After four and half years covering arts and entertainment in Nanaimo I have decided to resign from the Nanaimo News Bulletin.
As of this writing I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do next, but I just feel like it’s time to try something different. That same desire for new experiences is what motivated me to come to Nanaimo in the first place.
When I first moved here in 2017 I didn’t know anyone in or anything about Nanaimo, aside from its namesake dessert. I might have known that Diana Krall was from here as well. As an Ontarian it was my first time setting foot on Vancouver Island and my first time in British Columbia in about 20 years. Despite my ignorance, it did not take long for me to find my footing. I’ve found that working for community newspapers is a great way to familiarize oneself rapidly with one’s new surroundings and become acquainted with the local movers and shakers.
JOB POSTING: Multimedia journalist - Nanaimo
It’s been nice getting to meet all the people in town involved with local arts and culture over the past four and a half years and I thank them for taking the time to be interviewed and photographed by me. Artists generally want their work to be seen and heard and that’s where I came in. I believe what they do is important and I hope that through my writing I managed to encourage at least a few people to check out a performance or an art exhibition and maybe discover something new.
Nanaimo has a very active arts scene and I found it easy to fill my arts and entertainment section with articles and photographs. Often I would have to save surplus articles for subsequent issues due to space limitations. Even when COVID-19-related gathering restrictions came into place, forcing artists to cancel events and venues like the Port Theatre to close their doors, I still found plenty of stories to tell. A global pandemic was not going to stop Nanaimo’s artists from creating.
While I have interviewed artists known across Canada and internationally, the ones I like to talk to the most are up-and-comers and those with local and regional followings. Artists at the early stages of their careers have an energy that is inspiring to witness and I’m sure I’ve met many artists that I’ll be able to say I knew before they were famous. And as COVID-19 restrictions continue to loosen and larger in-person art events begin happening again I hope Nanaimo residents respond by supporting those artists and by letting them know that they have been missed and that they are needed.
The reason I like being an arts reporter is because I believe that art is the best thing that humanity has come up with so far. From neolithic cave paintings to state-of-the-art Hollywood blockbusters, the arts can make us think and feel and they will outlive us all. And at a time when it seems like we’re living from crisis to crisis, the arts can also provide comfort and make us feel like we’re not alone.
I hope that during my time as arts and entertainment editor my reporting helped connect readers to such a work of art.
Josef Jacobson has been arts editor of the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 2017. Today, Feb. 25, is his last day at the News Bulletin.
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