Though the economy took a nosedive in 2008, it looks like the arts are heading for a high note in 2009 as communities throughout Snohomish County continue — and in some cases increase — their investment in cultural enrichment.
These investments go beyond having a pretty picture to look at while you stand in line to pay your water bill. These investments in the arts translate to jobs, to a higher quality of life, to local events to take your children to and, bottom line, are an essential way to keep the economic sizzle in Snohomish County.
“The arts are not a luxury,” said Wendy Becker, Snohomish County economic and cultural development officer, “rather an industry that is a cornerstone of tourism, economic development and the revitalization of many communities.”
Cultural offerings abound from Arlington to Edmonds and, in certain communities, are growing.
Let’s start with Arlington. Not a large community, but one that values arts by seating an Arlington Arts Council, by drafting a city ordinance that sets aside 1 percent of the cost of city construction projects to buy new public art and by making public art a pull-down option under Tourism on the city’s Web site, www.ci.arlington.wa.us. Arlington has about 30 pieces of art on display.
“We’re pretty proud of ourselves,” arts council president Sarah Arney said.
Arlington is angling to get another piece of art this year. The arts council raised $11,000 at its 2008 annual art auction and hopes the city can match some of that amount to put toward a Lance Carleton metal sculpture — a retro-looking bicycle — to be placed on the Centennial Trail. Carleton is asking $12,000 for the piece, down from $15,000.
In past years, the city of Arlington has dedicated between $3,000 and $10,000 to arts council projects. The city also plans to continue its partnership with the new Byrnes Performing Arts Center.
“The council is very committed to arts funding,” city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said.
Farther south and quite a bit bigger, the city of Lynnwood boasts 23 public art sculptures and flaunts a portable art collection of about 110 works valued at more than $800,000.
A 1 percent for-the-arts city ordinance paid for those pieces. That ordinance will help buy another piece of public art this year to the tune of about $160,000, money generated from the renovation work being done at Lynnwood’s recreation center. Moreover, that $160,000 is almost a five-fold increase from 2008 when Lynnwood had a $33,000 cap on what it would contribute toward public art per construction project. That cap was lifted in December, said Fred Wong, the city’s cultural arts supervisor.
Wong said the city’s other free cultural offerings such as Shakespeare in the Park, the Wonder Stage and the Rock-It Fest enjoyed packed crowds in 2008 and those events will continue unchanged in 2009.
“Of course our council and the mayor are very supportive of the arts,” Wong said. “They believe it’s an economic engine and it offers our citizens really good things to do, especially now when people really need good things to do.”
In Mountlake Terrace, the city’s arts advisory commission will spend $20,000 that the city set aside last year to develop an arts and cultural strategic plan. The motivator for that strategic plan is revitalization of the city’s town center and how best to stuff that center full of art and other cultural opportunities for citizens and tourists.
“I get excited,” said Judy Ryan, chairwoman of the Mountlake Terrace Arts Advisory Commission. “What we are lacking is anything to do with the arts and that’s the last puzzle piece. And now that we’re revitalizing our town center, it’s a great time to run with the arts and cultural plan.”
For 2009, Mountlake Terrace also will install a new sculpture in front of the fire station. Artist Louise McDowell is creating a $25,000 statue — paid for with money collected from the 1 percent arts ordinance — depicting a firefighter sitting on a bench, leaning forward to put his helmet on a little girl.
Edmonds supports arts
The city of Edmonds earned a reputation years ago as a place where they love their arts. There’s a lot going on year-round and 2009 will not be an exception to that rule. The city’s arts commission is continuing to promote the winter performing arts series, summer concerts in the park and the annual writer’s conference, which had full attendance this past fall, said Frances White Chapin, the city’s cultural services manager.
“This is a city where the arts are highly valued,” Chapin said. “There is a strong understanding of how important arts are in creating and nurturing a community and as a cultural destination, and how important the arts are for our local economy in a downturn.”
That nurturing depends, in part, on funding from the city, which comes in the form of 25 percent of the city’s total lodging tax revenues. That money is then allocated to various arts organizations — Olympic Ballet, the Driftwood Players theater, Cascade Symphony, the annual studio tour — through the arts commission. For 2008, those lodging tax revenues translated to $9,050. That figure is increasing for 2009 with the city of Edmonds allocating $9,300.
Cultural and economic officer Becker underscored that art is not going away in 2009 with Snohomish County taking the lead on a number of projects.
One such project is a temporary sculpture and two-dimensional art exhibit to be installed on the grounds of the Snohomish County Campus in downtown Everett.
Another is a spring installation of an artist-designed paved path and mosaic for the flagpole plaza at the new Lake Stevens Community Park. The total cost of that project is $47,000. Also, the free Music on the Plaza summer series of seven concerts continues on the county plaza and “works to champion a vibrant and cultural downtown core,” Becker said.
Everett arts ‘on track’
In Everett, the “arts are really on track and I don’t believe they are slowing down at all,” said the city’s cultural arts manager, Carol Thomas.
Cultural arts grants worth $40,000 will be doled out in 2009. Community events such as the Fresh Paint festival in August, the Fourth of July parade, and music in the parks and at Port Gardner Landing are continuing at the same levels as 2008. Sorticulture, the June garden party at Legion Park, will expand to three days from two days, Thomas said.
Also, the city has budgeted $49,560 from its 1 percent for the arts fund for a piece of artwork for the new $8.4 million animal shelter on Smith Island near Langus Park, scheduled to open in late March. Last year, the city contributed a total of $26,348 from the 1 percent arts fund to various organizations.
Let’s not forget Everett’s flagship art project that will begin taking physical shape in 2009: the new visual arts education center colloquially called Artspace. The project gets under way with the tearing down of a city-owned garage on Hoyt Avenue.
“To me it’s just another little hotspot to help revitalize the downtown core,” said Lanie McMullin, the city’s economic development executive director. “It’s the perfect project. It’s affordable housing.
“It’s an education center that will be a destination because there’s nothing like it between here and the border and …it’s a perfect incubator because there are so many artists in the community and now they have a place to teach and work.”
When it opens in May 2010, the arts center is expected to include 40 affordable apartments on the upper three floors and to house a street-level visual arts education center owned and run by the Arts Council of Snohomish County.
“This is the kind of project that will make us all feel hopeful,” arts council executive director Judy Tuohy said.
Though sunny reports seemed to shine from all parts of the county, the effects of the poor economy created some clouds.
Bad economic times forced the Monroe Arts Council to scale back its grand plan for a new performing arts center to simply renovating the old 600-seat Frank Wagner Auditorium for such community theater groups as Sky Performing Arts.
The arts council is planning an Arty Gras Masquerade Ball on Feb. 17 to help benefit the renovation project. In past years, the city of Monroe has contributed between $2,000 and $5,000 to arts council projects, said Leonie Saaski, Monroe Arts Council president.
“From the number of folks we talked with, from the business community and the school community, they are behind it 100 percent,” Saaski said.
The tanked economy did push certain financially teetering arts groups almost over the edge in 2008, such as Historic Everett Theatre, which teamed up with the musical theater group Northwest Savoyards to keep both organizations alive.
Historic Everett also is giving the Everett Symphony more stage time for chamber concerts, with talk that the theater might be a future home for the symphony.
Everett Symphony sold its building on Colby Avenue, and is now leasing that office space. That sale, along with a reduced staff, was mandatory to give them a leaner start in 2009, said board president Myrna Overstreet.
To survive, the symphony relies on tickets sales and heavily on donations “which are holding up pretty well,” Overstreet said. Symphony tickets still translate to a good value in this economy, with prices as low as $12, she said.
“I believe people have a real sense of civic pride and we’re continuing to get strong support from local businesses and patrons,” Overstreet said. “It’s an orchestra that got three curtain calls at Carnegie Hall so people know it’s something worth checking out.”
People such as Everett’s director for economic development McMullin said keeping the symphony, arts organizations and theaters vital is important in all communities.
“Cultural arts is in the economic development arm for a reason,” McMullin said. “We view it as an economic development strategy, so keeping all these people healthy is so important.”
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