take over the position.

“She quit, that was her last day,” Collver said in an interview on October 13. “It was hilarious, that’s how I started.”

During her time at the organization, the center moved through four different buildings and was renamed in honor of philanthropists John and Idamae Schack. It now occupies a multipurpose building in downtown Everett that opened in 2011. The facility includes a specialized studio known as a “hot shop,” equipped with a kiln, torches, and other tools for creating pottery and glass.

Collver said she advocated for the center to make the financial investment in that equipment because it would be the only facility of its kind between Seattle and Stanwood. She described the hot shop as “the rock star” of the building since its opening.

In a September press release, the Schack Art Center noted that Collver helped build the foundation of the organization and provided a platform for artists to share their work. Raedle Alburn, the executive director, wrote that Collver opened doors for thousands of artists and curated exhibitions that inspired the community for decades.

Collver curated hundreds of exhibitions during her career, featuring work by artists including Guy Anderson, Alden Mason, and Chuck Close. She said the process of selecting and arranging art can be “like herding cats,” as the center must match artwork to the exhibit theme while ensuring it fits the physical space. The center sometimes uses artist guilds to jury shows, but other times the decision rests entirely with staff.

Collver said she is looking forward to retirement activities such as cleaning and tending to her garden, but she acknowledged that leaving feels like leaving a child. “I know that we’ll be fine after I leave,” she said. “I just mainly feel like I’m leaving something very important to me, something close to my heart.”

After her departure, Collver plans to become involved with the Meyer Art Center in Stanwood. The new facility is set to open in a retrofitted furniture store. She said she is willing to return to the Schack Art Center for volunteer work or to help curate shows if needed, mirroring the way she started her career there. Her interest in glass art stems from childhood memories of watching light from stained glass windows in her family home, a visual effect she has sought to recreate in her own work.