by jasminemahmoud

Katie Wilson, Seattle Mayoral Candidate — 2025 Primary Election

CANDIDATE: Katie Wilson, Seattle Mayoral Candidate

ARTS PLATFORM

The arts are a vital part of Seattle’s culture and economy, but this community and sector is under immense strain due to the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising costs of living. As mayor, I will work collaboratively to make Seattle a city where artists, arts and culture workers, and arts organizations can all thrive, and where everyone has access to the education, edification, and pleasure afforded by the arts. 

Artists and arts and culture workers are struggling with Seattle’s sky-high housing costs. We can’t have a vibrant arts community if the people who create and sustain the arts can’t afford to live in this city. My platform focuses on a rapid expansion of affordable housing for all Seattle residents, but I am also interested in strategies to support artists and arts and culture workers specifically. One idea I would explore in collaboration with stakeholders is making space in Seattle’s arts funding to support individuals, perhaps in the form of housing vouchers, rather than focusing solely on organizations that often now have access to larger amounts of county funding through 4Culture.

As mayor, I will partner actively with Seattle’s Cultural Space Agency PDA and also support community-driven initiatives like Equinox Studios and The Bend that are creating affordable housing and space for artists and the arts.

As the City works to revitalize downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, I believe the arts community must be a key partner. The El Rey in Belltown is a great example — a broad coalition of artists and arts organizations have come together to repurpose a vacant building as arts and nonprofit space and affordable housing for artists. The City should be encouraging and assisting such community-driven efforts to activate underutilized space, and I’ve been proud to speak out and advocate for that project.

And it’s not just about downtown — neighborhoods and business districts across the city can benefit from activation of vacant commercial space through partnerships with artists and arts organizations. As mayor, I’ll work to make that happen.

As mayor, I will work closely with the Seattle Arts Commission to develop new policy and programs, and I would love to broaden the City’s collaborations in the arts beyond the obvious. For example, we have so many immigrant and refugee communities in Seattle with vibrant traditions of arts and culture — what can we do with that? And I’d love to partner closely with our school system and institutions of higher education to expand access to the arts among students and youth in ways that also benefit and stabilize our arts and culture organizations.

Personally, I’m a big theater fan although I don’t have a lot of spare time for playgoing these days. I have a soft spot for Shakespeare, so I’m a big fan of the Seattle Shakespeare Company and the many summer-in-the-park productions!