EUGENE — In 2006, when Eugene’s official slogan was “The World’s Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors,” the city hired a consultant to assess that grandiose claim regarding the arts. The consultant, WolfBrown, conducted a yearlong study that included interviews, meetings, focus groups, reviews of venues, and surveys of approximately 2,500 Eugene citizens.
WolfBrown found that Eugene had an abundance of art; however, the town needed more support from the business sector. The results showed that “we punched above our weight for a community our size,” said Kelly Johnson, executive director of the nonprofit Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene, which the city created in 2008 to link the arts and business communities. Founding partners included the city, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, Lane Community College, the University of Oregon, and tourism group Eugene, Cascades and Coast.
Having studied theater as an undergraduate in Denver, Johnson moved to Eugene to pursue a graduate degree in arts administration at the University of Oregon. She was hired as the Alliance’s executive director in 2018 and is the only staff member. She has an office downtown on Willamette Street with enough room for an intern’s desk — when she has an intern. She meets monthly with the Alliance’s 13 board members, whom she considers partners…