Tacoma Arts Live Didn’t Fail, It Was Failed

And that’s not something we can ignore any longer.

Last week, Tacoma Arts Live announced it would close.  This is not an unfortunate accident.  It’s a direct consequence of years of political choices that left our arts community without the support it needed to thrive.  If you’re just hearing about it now, well… welcome to the harsh truth.  For far too long, our leadership has ignored, overlooked, and undermined the very people who make Tacoma unique.  The decision-makers in City Hall didn’t just watch Tacoma Arts Live struggle, they allowed it to happen.  They refused to invest in Tacoma’s own, even as the cracks started showing.  And now, one of the city’s cultural cornerstones is gone.

Brigadoon at the Tacoma Little Theater in 1962.

This Wasn’t a Coincidence.  It Was a Choice.

For years, Tacoma’s city officials knew this was coming, across Tacoma’s Arts & Music landscape.  They saw the writing on the wall and chose to look the other way.  Venue management was outsourced to corporate interests (see ASM Global in Los Angeles) while local leaders, local expertise, and Tacoma’s own were pushed to the sidelines.  Ticketing was handed over to faceless giants like Ticketmaster, making our local venues just another cog in the machine.  The people of Tacoma were priced out, and our artists lost the support of a community invested in their success.  Let’s be real, folks.  This didn’t happen by accident.  Tacoma’s arts community didn’t just “fall apart.”  It was systematically weakened by choices made at the highest levels.  It’s not just a sad moment.  This is a consequence of neglect.

The Inconvenient Truth About the Empty Seats in the Room.

One thing that has always stood out to me at Tacoma Arts Live events I’ve attended, including some of their biggest fundraisers, is the scarcity of our city’s civic leaders.  Year after year, the mayor and city council members were nowhere to be found.  And yet, these events were always packed with Tacoma residents, full of passion, energy, and support for the arts.  This should be very telling.  The disconnect between our leaders and the people they represent couldn’t be clearer.  The absence of local leadership at these events wasn’t just a scheduling mistake, it was a statement.  It was as if our elected officials had already checked out of the conversation, leaving the future of our city’s arts scene in the hands of those who showed up and cared enough to keep it alive.  The last fundraiser I attended had a palpable tension in the air.  It was almost as if the organizers and attendees knew that the end was coming, but no one had the courage to say it out loud.

Setting aside my journalistic cap for a moment, I am compelled to write this as someone whose family has been deeply involved in Tacoma’s arts for over a century.  My family of artists, inventors, actors, musicians and singer/songwriters came to Tacoma in 1908 from Norway and never left.  I was raised as a theater kid, spending my childhood watching my grandmother sewing costumes for plays around the Tacoma area and taking the stage as well.  We were a staple at venues like Tacoma’s Little Theater, The Pantages, The Rialto, and others.  I grew up in the wings, attending plays and musical events with my family on stage.  Tacoma Arts is literally in my blood, and what we are seeing is the systematic disassembly of our art scene simply because it’s “not the jam” of our mayors and council members.

Tacoma deserves better than this.

The Hard Truth. This Isn’t Just About One Organization.

Tacoma Arts Live’s closure is just the latest in a long list of missed opportunities.  This isn’t an isolated incident.  This is part of a pattern of repeated disregard for what makes Tacoma, Tacoma.  How many more institutions, how many more opportunities are we going to let slip away before we realize that Tacoma’s culture has been sold out?  Every time our city leadership goes looking to Seattle or Los Angeles, it’s a slap in the face to the people who have spent their lives building this community.  Tacoma is not Seattle.  And that’s exactly what makes it worth fighting for.  We are not some carbon copy of another city.  They are Climate Pledge Arena.  We are The Tacoma Dome.  The Woodshed.  We are authentically Tacoma, with our own stories, our own values, and our own incredible talent.

I Saw This Coming, And I Wasn’t Alone.

As a former mayoral candidate, I was the only one who stood up to voice concern for Tacoma’s arts.  While others were busy pushing campaign rhetoric, I knew what was happening and I said it out loud.  I didn’t back down when others dismissed my warnings.  I saw the path we were on.  I saw the writing on the wall.  Being the only candidate who had the courage to speak out about the future of our arts community was a sobering realization.  It wasn’t about political points, it was about the heart of Tacoma’s cultural identity.  But now, as Tacoma Arts Live closes its doors, I can’t help but think, how many others saw this coming and were afraid to say it?

The Quiet Support Behind the Scenes.

But here’s the thing… I wasn’t the only one who saw this coming.  There were so many who came to me when I was running for mayor. These weren’t just city employees or politicians.  These were the people who had poured their hearts and souls into Tacoma’s arts scene for decades.  The ones who worked quietly, year after year, to create, promote, and sustain this city’s culture.  They voiced their concerns to me, but far too quietly, out of fear of rocking the boat.  Fear of retaliation by a political machine that has never had any interest in their voices.  There were so many people who supported me behind the scenes because they were afraid to speak out publicly, knowing the consequences of going against the current.  They were afraid their careers would be even more negatively affected, or their projects sabotaged, by those in power.  Their fears were valid because they’d seen it happen all too often.

I, however, do not fear that machine.  I am not concerned if I ever run for office again, I’ll keep standing up and taking this on face-to-face. Tacoma needs to know what goes on behind closed doors.

Take Me or Leave Me, I’m Done Auditioning.

If you think I’m just another politician trying to fit in, or if you’re waiting for me to kiss up and play nice to get approval, you’ve got it wrong.  I’ve been auditioning for people’s approval for far too long and those days are over.  I’m not here to win popularity contests or to soften my message for the sake of someone’s feelings.

This is me, unapologetically.

This is Visualize Tacoma.

If that’s not what Tacoma wants, that’s cool.  Take me or leave me.  I’m not asking for anyone’s approval. I will not hide behind politeness to make people feel comfortable, nor will I perpetuate Tacoma’s comfort in mediocrity.  I’m here for Tacoma.  For real, raw, unfiltered change.  If that’s not your vibe, go ahead and read the safe pieces in The Volcano or Tacoma Weekly or the TNT.  That’s not a shot at them.  They are what they are.  But this?  This is our Tacoma, and I am standing up for what we deserve.

The Question We All Need to Answer, What Are We Going to Do About It?

Tacoma is capable of so much more than what we’ve got now.  Better than even where we have been.  We need to be done with living in the shadows of Seattle.  We’ve got the talent, the vision, and the people (the ridiculously talented people) who have put everything into making this city better.  But without real accountability and action, we’re going to keep watching as our most cherished local institutions fade away, one by one.

What happened to Tacoma Arts Live wasn’t just a “business decision” or “market forces.” It was the cumulative result of a city that has repeatedly failed to prioritize its own people.

Now, we’ve got to face the hard truth.  We cannot let this happen again.