During the 21 years as Arts Specialist for the city of Bellevue, Mary Pat Byrne has witnessed the growth of the arts firsthand.

When she first arrived, Bellevue had a minimal art collection including roughly a dozen pieces of art, many flat work which hung on walls. The City Council worked to increase the amount of funding it had for the arts. The goal was to invest in visual art that could be placed outside of buildings and throughout the city, bringing unity to Bellevue. Today, there are well over 50 works of art in the city’s collection and the number continues to grow.

“I commend the City Council for the action they have taken to grow the arts,” Byrne said. “The City Council wants to use art in conjunction with the tools it uses to build community. Art is a very versatile tool and you can use art to help bridge cultural differences which has become increasingly evident in the way Bellevue has grown as a diverse community,” she added.

Equipped with a Masters in theater, Byrne began her work for the city at a time when the focus was slowly shifting to the arts with the launch of a new city arts program. Led by a volunteer advisory group known as the Bellevue Arts Commission, the arts program manages a variety of projects and initiatives designed to bring the arts into Bellevue’s everyday life.

When she first began working for the city, there were very few art groups in Bellevue and many were volunteer run, with little funding and minimal awareness.

Over the years, the city worked with the groups and local organizations to provide funding and support to build a strong foundation for the arts in Bellevue. Organizations such as the Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Bellevue Philharmonic and Music Works Northwest have prospered over the years. Recently, the Bellevue’s Arts Program introduced The Cultural Compass which provides funding to a variety of arts groups working in Bellevue, sets cultural policy, and creates and sustains public art installations throughout the city.

“The arts have grown in a lot of ways,” Byrne said. “The level of professionalism has really grown. The city has many top-rate professionals working in the community to bring the arts to the forefront.”

Byrne noted that some art organizations have been around as long as she has.

“They remain community based, but the quality of the work that they do has grown and the sophistication and artistic demands that they put on themselves have risen tremendously,” she said.

Byrne continues to watch the arts blossom, sprouting a creative culture intertwined with a growing city.

“In City Hall you actually walk on art,” she said, pointing to the terrazzo floor which captures and reflects the flow of activity through City Hall. “It adds an element of warmth and welcoming to those who visit.”

According to Byrne, the city’s focus on the arts is stronger than ever.

“The city is now going through a tremendous growth period and the staff is working on providing plans to help guide urban design and development over the next several years. What’s new is the city is including an arts element to that planning,” she explained. “The city each year is doing a better and better job incorporating arts into its programs.”

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.

For more information on city arts, visit http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/arts_comm.htm or contact Mary Pat Byrne, Arts Specialist at mpbyrne@bellevuewa.gov or call 425.452.4105.