Marci Knutsen
Owner & Director, Museo Art Academy & Gallery, LLC

With a life-long passion for art, and a desire to make art more accessible to the smaller, suburban communities, Marci Knutsen founded Museo Art Academy & Gallery in the fall of 2006.  Tucked in just a few doors down from Starbucks in Klahanie Center, Museo offers a refreshing experience for those with all different levels of artistic interests.  Its unique approach to art features an art academy within a beautiful gallery setting.

After creating and growing her previous mobile art education business, The Plateau Academy of Fine Art (2002-2006), Ms. Knutsen quickly realized that the demand for a centralized art studio on the Issaquah/Sammamish plateau couldn't be ignored and Museo was born.  While offering a variety of classes and workshops, and hosting frequent birthday parties and corporate team-building events at the Klahanie studio, Museo continues to meet the needs of on-site art enrichment programs at neighboring schools and clubs.

Marci Knutsen has an extensive background in art and children's edutainment. Prior to starting up the art education businesses, she directed the marketing for Humongous Entertainment (HE), an internationally acclaimed publisher of children's software.  Before leading the marketing teams at HE, Knutsen was the creative director responsible for fine-tuning such brands as Freddi Fish, Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, SPY Fox and Backyard Sports. She has collaborated directly with award-winning cartoonists Gary Larson (The Far Side) and Berkeley Breathed (Bloom County, Opus ‘n Bill) as well as the creators of Nickelodeon's popular Blue's Clues television show in producing packaging, advertising and promotional material for licensed software products.

Knutsen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in commercial art from Cornish College and has worked in graphic design and art direction for over 25 years. In addition to her professional experience, she has volunteered countless hours for the Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and serves as a board member for Sammamish W2O: Women Together Stronger, a local organization of women who support a variety of charities.