Meet Jonathan:
As a musician, composer, sometimes designer, an editor in an art museum, and the facilitator of the Arts, Culture, and Community Facilities committee in District 39 PB, Jonathan Kuhr is a dedicated arts activist and PB participant.
Now, in his third year as a PB facilitator, Jonathan describes working with passionate volunteers “who are inspired by the idea of helping their community.” Although gaining city agency support for PB projects can be a challenge, PB provides a direct channel for everyday citizens to impact public decision making processes. Jonathan explains that during PB, “You now know how hard and expensive it is to get that traffic light installed or that sidewalk fixed. You also learn that you are entitled to your voice, which means you should feel free to let your representatives and city agencies know that you’d like to see a change."
The Arts, Culture, and Community Facilities reviews art projects for community centers and public spaces like parks plazas, as well as for art organizations, promoting art that holds community value or speaks to prevalent social issues such as environmental sustainability, education, and street safety. Jonathan describes the challenging but rewarding process of having to “take the mass of requests for community centers and think of creative ways to meet that need within the parameters of PB.” Some examples of past projects he has worked on are providing technological equipment for local arts non-profit organizations as well as the storytelling garden at the Park Slope library branch.
For Jonathan, the Arts, Culture, and Community Facilities committee has the potential to instill a sense of unity and creativity in our public spaces. “I strongly believe that creating a sense of place is one of the greatest things we can do in our communities,” says Jonathan. “It inspires residents, creates a greater sense of ownership in our community, instigates conversation among neighbors, encourages democratic thinking, and improves our overall quality of life.” One way that PB achieves this is by serving a diverse constituency that represents the broad scope of interests in the neighborhood. To this end, Jonathan describes that the projects the committee is considering this year range from “instruments for music therapy in senior centers to expanded outdoor public spaces at our libraries.”
Additionally, in the hopes of making the arts more accessible to the public, the Arts, Culture, and Community Facilities committee has two major project proposals: a 3D makerspace at the district’s public libraries and mobile art studios. The makerspace would provide 3D printers and other high-tech arts machinery for public use. Whereas the mobile art studios would provide local artists with a free studio space in exchange for producing art with community value and holding open studio times.
Despite the unique value and creativity of these proposals, Jonathan describes the difficulty of winning PB with an arts project, as “it can be hard for voters to see their importance when placed next to safe streets or improved school facilities.” Still, Jonathan says he feels “a strong obligation to advocate for [arts projects] whenever [he has] the opportunity.”
Yet for Jonathan, the PB process isn’t necessarily about winning the vote. He explains, “It’s always great to see a really deserving project voted on and get implemented, and every year the process has adapted to make it more accessible for a wider variety of projects and participants...As a facilitator, it’s incredibly rewarding to see delegates who are new to the process become more and more engaged in the community as the years go on.”
Advice for Youth in PB:
The PB process can be incredibly valuable for many participants, but especially for youth! As arts projects continue to struggle in PB, teens can play an important role in advocating for their community’s behalf. Jonathan often finds that the youth voice is a vital part of the PB process that is constantly missing. He recalls a proposal for a teen center at a library that failed to progress because there were no teens in PB to provide input on the idea. Jonathan describes how this same need for a teen opinion “can be felt throughout the PB process and in every committee. Youth are using these city amenities just like adults are, and so their opinion is just as vital. That also means that their votes are just as vital.”
In terms of advice for youth hoping to join in on the PB process, Jonathan says to just try it out! “ Definitely don’t be intimidated by potentially being outnumbered by adults, don’t feel like your voice is less important or should be less loud than theirs, and don’t suppose that you won’t be heard or it’s a waste of time.” Jonathan believes that PB is a learning process for all participants in which every voice is essential.
“No one has all of the answers and people with different amounts and types of experience are all learning from each other and the process,” Jonathan states. “You just have to get out there and do it!”
