by jasminemahmoud

Jordan Elizabeth Fisher, District 8 Candidate — 2021 Primary Election

CANDIDATE: Jordan Elizabeth Fisher, City Council District 8 Candidate

ARTS PLATFORM

Describe a meaningful arts experience that has stayed with you over time.

As a former glass blower and metal sculpturer, I was blown away at the level of creativity that exploded in the early days of CHOP. I saw the expression of my community truly convey the oppression, anger, pride of culture, and curative outlooks of black voices and people of color.

How do the arts reflect the voices and perspectives in your own neighborhood?

I truly believe that the healing process begins when people feel like they have a voice of expression. Art is the expression of our conscious collective and a gateway to understand the sentiment of our city.

How do you envision the arts as part of Seattle, especially as part of education, equity, housing, transportation, culture, the economy, and/or community?

I believe to fix a multitude of issues facing our community, we need the inspiration to do so. Art, whether that stems from a place of music, poetry, powerful speaking, sculpture, painting, etc. is imperative to the process of getting our citizens involved. Expression breathes life into new perspectives, motivates the uninspired individual to become passionate in very serious topics, and provides the energy to maintain such convictions.

Tell us about your involvement in Seattle’s art and cultural life. How do you make art a part of your life? 

I was a glass blower and metal sculpture artist for a few years until I was compelled to take another job that would meet my financial needs. Any opportunity I get to write, create inspirational videos, paint (even though I’m not great at painting), sculpture, and glass blowing, I try to take advantage.

This survey from ArtsFund shows that the Seattle arts and cultural community has seen significant declines (over 50%) in income. The arts already operate on a razor’s edge and many organizations may not be able to afford the cost of reopening. How will you support Seattle’s arts and culture sector in its reopening and revitalization? What is your plan for implementation of an “artistic zone” that you described on your website? Who will oversee this zone/how will it be accessible to the public? How do you envision arts and culture helping the city heal from the past year and a half?

Although I am not a professional of design, here is a great representation of what I envision.

  • A Memorial for those we honor and those who died fighting for equality
  • A designated place of expression to empower community voices, music, poetry.
  • Art spaces, mutual aid locations, and central spaces for the community to engage with social workers, access resources, and interact with elected officials.
  • Artists would also be able to sell their art by signing up with social workers or community volunteers and providing a QR code to their online store.
  • Dog parks with creative interactive sculptures or design instead of just rubble or grass.

I’d like to let the community decide on the space and design of these artistic zones as we have some creative geniuses with powerful ideas. In short, I will not only be supportive of the arts, I will be radical in their funding. Spread the word creatives!