Nikki Pino // Democrat // State: Governor

1. How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?

My grandparents Jody and Keith Renstrom, owned and operated the Valley Center Playhouse community theater for most of my life. I grew up practically on stage and learned to love not only acting but everything behind the scenes as well. This led me to want to make movies and films for a living. To create stories and characters in worlds and tell fantastical adventures. The arts have greatly impacted my hobbies and interests as well.

2. 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

3. I support...

-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 (nonprofit and for-profit)

-Fiscally responsible government investment in arts and humanities organizations

-Facilitating partnerships between tourism and culture

-Capital investment (in museums, performance/concert halls, studios, galleries, nonprofit office space, etc.)

-I support the RAP tax

-Ensuring existing fund balances are preserved for recreation, cultural organizations, and parks

-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

-The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program which puts one arts specialist in most elementary schools

-The POPS (Professional Outreach Program in the Schools) which sends 13 professional arts organizations to all UT school districts

-The iSEE (Informal Science Educational Enhancement) which sends 10 professional science, zoological, and natural history organizations to all UT school districts

4. Fiscally responsible government investment in the arts and humanities (including humanities and arts education) means to me:

Balancing the budget and putting funding where it needs to go to benefit the public would be ideal. Education is extremely important to me. I live learning and it has helped me to understand the world around me. I want not only the next generations to be smarter and wiser than us, but also more creative. And they need outlets to achieve that.