County-wide Arts Council Forming

A county wide Arts Council is forming. It is in the early stages of building membership and creating a public presence. Steering Committee member Jane Alden says, “An Arts Council could be a great thing for this community, supporting all arts and helping to brand San Juan County as an arts destination.”

The mission statement says the purpose of the arts council is arts group is “to promote artistic resources for the creative economic development, education and overall well-being of the community.”

The Arts Council vision statement reads:

“Where arts flourish, community prospers and lives are enriched ! From the seeds planted over two years ago, in the minds of a few, the idea of a San Juan County Arts Council has evolved into a burgeoning organization comprised of almost 150 members plus an enthusiastic and organized steering committee, equally represented by three out of four ferry-served islands (Shaw, we know youʼll be on board soon). This steering committee meets monthly and is in the process of establishing a business plan!

Why all the excitement? Well, we believe that the San Juans are just a wonderful place to create and to see art of every kind. A tremendous opportunity exists to attract both artists and the tourists who enjoy their work. We see this as an economic “incoming tide” for our community, that can help to launch, in a substantial way, our economic “boats”.! If this concept of an Arts Council excites you, or even if you think itʼs just a darn good idea, we would love you to join us and become a member of this forward-thinking group.

There is no cost involved. Membership is free. All you have to do is agree with our mission and vision statements .

For more information, or to become a member, please send an email to: sanjuanartscouncil.org. We offer our abundant enthusiasm in the form of monthly updates on a number of projects which we believe will benefit our island community in very positive ways, and, of course, we are always happy to have your suggestions and comments.

We hope this floats YOUR boat, too, and that we can navigate the waters of the future together and sail on with a full crew!

Members of the Steering Committee are:

Danielle Palmer, Artist – SJI
Jane Alden, Performing Arts – Orcas
Emily Reed, All Arts – Emily’s Guides – SJI
Krista Strutz, Island Stage Left – SJI
Craig Withrow, Artist-Blacksmith-Lopez
Debbie Pigman, Visual Artist-SJI
Helen Machin-Smith, Theatre-SJI
Liz Illg, Scenic Byway – SJCEDC-SJI
Deborah Sparks, Orcas Center
Nancy Edwards, Lopez Artist Guild-Photography
Denise Wilk, Orcas Chamber/Hist. Museum
Teddy Deane, Music -SJI
Farhad Ghatan, Music /Arts – SJI
Peg Gerlock, IMA/SJICF-SJI
Corwin Martin, Visual Arts-Lopez
Jennifer Elise, IMA and Sculpture Park SJI

To view the San Juan County Arts Council website, go to
www.sanjuanartscouncil.org