We had another all-community visioning session on July 28 at the Mercer Island Community Center. There were about 25 islanders in attendance and we gladly were surprised by the number of walk-ins, but our goal has been to reach every Islander that wants to have a voice.

We began by reinforcing that this was a “visioning” session and our hope was for the room to think big. And they delivered! There was plenty of robust discussion about the greater value of arts. In general though, the conversations stayed close to the themes we’ve heard so far around the desire for more community-building, the need to increase collaboration between arts groups, and a hunger for more arts-related activities. We heard many comments about existing community spaces being too crowded and how tired some residents are of having to shuttle their kids off island for activities. Many agreed that whatever the space ends up being, it should be inviting and open to all.

There were also comments about the importance of providing access to the arts for all, because this sometimes results in homegrown artists making a name for themselves in the mainstream (which then becomes a source of pride for the community). We also heard excitement about potentially bringing new life to the town center and having more reasons to stay on the island for entertainment.

We’d be remiss not to point out that while a majority of the conversation was positive, some participants approached the discussion more concern than others and brought some valid, important questions to the table. Most of the concerns expressed that day reinforced what we’ve heard before like cost, parking and long-term sustainability.

Something that surfaced more often in this group than in others was the enthusiasm for intergenerational programming—that a potential arts and culture center should not just be focused on youth/young people but also involve older adults who have yet to discover their talents. When asked about specific programming needs, most individuals had their list of personal favorites, but some responses went in an unexpectedly inspirational direction! Some groups talked at length about the broader significance of art in people’s lives, about the power of art to build community, and about the lifelong value of engaging in or with the arts. In fact, someone even talked about art as “food for the soul.”

In the next few weeks, we will be interviewing many of our board members to assemble a brief, personal profile on each of the people behind MICA! Our third interview was with Xixi Shakes.

Xixi and husband Jonathan have been behind MICA since 2014, when they first heard about the exciting community effort to create Mercer Island’s own performing arts center. Since then Xixi has been involved with MICA in various ways, and in early 2018 she decided to join the board. 

Xixi was born and raised in Beijing, China. When she was a child, scholarship support enabled her to study flute from Xuequan Li, who was considered China’s top flute player. She joined the Beijing Youth Symphony, sang in choirs, and performed in student theater. She later met her husband Jonathan through their shared passion for the performing arts.  They moved to Mercer Island in 2002 to raise their two children, who are now teenagers and budding performing artists. Every year, their family attends a week-long performing arts family camp, “Camp Caz,” and together, Xixi and Jonathan spearheaded the expansion of that family camp from its original location in Sonoma California to its new, second location on Washington’s Key Peninsula, near YMCA Camp Seymour. 

After growing up in bustling Beijing, Xixi loved the tranquility and green space she found in Mercer Island, but she had to adjust to its sleepy, lights-off-after-6pm town center. The town center has changed since 2002, in both positive and negative ways, and Xixi believes the addition of a performing arts center will be a strong positive, providing vibrancy in a way that yet another apartment, office, or retail building cannot. It will elevate our community by giving us a place to gather around the arts, and provide substance to the community’s belief that we value the arts here. At a simpler level, it will address the current venue shortage that handicaps several of our community’s art organizations and groups.

Xixi urges her fellow Islanders to consider how MICA could benefit our community, and how our generation could leave a legacy through MICA for future residents to enjoy. She also encourages the many people who support MICA to share their voices.

This is an exciting time for MICA as an organization and for Xixi as a board member and a community member. She is thrilled to think that one day she can look at the MICA building and reminisce, “Hey, I was part of making that happen!” 

In the next few weeks, we will be interviewing many of our board members to assemble a brief, personal profile on each of the people behind MICA! Our first interview was with John Gordon Hill.

Mr. Hill has been involved in the arts his whole life, participating in film and music in high school. He graduated college with a degree in cinematography and film making, and then started a film company. He has directed many Youth Theatre Northwest shows, and loves to play keyboard music. When asked why he is involved in the arts, Hill said that to him, that question is synonymous to: “Why do you breathe?” The arts are “not apart from his life”, instead they are a major piece of who he is.

Hill has also had a long history with the administrative side of the arts too. He was on the board of Cornish College of the Arts, and actually spearheaded the first campaign for Youth Theatre Northwest’s original theatre 34 years ago. So, when YTN lost its theatre in 2014, Hill knew that he wanted to help find a new location for the children’s theatre. With YTN’s support, he decided to reach out to other arts organizations in the area, forming the idea for an arts center where different arts groups could gather and celebrate the diversity and variety of arts and culture.

In Mr. Hill’s opinion, we need an arts center on Mercer Island because currently, we have no single place where the community can come together for the arts. “Everything is disconnected.” He explained that while we do have lots of arts already, if we do not “reach a critical mass, then [the arts are] not part of our identity.” He hopes that with MICA, we can revitalize the town center and give people a place to gather while providing a much-needed home for the arts on the island. “The arts are so broad: they are how we talk to each other and how we understand our world and our lives around us.”

Mr. Hill says that there are two ways that we can support MICA right now. First: talk it up. “Once we achieve momentum by word of mouth, then everything else will come much easier.”

Second: talk is cheap. “There will be a point when people need to put up money, energy, and work to make this a reality.” Hill acknowledges that this could be an expensive prospect, but also knows that Mercer Island is very capable of making MICA a reality.

Keep an eye out for more board member profiles to come!