GiveBIG SUPERSTAR SORCERER Karen Bystrom
Interview with Karen Bystrom, Director of Marketing and Communications at Seattle University
Meet our second TeenTix GiveBIG SUPERSTAR SORCERER, Karen Bystrom! Karen is one of just nine people in the whole world who has donated to TeenTix during GiveBIG every year since 2013! (Don’t know what a TeenTix SUPERSTAR SORCERER is? Click here to find out more!)
Even as a young person, Karen passionately believed in the power of art, which led to her studying a self-designed major in theatre management at Lewis & Clark College. After graduation, she became an arts administrator and went on to teach arts marketing for the MFA in Arts Leadership at Seattle University. She came to know the formidable force that is TeenTix when she was the Director of Marketing and Communications at ACT Theatre back when TeenTix was first making the decision to expand Arts Partnerships beyond the arts organizations on the Seattle Center campus. She knew immediately that ACT needed to partner with TeenTix. Inspired, Karen became a part of the Advisory Council and as TeenTix transitioned into a non-profit, Karen joined the TeenTix Board of Directors and thankfully hasn’t budged since!
More of an arts appreciator than creator, Karen frequents Book-It Repertory Theatre where she sees her love for books reflected in her love for theatre! A woman entrenched in the arts, she spends most of her time with what she knows - the written word, in print and on the stage, but finds herself drawn to dance and visual art as well. “I can’t imagine not having some kind of interaction with the arts on an ongoing basis”.
Karen loves TeenTix, not just because she is invested in young people as arts leaders, but because she values the personal nature of arts attendance and the empowerment of young people. As she says: “There is no wrong reaction to art, your reaction is just as valid as anyone else’s”. She believes in the power of art to build communities and share previously unexplored perspectives, and says that TeenTix “gives young people that chance to really explore the world themselves. I think the best way to learn about the world and people is definitely the arts, no matter what discipline you are interested in”. So take some risks, see some new ideas, and let the world of arts influence your community!
Thank you, Karen, for your ongoing support behind the scenes and specifically through GiveBIG. You’re an arts access wizard!
Lead Photo Caption: Karen Bystrom with TeenTix Executive Director Monique Courcy
