BD: Why do you think arts coverage continues to be at risk in a wealthy city with so much art going on? 

NG: Part of the reason is that art isn’t taken seriously. It should be considered and talked about at the same level of everything else happening in a city, next to stories about homelessness, stories about sports. But for some reason arts is treated like the goofy cousin. 

That’s so true, despite the fact that arts and culture is a powerful economic driver for the city — and right now seems to be the big hope for getting people downtown again.

The cumulative effect of what all these [arts and cultural workers] are doing is why Seattle has any draw at all, for locals and tourists. So to underestimate the importance of what arts and culture means to the city is to have your head in the sand.

Let’s talk about the local arts ecosystem. Last spring, when I told people about my new show Art by Northwest, I often heard, “So you’re competing with Nancy Guppy now!” As if this town ain’t big enough for more than one arts program.

That’s ridiculous. The arts ecosystem only works when there are more voices talking about art. Arts reporting at Crosscut, The Seattle Times, The Stranger — the tide floats all boats. When there’s just one voice, no one hears it. We need many voices for people to pay attention. 

People on social media have suggested that if Art Zone is cut from the budget, maybe you could “get a grant” or some other funding to sustain it. Does that seem likely?

In addition to the financial challenge of where would the money come from, there’s also the question of where would the show air? Commercial stations aren’t going to give money, let alone airtime, to a show about the local art scene. That kind of thing happened maybe 20 or so years ago. In the 1990s Lucy Mohl and Gregg Palmer had regular movie review segments on KING TV, during the evening news!

So what’s at stake if Art Zone disappears?

I’m not saying Art Zone is the be-all and end-all. And Art Zone doesn’t have to be me doing it. But to take away the voice of a local outlet telling authentic stories — when there are so few voices covering art — is a loss for artists and the city.