Arts and culture are two vital aspects of the Mercer Island community, noted city project manager Sarah Bluvas. Through advocacy of the pair comes a strengthened mindset that they can be beneficial to public health and community healing.

A host of Islanders deeply involved in the arts and culture scene gathered online for the Mercer Island Arts Summit: Building to the Future event on May 24 to discuss their victories, challenges and hopes in those realms.

“Every opportunity is on the table right now as we continue to rebuild as a city and as an organization, our programming, and we really want to do that collectively,” Bluvas said while sharing some insight from city recreation manager Ryan Daly.

Attendees expressed their excitement about a trio of robust community events on tap for July and August: Summer Celebration on July 9, which will feature music, magic, fireworks, food trucks, community and nonprofit group tables and more; Mostly Music in the Park, which will spotlight five bands on Thursday nights from July 14-Aug. 11 at Mercerdale Park; and Shakespeare in the Park, which will welcome the Seattle Shakespeare group to the Luther Burbank Park Amphitheatre for a host of performances of “Cymbeline” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” between July 7-Aug. 7.

Also of utmost importance are the Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) junior art show at the community center, Stroum Jewish Community Center (SJCC) live events and camps, Youth Theatre Northwest (YTN) camps and Summer Stock shows and many more happenings across the Island this summer and beyond. MIVAL received a grant from the Mercer Island Community Fund to bolster its children’s art programming at Mostly Music in the Park and Summer Celebration.

“It sounds like there’s so much more summer programming happening as well, which is going to be really awesome for Mercer Island,” said YTN managing director Stephanie Bull at the summit.

According to Bluvas, one of the goals of the summit was to “bring arts and culture providers and practitioners together to foster a renewed sense of collaboration and connection in the community’s arts and culture ecosystem.”

The attendees banded together at the summit while entrenched in a discussion about the challenges of spreading the word about their events. One attendee suggested that the city devote a space on its website for event postings; another noted that kiosks at the forthcoming light rail station would be ideal for marketing; and a school instructor felt it would be ideal to promote events as a group instead of individually. Other topics touched upon were additional space needed for artists to create, communication between the arts and culture groups and access and notification regarding grant opportunities.

Daly said the city has rolled out a recreation reset during the pandemic that features staff liaison support to the Arts Council, special arts and culture event sponsorship opportunities, city coordinated events like those previously mentioned along with public arts installations and more.

“I think this is a really exciting time for us on this expansion and a new look at how we move forward,” he said.