Catherine Voutaz // Democrat // Utah House District 52

  • How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?
    • We need new ideas and new ways of doing things. Art influences our society, our health and well-being, peoples' opinions and our local culture. As a society, art and the humanities contribute to community cohesion, reduces social isolation and makes us feel safer and stronger. During Covid-19 social distancing, every day through presentation, education, and expression the arts provides uplifting moments through watch parties and streaming. It has been a welcome relief to the isolation felt in my home during this unusual time.
  • Utah's humanities and arts employ 123,000 Utahns, provide $4.4 billion in earnings, and $13.2 billion in sales. This is a larger economic impact than agriculture, mining, and real estate. Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
    • Yes
  • Fiscally responsible government investment in the arts and humanities (including humanities and arts education) means to me:
    • A certain level of sales tax dollars collected should go to arts and humanities programs. In doing so, the funded programs in Utah are economic drivers which in turn increase state tax collections.
  • I support the following legislative items:
    • Grants to be used for operations (jobs) as soon as possible
    • Keeping emergency loans open to nonprofits
    • Protecting the RAP taxes so that money granted to cultural organizations doesn't get repurposed
    • Increasing availability of loans to cultural businesses (non-profit and for-profit)
    • Fiscally responsible government investment in arts and humanities organizations.
    • Development of cultural districts
    • Facilitating partnerships between tourism and culture.
    • Reducing regulations of creative businesses.
    • Capital investment (in museums, performance/concert halls, studios, galleries, nonprofit office space, etc.).
    • Percent for public art programs, which optionally designate 1% of government capital costs for public art
    • Allowing municipalities to set design standards
    • K-6 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
    • 7-12 Students should have increased exposure to arts and humanities education
    • I support the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program which puts one arts specialist in most elementary schools
    • I support the POPS (Professional Outreach Program in the Schools) which sends 13 professional arts organizations to all UT school districts
    • I support the iSEE (Informal Science Educational Enhancement) which sends 10 professional science, zoological, and natural history organizations to all UT school districts
  • Anything else we should know about you?
    • Utah is ranked highest in the nation for adults creating or performing art. Why not capitalize on this - the same way we do for tourism and the film industry? From festivals to concerts, the arts demonstrates our diversity and growing international influence.