Thank you - Leaving the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs
Paul Rucker
Dear Friends,
As of January 10, I’m leaving my post as the Community Arts Liaison for the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. I have thoroughly enjoyed the past four and a half years serving in a position in which I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing arts community, nurturing organizations and individual artists, and watching them evolve and grow. I’ve had the pleasure of attending hundreds of memorable events, from community groups comprised of all volunteers, to individual artists who make limited funds go further than anyone could have possibly imagined. One of the truly amazing attributes of this arts community is the desire that individuals have to make things happen.
Before I applied for this position, I never thought I’d work for a government agency. After reading the duties of the position, I was excited about the programs, and how I could help others benefit from the different types of funding that I myself have benefited from as an artist. Writing grants can be quite intimidating, and I’ve enjoyed helping hundreds of first time applicants. Neighborhood & Community Arts, smART ventures, and Ethnic Arts Connection are programs I’m proud to have taken the lead on, and I hope they will continue to grow. To me, they are the type of programs every community would benefit from. To watch the impact of these programs has been gratifying, and this experience has made me a better arts administrator, a better artist, and a better person.
I would like to thank each of you in the arts community: artists, patrons, advocates and dreamers for your dedication in preserving something that can’t be quantified. We have machines that measure the db levels of sound, the temperature in the room, how level the plane, how damp the air. But we have yet to create an instrument that measures the intensity, and connection, between artist and audience. This is probably a good thing.
Again, a great deal of gratitude for making my time at the office so fulfilling.
Gratefully,
Paul
As always, you can reach me at paulr...@gmail.com