Every great city has three things in common: an active fine arts community; civic, municipal and business leadership committed to nurturing the arts; and, a centerpiece institution or activity that the public can support to further its interest in the fine arts.

In Honolulu, we have two of the three attributes: a deeply talented fine arts community; and a centerpiece institution that can rally the public’s interest in the arts. That institution is the Downtown Art Center, a nonprofit organization that is located just a stone’s throw from the Fort Street Mall in the Chinatown Gateway Plaza.

We’re working hard to make sure the Downtown Art Center gets the support it has earned because time is of the essence. The Blangiardi city administration is expected to shortly issue a call for proposals on how to use the Downtown Art Center’s magnificent gallery and related space in the city’s Chinatown Gateway Plaza. This is space that the Downtown Art Center has in the past year-and-a-half turned into Hawaii’s most impressive gallery space, and a home for a number of our leading arts organizations.

But that space — which has showcased exhibits ranging from the best of our local watercolor artists, to the craftsmanship of our best woodworkers, to multimedia arts works of men and women affiliated with our leading architectural firms — could be lost to the arts if another type of organization simply offers more lease rent for the unused municipal space.

Such an outcome would be tragic. Under the leadership of Executive Director Sandra Pohl, who managed the famous Louis Pohl Gallery for years, the Downtown Art Center has become the home for many of our leading fine arts organizations and hosted some of the most exciting arts exhibits the city has seen in years. What is even more remarkable is that this transformation of formerly empty space has taken place during a global pandemic the likes of which the world hasn’t experienced since the Spanish influenza in the early 20th century.

We want to keep the momentum going. Sandy Pohl’s vision is that the Downtown Art Center becomes an anchor for renewed interest and investment in Chinatown. And not just for art galleries. Bigger crowds making their way to Chinatown means more opportunity for restaurateurs, shop keepers, offices for professionals, and yes, gallery owners. More people attending classes at the Downtown Art Center, which is already happening, means more economic activity for long-dormant commercial properties.

This isn’t just a warm and fuzzy idea. Anyone who has run a Chinatown business in the past two decades will tell you that the revitalization of the area began with interest in the arts. And it was Sandy Pohl who was one of the forces behind that initial push, which culminated in the launch of First Fridays in Chinatown.

Unfortunately, some of the gains made during that exciting period were lost when municipal support wasn’t as active as was required by the times. We are concerned that the current city administration is about to make the same mistake, all in the name of getting the highest return on leasing unused municipal office space. We understand that return on investment is important. But we also know that sometimes government has to step in and be a force for supporting the best in the human condition.

This is such a time, and the Downtown Art Center and all that it represents is worthy of full-throated support by all of us. We urge the Blangiardi administration to join with us and embrace the Downtown Art Center’s vision of a vibrant arts community helping to drive a sustained revival of one of our oldest and most important cultural neighborhoods.

Marcy Katz, Gina Kerr and MaryAnne Long are active in Honolulu’s fine arts community; this was co-signed also by Dwayne and Sandy Adams.