8 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE psychological health of the Valley as a whole. “You can try to heal the body, but without healing the mind and soul, you’re not a healthy, whole person,” said Christie Swedbergh, the Piper Center’s associate director. “I think that’s the beauty of Piper Trust. They support both medicine and the humanities. You have to have both in order to be a healthy society.” Indeed. The arts are critical to community health and vitality. So enjoy reading about our local arts scene and consider your next ticket purchase or arts experience an investment in your community and yourself. Cheers to the season ahead! Were you in the audience at last summer’s thrilling production of “Raymonda” by the School of Ballet Arizona and the Phoenix Youth Symphony? Are you an Audra McDonald fan, pumped about her September show at Mesa Arts Center? Maybe you’re a jazz lover looking forward to some cool concerts at The Nash. All of these wonderful, life-enhancing experiences start with the arts. They impact our daily lives and improve our quality of life. But it’s not just cultural value at play; Arizona’s arts organizations affect business and add significant value to our economy. Virginia Piper recognized this decades ago. During the second half of the 20 th century, she was one of the Southwest’s most recognized and respected philanthropists. A modest Midwesterner tutored in the art of giving by her first husband, Paul Galvin (co-founder of Motorola and inventor of the car radio), Virginia helped shape the landscape of this community with her strategic philanthropic investments. Today, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust carries on her artful legacy. One of the largest private foundations in Arizona, the Trust works to enrich the lives of people across Maricopa County through arts and culture, healthcare, education and more. With that in mind, Frontdoors partnered with Piper Trust on our annual Arts & Culture Issue to celebrate the new arts season and highlight some of the artists, arts organizations and arts workers creating a more vibrant future for us all. In our cover story, we visit the talented team at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. A destination for both ASU students and creative writers from around the world, the Piper Center was established through a groundbreaking gift from Piper Trust 20 years ago. Today, the team revels in their mission to bring the gift of good writing and writers to the community, affecting the EDITOR’S NOTE KAREN WERNER EDITOR IN CHIEF Karen Invest in the Community — and Yourself Photo by Rosalie O’Connor

© 2023 Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust pipertrust.org Virginia Galvin Piper ARTS & CULTURE Photo by: Tim Trumble Virginia and Paul Galvin “…We all have an opportunity to do ‘good things’ on a daily basis for others…to provide our world and its people, through giving, an improved, beautiful culture and places to live, work, and grow healthy families, and to enjoy the arts…”