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Mercer Island Center for the Arts to provide a home for fine arts Annika Bhananker staff writer
Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) is an organization looking to expand the horizons and enrich the lives of the youth of Mercer Island through fine arts. MICA hopes to build the center in Mercerdale Park, replacing the recycling center and Bicentennial Park. MICA will provide a space for both youth and adult artists to explore and cultivate their passion for fine arts. It will be a community center in which they can train and excel in various forms of art. MICA will create a much-needed focal point for arts on the island. Opposition to MICA found a voice through the group Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Parks (CCMIP). CCMIP works to preserve nature on the island, which includes Mercerdale Park and its accompanying land. Many members of CCMIP have worked on similar projects in the past, opposing previous city plans to relocate the fire station to Mercedale or
turn Pioneer Park into a golf course. These ideas never came to fruition because “Islanders complained about it, so it just went away,” said Mercer Island native and member of CCMIP, Ira Appelman. CCMIP continues that the recycling center, native garden, and Bicentennial Park are all valuable assets to our community that would be demolished by MICA. A co-chair of CCMIP, Meg Lippert, spoke of her desire to give back to the city and preserve the outdoor spaces that have been passed through the generations. She believes that parks are essential to a community. Lippert, who makes a living teaching storytelling in schools said that she does not think resistance to MICA also means opposition to the idea of fine arts and education. “I would support this process, but not in a park,” Lippert said. MICA’s website states that extreme land price on Mercer Island makes it prohibitive to find any other viable location on the island. However, the city is willing to donate Mercerdale Park
land at an affordable price to procure a community resource that will grow and help nurture the youth of the town. Additionally, “there’s no outlay for residents unless they choose to donate,” said Tana Senn, the district representative for Washington House of Representatives. Youth Theatre Northwest (YTN), Mercer Island’s only children’s theatre, will regain their platform through MICA. In 2014, after over 30 years of educating and nurturing children, the organization received an eviction notice from the Mercer Island School District. For many students, the relocation felt like the loss of a home. YTN and many other Island-based organizations seek a space to cultivate interest in art and positively augment downtown Mercer Island. Other institutions such as Musical Mind Studio, Mercer Island Visual Arts League, Russian Chamber Music, Island Youth Ballet and more will call MICA home. Executive Director of YTN, Manny Cawaling, said that unlike Luther Burbank
and Pioneer Park which are centered on preserving nature, an inner-city park with a thrift shop and skateboard park in it would be enhanced by MICA. Annika Evens, a senior at Mercer Island High School, has been an active participant at YTN since she was three years old. Now an avid supporter of MICA, she and other concerned students have spearheaded an organization, Students for MICA, to “show the adults of the community that the youth of Mercer Island care about what happens on the Island and want MICA to be built.” Thus far they have raised $2500 to develop the organization. Evens believes Protect Our Parks stems from a more profound fear of development: “I think some people are scared of change. For anyone who has lived in a small, tight-knit community for a significant amount of time, accepting new development or change in the place they have known for years can be challenging.” Mercer Island residents also protested when down-
town evolved from a one-story city, and when both the community center and the Peak were proposed. Cawling said, “I feel that what we’re offering is not just change, it is game-changing for people.” For many children on Mercer Island, MICA presents a unique opportunity for exposure to the arts. Arts education, especially from a young age has astounding effects on individuals, as well as communities. Having a city centered around the arts will bring the community closer and “provide people with confidence, and interactions with people of different ages and involvement,” Senn said. She says MICA is vital to the city because it is “supporting people’s creativity, and giving them a positive outlet.” “It was really interesting talking about all the dollars that the city spends on sports,” said Senn. The immense cost of the fields, re-turfing, lighting, and maintenance delineates the attention and funding that major sports receive. Evens
appended, “Sports on Mercer Island are heavily funded and supported … and provided with pristine and up-to-date courts, fields, and practice facilities.” Providing alternative opportunities for those who will not be interested or successful in sports shows that the community values all youth and encourages their interests. Studies show that those who have experience in the arts develop into more well-rounded people and are known to have increased creativity. Even beyond individual benefits, Senn said that “with our extensive tech community in the area I know that they’re always looking for people who have creativity and a different way of looking at things.” The arts are a valuable resource essential to fostering and enhancing cultural awareness, academic ability, and teamwork. These skills greatly benefit students, but having a society comprised of well-rounded adults would have an even more significant impact.