Nick Nelson was named Springfield Art Museum director July 6, moving to town from Albany, Ga., where he directed the Albany Museum of Art. Nelson. With a reputation for collaboration, Nelson said he was attracted to the post because of Springfield’s vibrant arts community. A statistic that Nelson faces: Art museum attendance fell 23 percent between 2009 and 2011, when 33,081 guests passed through its doors.
First Impressions “I found the job online, and then I did a little research and delved into the specifics of the community. I did some research on the museum and what was going on here, and it just seemed like an incredible opportunity. I applied for the position, and I was fortunate to be brought in for interviews. I did a video conference interview, and then an interview in person, and it went from there. … What impressed me, too, was the level of community involvement in the search process. There were people on the board, but also people representing the community on the search committee. To me, that spoke volumes about where they wanted the museum to go.”
Active in the Arts “(What) really interested me was all the wonderful things going on in the community. It seemed that the community really supported the arts. I read through the vision statement that the board had put together, and it is really a wonderful statement about what a museum should and could be. … There is really an active art scene with First Fridays and some of the other arts organizations.”
Historical Relevance Today “(The search committee) didn’t want someone who would say, ‘This is the way museums are run,’ but somebody who would say, ‘This is what a museum can become.’ … Museums are in a really interesting position in that the world is changing. The world is always changing, but the rate of change is kind of accelerating especially in the cultural realm as communication and technology and the way we relate to the world around us changes. … It puts museums in an interesting position where they have one foot in the old world, in the past, but they’ve got to make these objects relevant in today’s world. … We have an exhibit opening (Sept. 14) by John Cavanaugh called “Hammered Lead.” John Cavanaugh is a sculptor whose pieces are very lyrical and have lots of movement. We’re also looking to continue our Watercolor USA series, and we should soon have an exhibit on print markings, which is a lot of fun.”
Cultural Tourism “The museum is a resource for the whole community, and any community that has such a rich resource is going to be attractive to business. On another level, the museum is also an educational resource. … Organizations (such as) the museum drive economic development in a lot of ways and in surprising ways. There are statistics that show that cultural tourists – people who come to town to participate in cultural events and the arts – tend to stay longer and spend more money. There are also statistics that show a strong arts education is an indicator of other academic success in other subjects. A museum or art center that provides family activities is incredibly important because parental involvement is twice as predictive of academic success as socioeconomic status.”
Blank Canvas “We are looking internally first and finding our strengths: What are the things we do really well? What do we excel at? What are our resources and how do we share those? We’ve already been meeting with community groups and getting to know people. I’ve been getting to know people, seeing what the needs are, what people are interested in and how we can help. … The Springfield Regional Arts Council is definitely one we want to work with. ... Another factor that is important, though, is just being open to collaboration. We want to be open to ideas from a variety of groups.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
