Ignition NW board member Dane Johnson and the Burien Arts Commission

Burien is tired of being seen as a sign on the road to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. But even city hall will admit: It’s hard to know how to draw more people in.

Someone should ask Dane Johnson, a new member of the city’s arts commission, and the operations manager at Seattle radio station KUOW-FM. He’s got it all worked out.

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There were good reasons to come. The houses were affordable. The city showed signs of promise. So after years of living in Seattle, Johnson, a former gallery owner, and his wife, Kathy Justin, a lighting designer, took the teasing, crossed their fingers and made the move.

“We saw a lot of potential — not only communitywise, but artswise,” said Johnson, a founding board member of Ignition NW, an arts group associated with Burning Man.

Six years later, the couple are on the city’s arts commission, and Johnson is trying to bring Burning Man art to Town Square. With Seattle moving toward high-profile art, he said, Burien could really make a name for itself as an upstart on the emerging arts scene.

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