BIPOC Artists: Building a Thriving Creative Economy in Tacoma
Help the delegates of ArtCity bring home innovative strategies for transforming Tacoma into one of the world's great Art Cities
I was raised in The Bronx but for the last 12 years I have called Tacoma, WA my home. For such a small city (pop. 200,000), Tacoma boasts a huge number of world-class artists from all disciplines and I am proud to be part of this gritty and tenacious creative community. Gritty is not only the word people commonly use to refer to our beautiful city but is also an apt description of what it feels like to be an artist in T-Town. We do a lot of scraping by and, whether I’m out at a bar, a gallery, or a poetry reading, I frequently hear friends and colleagues muttering things like:
Wow, there's so much amazing talent here…
Why doesn’t the city do more to promote our incredible work?
Why does it feel like we’re so siloed and have so little access to collective power?
Why is Tacoma’s grant process so convoluted?
And why is it so hard for our artists to thrive?
Finally, thanks to the fearless leadership of Anida Yoeu Ali, we’ve decided to do something about it.
ArtCity Tacoma is a delegation of six artists who will be traveling to the 2024 ArtJog festival in Jogyakarta, Indonesia to immerse ourselves in a city which has leaned into the value of its creative capital and transformed itself into an artistic mecca for the good of its economy, its community AND its artists. Our goal is to experience ArtJog -— an art festival which draws visitors from all over the world — and bring back some strategies that one city's government has used to align with its artists and benefit the entire region.
Each working artist on the ArtCity delegation shares a vision of Tacoma as a great art city where…
the creation and enjoyment of art is available to everyone and funding priorities reflect the city’s incredible diversity,
all young people have access to training and professional runways to launch creative careers,
inspiring and thought-provoking public art provides gasps of surprise and joy on every street,
travelers and locals spend money seeking out creative inspiration, artistic innovation, and unexpected experiences.
We believe this trip is our next step in making that vision a reality.
Because we’re gritty and nothing will stop us, we've financed this trip ourselves but… any further financial support would be priceless.
Learn more about our efforts here and check out our GoFundMe to play a part in this great adventure.