Is it the rain? Why Seattle is an engine of creativity
When playwright Andrew Russell moved to Seattle in 2009, his mother came to visit. It was her first trip to the Pacific Northwest.
She told him something that he hasn’t forgotten: “Seattle is a great place to keep a secret.”
Nearly a decade later, that solitude is getting harder to come by. The population is booming. Traffic is more maddening. Rents and housing prices are spiking. Gentrification is pushing artists out of the city.
There’s a lot at stake for Seattle’s arts community as it struggles to remain on steady footing.
But despite the rapid changes to this growing city, Seattle's creative community remains resilient.
This fall, KUOW's City of Dreams project is exploring why Seattle is a special place for artists, innovators and creators. We asked five artists who work in theatre, arts education, music, film, and visual art: what is it about Seattle?
James Miles, executive director of Arts Corps
“The most impressive thing I’ve seen about art in Seattle is the social justice lens that’s on the art being made; art that’s usually out of the mainstream. To see those different perspectives, it opens up our eyes around what art can do for social change.”
Andrew Russell, Intiman Theatre artistic director
“A gift that the city gives you is that the city will not tell you what to do with yourself. It requires that you get comfortable with what your internal artist is saying, and find a way to bring that to life.”
Susie Lee, artist, educator, and entrepreneur
“What makes Seattle special is that it’s still fairly small. There are a lot of fluid boundaries and a lot of porosity in who you run into and people’s networks that they open up and share with each other. That kind of fluidity fosters creativity. If you want to will an idea into existence, you can do it here.”
Zia Mohajerjasbi, director and cinematographer
“It’s in mid-September up until mid-November where there’s no other place I’d rather be. It’s the way the light shines through maple leaves that are turning bright orange and red, falling in through the living room window. It’s like a day without a genre. And tonally, that’s what I respond to.”
Erin Austin, singer and songwriter for Ok Sweetheart
“You meet people all over who are wanting to create something unique and beautiful and provocative. You look at who’s around you and what they’re doing, and how can you help them make their thing successful. Having that energy and that attitude makes it so there’s so many creative, good things happening here.”
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Andy Hurst
Senior Producer, Seattle Now
Andy Hurst is a senior producer for Seattle Now, KUOW's daily news podcast. He produces in-depth interviews for the show, in addition to Seattle Now's evening episode, which highlights the top stories of the day from the KUOW newsroom. Andy has produced interviews on a wide array of topics, and he’s especially drawn to stories about public health, science, and arts & culture.
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