Utah Cultural Advocacy Alliance Grade: A+ (100%)

  • Candidate Name: Taylor Knuth 
  • Your Municipality: Ogden
  • Elected office for which you are running: Municipal Ward 3

Question 1: Should government be involved in funding the arts and humanities?
Yes

Question 2: Have you had a personal experience with arts, culture, or humanities that have had an impact on your life?
Yes

3b // Optional, explain your experience.
I am an artist. I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in Musical Theatre and I am currently in my final year of studies to earn my Master of Arts in Arts Administration.

Question 3: Do you support public funding for city and county arts councils who then re-grant that money to local arts and humanities organizations?
Yes

3b // Optional, explain why or why not.
Yes, currently Ogden City distributes $65k each year, adding $5k each year and capping at $100. I would propose more aggressive granting funds in Ogden City.

Question 4: Do you support Percent for Art programs, which designate 1% of public building costs for public art that are included within that building? Currently, only 8 Utah municipalities have such a program.
Yes

4b // Optional, explain why or why not.
Yes I do. In fact, Ogden City is in the process of removing this Percent for the Arts, shifting it instead to a line item in the budget. Something that I will fight against.

Question 5: Do you support having a Percent-for-Art program in your own municipality?
Yes

5b // Optional, explain why or why not.
See above.

Question 6: Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
Yes

6b // Optional, explain why or why not.
Serving on many board for the arts, I see the impact that an arts festival, event, or gallery can have. Once a month, a Chamber Music Group performs downtown, bringing ~50 people into the business area. This is an economic driver.

Question 7: 32 municipalities have a RAP (recreation, arts, and parks) type tax to help support cultural organizations in their communities. Would you support a RAP type tax such as this in your own municipality? If your municipality already has such a local option sales RAP-type sales tax and you support it, answer yes.
Yes

7b // Optional, explain your experience.
County taxes that are then distributed to arts and humanities agencies have a proven track record of success, promoting community and economic development. R.A.M.P and Z.A.P are critical funders of arts agencies that I know and love, and every community member would feel a decline in quality of life without these critically funded agencies and projects.

Question 8: Municipalities can facilitate partnerships between cultural organizations and the local tourism sector to boost the local economy. Do you support this? Optional, explain why or why not. 
Yes

8b // Optional, explain why or why not.
Visit Ogden has a great partnership with our local arts agencies, going as far as helping to develop our new Creative District. Partnership promote success.

Question 9: Municipal governments can create Cultural Districts - with or without tax incentives. Governments sometimes fund these via bed or tourism taxes within the Cultural District boundaries, but it can be done within municipal budgets fairly cheaply. Is this something you would support?
Yes

9b // Optional, explain why or why not. 
I currently serve on Ogden's Creative District Initiative. This is a project that I support 100% WITH government funds