Steve Christiansen // Republican // Utah House District 47

  • How have the arts, culture, and/or humanities impacted your life?
    • I've played multiple instruments, sang in high school madrigals and the Mormon Youth Chorus, love attending theater (season ticket holder at HCT), and have encouraged the same with our children
  • 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:
    • I believe government investments in arts and humanities should be the same as with other for-profit businesses. If there are investments being made to restore our economic activity after COVID-19, all businesses should be treated comparably. If additional funding is needed for arts/humanities, private donors (including families that value the arts, churches, etc.) should be solicited. Overall, government should support museums (preservation of our past), but maintain a proper distance with regard to the performing arts where they can be maintained through admissions and other private sources. For art in government buildings, we should solicit donations from private donors.
  • I support the following legislative items:
    • Fiscally responsible government investment in arts and humanities organizations.
    • Facilitating partnerships between tourism and culture.
    • Reducing regulations of creative businesses.
    • 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 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?
    • No answer given