Dear Jen, Thank you for sharing with us the reality of our current art scene, but also the optimism of what we can all do to continue to thrive and make it happen. I love Whitney's new mantra and I think it pushes against not only this local feeling of struggling to do more with less (time, money...), but the reality of national support for the arts.
At the Photo Center we worked to use this environment as an opportunity to build relationships, communicate with and support other organizations, reach out to partners and share resources and to take time to reflect on what we already do that we can do better. We are rallying around our city's emerging and established arts innovators to help fill in the gaps that the departure of our beloved sister galleries have left. I think this has been a time to reassess our values and priorities as a culture and we are learning to not assume that the arts is something that will always be there if we do not support it. I too encourage Seattle to rally around those who remain, and for those of us who remain to recruit like mad! Your partner in advocacy, Annie Van Avery, Photo Center NW