Describe your involvement/participation in the arts and cultural activities in Juneau.
- How many times per year do you attend an arts and cultural event? On average, once a month.
- What types of events do you attend? I like to go see live music whenever possible. I also usually do the First Friday gallery walk.
- Are you a current member of any Juneau arts organizations? Which one(s)? Not currently. I am very excited by the new Makerspace building and am planning to join that group.
The Council is embarked on building a facility, the New JACC, dedicated to the arts and culture to replace the existing JACC. In addition, as of July 1, the City now contracts with the Council to manage Centennial Hall. How familiar are you with the building project, and the merged management of the JACC and Centennial Hall? What is your position on the issues under discussion related to the new facility and Centennial Hall? Do you support financial support from the City for the project, as a grant, bond issue, or other mechanism?
I’m very grateful to the New JACC board for taking the time to give us Assembly candidates an information session and now I am much more familiar with the proposal for the new building and the current management situation of the JACC and Centennial Hall. I support building the new facility with financial support from the City. At this time, I think I would support funding the facility through bonds, but as somebody with a relatively recent introduction to this project, I would like to personally research all of the options thoroughly.
Juneau was selected by the Kennedy Center in Washington DC as the 11th city nationwide for Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child, – a community wide initiative to ensure equal access to learning in and through the arts for every student. How will you, in your role on the Assembly, support and contribute to equitable access to arts education for all students in Juneau.
As an Assembly member, the best way to support students in Juneau is to fund the school district to the cap, and I plan to do that.
Juneau was recently named one of the top 10 Culturally Vibrant small towns in the United States by the Southern Methodist University National Center for Arts Research. How can this be leveraged to advantage for our community? What can the Assembly do to support the continued growth of the arts industry here?
As an economic developer, I recognize the economic impact of the arts community, in addition to the important role in plays in quality of life and in making Juneau a city that people want to live in. The Assembly can support the development of the Willoughby Arts District and other arts projects in town, like SHI’s Northwest Coast Arts Initiative. Additionally, making Juneau a livable city for everyone by tackling high costs of housing and childcare will benefit artists and other players in the arts industry.