10/07/2026
It is genuinely an honor to see ColaJazz included alongside so many respected leaders and institutions working to make Columbia a stronger cultural city. Standing beside these executive directors, artistic leaders, educators and working artists is not something I take lightly. So many people in this community work extraordinarily hard, often far beyond what the public ever sees, to build organizations, raise resources, employ artists, educate young people and create the cultural life we all enjoy.
I’m especially grateful that this conversation is happening at all. Columbia has tremendous creative talent, and the larger question is how we build the systems, investment and collaboration necessary for that talent to thrive year-round. That is the work I care most about.
Strong arts organizations require people working throughout the year—raising money, writing grants, building partnerships, selling tickets, managing budgets, developing educational programs, producing events, marketing performances and creating the infrastructure that ultimately puts artists on stages and pays them.
We should want our artists to make good money.
We should want our educators to make good money.
We should want talented nonprofit professionals and arts administrators to make good money.
A thriving cultural economy should create sustainable careers, not glorify scarcity as evidence of commitment to the arts.
What struck me reading everyone’s responses was how much common ground there actually is. Again and again, Columbia’s arts leaders called for greater investment, sustainable careers for artists, stronger institutions, shared infrastructure, collaboration, cross-promotion and deeper public-private support. The recurring idea was not that someone else in the arts has too much. It was that our cultural ecosystem needs to become larger, stronger and more sustainable for everyone.
I hope you take a moment to read the article.
What would help Columbia’s arts scene take its next step? Leaders suggest everything from a “fringe” festival to better collaboration, funding and more. Read what they propose to help the arts and culture community grow. (Full story below.)
