New $400K fund honors Art on the Green founders

COEUR d’ALENE — Patrick and Sue Flammia’s legacy of love and support for the arts in Coeur d’Alene lives on.

The Inland Northwest Community Foundation announced a new $400,000 endowment fund has been established in memory of the Flammias, longtime Coeur d’Alene residents who helped start Art on the Green, now in its 49th year.

Created with a gift from Sue’s estate and managed by an advisory committee, the fund will award grants every year to support art and music in Coeur d’Alene.  

The first grant from the fund — $500 to support an Art on the Green juried art show award in the name of Sue and Patrick Flammia — will be announced today at this year’s Art on the Green event in Coeur d’Alene.

“Pat and Sue loved the arts and were longtime supporters of local artists,” Anne Solomon, Sue’s sister and the fund’s primary advisor, said in a news release. “They were really inspirational in the way they lived their lives, and they left a great legacy. This is how they would want themselves and their work remembered.”

Patrick, who died in 2006, was a renowned regional artist best known for his watercolor paintings. Sue, who died in 2015, was a local attorney who worked on behalf of families and children for 35 years.  

Together, Patrick and Sue shared a love of travel, music and art. In 1969, the Flammias, along with a handful of friends, formed the Citizens Council for the Arts and founded the first Art on the Green event. Throughout their lives, the couple remained actively involved in the popular arts festival and worked to promote art and music in countless ways. In 1990, Sue and Patrick were given the Governor’s Support of the Arts award for their efforts.

“Inland Northwest Community Foundation is honored to play a role in carrying out the Flammias’ legacy,” said INWCF CEO Shelly O’Quinn. “Grants from this endowed fund will ensure ongoing contributions to support a variety of arts-related activities in the Coeur d’Alene region. It is a wonderful testament to Pat and Sue’s commitment to creating a thriving arts community.”     

Solomon said in addition to supporting professional artists in Coeur d’Alene, the fund’s advisory committee will consider awarding grants to special projects that encourage the creation and appreciation of art among adults and children through low-cost classes, workshops and other community programs.

Founded in 1974, INWCF serves 10 Eastern Washington counties and 10 North Idaho counties to foster vibrant and sustainable communities in the Inland Northwest. The community foundation currently manages more than 440 funds valued at more than $113 million and has awarded nearly $60 million in grants and scholarships since its inception.

For more information on INWCF and its work in the community, visit inwcf.org.