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Behind the Curtain: Linda Kramer Jenning

What AHB means to me How do you find community when you move across country to an island where you don’t know anyone? For me, learning about AHB, joining its board and serving as secretary…

What AHB means to me

How do you find community when you move across country to an island where you don’t know anyone? For me, learning about AHB, joining its board and serving as secretary helped me find that sense of community. AHB not only introduced me to amazing and welcoming people, it also helped connect me to the wonderful variety of Bainbridge arts and creativity through its cultural platform Currents and its work on public art and arts in education.

Coping with 2020

I’m a big reader and find in books the respite we all seek from this year’s challenges. I am grateful to Eagle Harbor Books for their regular suggestions of what to read and to Kitsap Regional Library for its eBook loan system and to my book groups for lively zoomed discussions. When the restrictions needed to keep us safe temporarily closed many doors, AHB’s cultural platform Currents quickly pivoted to provide links to the rapidly expanding range of online creative experiences. I’ve enjoyed a concert featuring Bainbridge’s own Stephanie Reese, a streamed artist talk from BIMA and explorations of our island’s past from the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. These opportunities to connect with creativity give us hope and resilience at a time when we need both so much.

Looking ahead to 2021

This challenging year most importantly has reminded us all how much we mean to each other and need each other. Our ties to family and friends lift our spirits and keep us going. We need to cherish connections to one another and to our community and realize that we can stay connected and supportive of each other even when we can’t be together.

What excites you about AHB going forward

As I look forward to 2021, I’m excited about the outreach AHB is making to support the Bainbridge creative community. AHB now offers a Marketplace on Currents to help artists sell their works. AHB also is launching a new feature on Currents to share videos of performances by student musicians, vocalists, dancers and actors. This Bainbridge Talent Showcase gives a chance to highlight the next generation of great performers. And at a time when we can’t have live recitals, AHB wants to offer a virtual stage for the island’s young talent. Overall, what excites me most about AHB is how everyone involved goes above and beyond to figure out how to best serve the community.


Linda Jenning is a veteran journalist who continues to freelance since moving to Bainbridge in 2017. In Washington, D.C., she taught journalism at Georgetown University, served as the DC editor for Glamour magazine, and earlier worked in the Time Inc. bureau for People. She started her journalism career at the Associated Press and covered politics in Oregon and worked at KOIN-TV before moving to DC. She is a graduate of Smith College and earned a master’s in writing from John Hopkins.