MATT DRISCOLL: TACOMA ART IN ’07 >>>

For those who don’t follow the world of art, especially the world of local art here in Tacoma, how it all works may be a bit mystifying. Sure, there are artists in Tacoma, and art is produced, but who supports it (especially financially), and how can a city help cultivate it.

In Tacoma we have the Tacoma Arts Commission. I’m certainly not going to give all the credit for Tacoma’s amazing art scene to a government entity, but the Tacoma Arts Commission does deserve some of it. Created in 1965, the Tacoma Arts Commission is a 15 member body, appointed by the Tacoma City Council, whose main job is to “create policies to support the ongoing development of arts programs and projects in Tacoma,” according to www.Tacomaculture.org, a service of the City of Tacoma. 

The Tacoma Arts Commission released its 2007 Year-in-Review last week, or at least it became public when the report was included in the City Council’s weekly packet of info. Basically, the Tacoma Arts Commission’s 2007 Year-in-Review looks at everything the Commission accomplished and the artists and organizations they funded. There’s more, of course, including a very interesting breakdown of the City of Tacoma’s Municipal Art Collection and its maintenance program. If you’re into multiple page PDF reports, with plenty of charts and bulleted lists, the 2007 Year-in-Review should be right down your alley. Check it out here.