Dear Mayor McGinn, Do This! Sincerely, Anonymous: PART 3

We asked important members of the arts community to weigh in on what Seattle Mayor McGinn should do about the arts (and sometimes to ventriloquize what they would like to hear him say in place of his speech at this year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony). Here are some of their thoughts.

(Continued from Part 2)

A Popular Culture Blogger (in the voice of the Mayor):

Some forty years ago, Seattle was ready to turn out the lights. Those days are over; and the lights are back on...even if Washington is no longer headquarters to the nation's aerospace manufacturing. 

The city's new economic base is information technology (Microsoft and its vendors), customer-service (Amazon, Nordstrom, Starbucks), education (the UW powerhouse) and research (Fred Hutch and South Lake Union). 

These are industries without a huge investment in manufacturing facilities; they could exist anywhere. But they're here because their executives and employees want to be here, in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle. 

And because we are now a people-driven economy, my job as mayor isn't to provide the next round of venture capital for the next Amazon; it's to provide the next round of public services and to encourage the next round of private amenities for the people who have chosen to live here.

Public services like transportation.

Private amenities like a vibrant nightlife and a rich tapestry of arts.

The very attraction of Seattle depends on culture: art, music, theatre, farmers markets, restaurants, nightclubs. And it's good business:  xxx direct jobs in the arts, yyyyy performances, zzzz in admissions taxes. My administration recognizes the importance of these amenities, the mark of a distinguished, mature city.

A Major Seattle Nightlife Player:

I just sat in on McGinn's speech on night life, and have heard him speak several times before. I wish I was more impressed, but unfortunately I don't think he is much of a doer. Just someone with a good heart who wants to know what all "the people" want. He would say that he wants to hear from all of the artists to see what they want, for galleries and museums to host a bunch of town hall meetings and get people talking. He is not one to say "this is what we are going to do" but more so, "these things are important to the vitality of this city and we want to hear from you about how we can make it stronger." Which basically translates to, "we are just going to talk about it until I am out of office, and if anyone challenges me on my ineffectiveness, I'll tell them that we are very active in creating an arts initiative and waiting to get a stronger public support and feedback.

But I think you are talking about the dream world, not the real world. I would want him to say that he recognizes the talent and creative energy this city possesses and recognizes the value in this under realized cultural resource. And that this cultural resource has not been fully tapped because as a city, we lack confidence and too often think that the best ideas and artists come from New York, and other larger, more metropolitan cities. But since McGinn is such a visionary and robust leader, he wants to tap into this natural resource and create an environment that supports and exports our visions and dreams. His plan would be to first turn the Seattle Center into a creative factory of studios, exhibition space and an educational center that harvests this talent, showcases this talent, markets this talent and ships it to the rest of the world. The city of Seattle would create a grant program, a public relations and marketing office to help emerging and established artists, and become recognized worldwide as a creative mecca for visual and performing arts.

In regards to paying for such a program, it first needs to be recognized not as a liability but an investment in Seattle's future. By creating an army of musicians, artists, film makers, writers, dancers and actors, not only do people want to live in Seattle, they want to buy into the talent that we are nurturing. Meaning, this is a program that in ten years or less, will pay for itself, and begin to give back to the city. But initially, we are going to need a trust of about 25 million dollars to establish and run this program, and this is going to be a partnership between public and private funding. First of all, our office has been working with The Gates Foundation, The Paul G. Allen Foundation, Jon and Mary Shirley, Bagley Wright and the Nordstrom Family. Each of these foundations have dedicated 5 million to this project- understanding that this bound, dynamic, long term vision will improve the quality of our city and the opportunities of future generations. So the nest egg is set, and we are off and running. We also have corporate sponsors, contributing both capital and resources to foster this program for the next twenty years. Microsoft, Adobe and Getty Images will assist in technical support and development, Amazon, Starbucks and Nordstrom will assist in sales and distribution - from exhibiting Seattle based artists in their global retail operations, selling and promoting their work online, and offering strategic support in marketing our creative talent. But in order to really make this work, we need the support of our fellow citizens. We have established a website that King County artists can register on, show examples of their work and describe who they are, what they are doing and what they want to be working towards. And we can sponsor these artists to help make their dreams come alive. You can donate $5.00 per month, you can donate $500.00 per month, but collectively we can support the types of work we want to see, follow their progress and feel invested in this cultural renaissance. Because no matter how fantastic this new Seattle Center is going to be, artists working in jobs that absorb their time, energy and creative spirit is a shameful waste. And if we view this talent as a natural resource, we do not want to waste it- we want to harness it in the most effective way possible.

This is an experiment. There will be some things that don't work out the way that we intended them to and we will have to fix them. But to not offer this, to turn a blind eye to this talent and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead in our future, is an incredible waste. We are going to wake Seattle from its slumber, we are going to have fun, and we are going to change the world through art. And why? Because art and culture is the reason why we work so hard, it is the fruit of a civilized and wealthy community, and as your mayor, I cannot abandon it, I cannot ignore it, and I will not watch struggle to survive when it can so easily flourish...

That would be something along the lines that I would like to hear... But I  suspect what we will here is, "let's talk about it", "let's see what everyone wants", and "we want to hear your ideas and help develop a plan." And absolutely nothing will get done.

–Your jaded friend

A Visual Arts Leader:

I wish the Mayor would say the following:

"A Great City must have a healthy arts economy, to this end I will work with the Seattle City Council to swiftly pass legislation creating a Cultural Overlay District on Capitol Hill, furthermore I will cut one staff member from the Mayor's Office and reassign them to work with non-profits, developers, and artists to insure that the arts are viable in the core of our City."

That is the big matter at hand right now.

Continue to Part 4