The Seattle Arts Commission welcomes three new members: Jerry Garcia, Amber Rose Jimenez and Vivian Phillips. Garcia and Phillips will both serve terms to Dec. 31, 2014 when they will be up for reappointment. Garcia is a City Council appointment and Phillips is a Mayor McGinn appointment. Jimenez is serving as the “Get Engaged” member of the commission. Get Engaged is a YMCA program that places young adults ages 18-29 on city of Seattle boards and commissions for one-year terms starting in September of each year. Acting in an advisory capacity to the mayor and City Council, Seattle Arts Commissioners help shape policy decisions, make recommendations, and provide citizen participation in city government.
Jerry L. Garcia
Jerry L. Garcia is a designer, curator, community servant and critic. Garcia’s practice has bridged the worlds of art and architecture, exploring and creating experiences rooted in place. As a senior project manager at Olson Kundig Architects, he works on a broad range of projects, from artist collaborations and commissioned artworks to the design of significantly-scaled buildings located around the globe. Notable projects with which he has been involved have received National and Regional AIA Honor Awards, and been published extensively. He has taught art and architecture in Italy and Chile, and authored pieces in The Stranger, City Arts Magazine, ARCADE Magazine, The Organ, and DBC Avisen. Garcia is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
Amber Rose Jimenez
Amber Rose Jimenez is a community organizer and arts advocate who currently serves as Membership Coordinator at the Washington Bus, where she produces events, communications, and campaigns alongside the Development team. Amber Rose paired her love of politics with her penchant for punk rock as Music Director and college radio show host while she studied Political Science & Philosophy at Seattle Pacific University. Enchanted with the progressive communities of Washington State, she interned on Cyrus Habib’s campaign for State Representative, volunteered as a Criminal Justice Giving Project Member with the Social Justice Fund NW, and recently joined the Board of Directors at The Vera Project.
Vivian Phillips
Vivian Phillips currently serves as the director of marketing and communications for Seattle Theatre Group, where she oversees the marketing, communications and social media engagement for three historic theatres in Seattle. Previously she’s served as the managing director for Hansberry Project at ACT Theatre, executive manager for the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, and communications director at the office of Mayor Paul Schell. She is an adjust professor at Seattle University’s MFA Arts Management Program, and serves on a variety of boards and advisory groups including Spectrum Dance Theatre, Arts Corps, Washington State Building for the Arts, King County Television, Seattle University College of Arts & Sciences and the Africa Contemporary Arts Consortium.
The next meeting of the Seattle Arts Commission is 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12 in Room 4050-60, Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Avenue. Arts Commission meetings are open to the public and occur on the second Tuesday of the month from 4-6 p.m – come welcome our new appointees!
