Katie Phillips was a creative builder, maker, and force in our arts community. Her accomplishments were not only in creating art for herself but creating spaces where others could create their own art. Whether you experienced her joyful light and inquisitive mind (always planning the next ‘art attack’) as a co-founder of the Squeeze Collective, a coordinator for the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (including First Fridays among numerous other things for BKBIA), or through her own work that spanned murals, paintings, graphic design and other public art – the experience you had always left you ready to plan the next art adventure with Katie. The arts community in Long Beach can sometimes be a tough one, so it hits especially hard when we lose such an impactful arts leader as Katie because they don’t come around often and they don’t have a smile quite as contagious as hers. We send our love to her friends, her family, her fellow artists and her partner David Hedden. No one could have made a better match for either of them, then each other. Their community building and contributions reached nearly every corner in Long Beach.
Image Credit: Katie Phillips mural titled A Life of Possibilities. Part of the Uptown Creative Corridor Challenge.