Taylor Swain named interim executive director of ACO
by October 9, 2016 12:24 pm 196 views
The Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale has tapped Jenni Taylor Swain, former vice president of programming for the Walton Arts Center, as executive/artistic director.
Taylor Swain confirmed she signed a year-long contract with the ACO at the end of June. Her long-term involvement with the company has not yet been decided, she said.
“Plans are open, but my hope is to jumpstart the organization with its new vision and help to get things moving with the downtown Springdale revitalization.”
Taylor Swain takes over executive leadership following the retirement of Harry and Kathi Blundell, who led the center for 40 years.
ACO is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and it recently announced a “new direction” for the future, Taylor Swain said.
“A strategic vision and plan was developed by a group of arts and business leaders from across Springdale and Northwest Arkansas to ‘reimagine the arts in Springdale.’ The result is new executive leadership, new board leadership and new programming,” she said.
Taylor Swain, who spent 26 years at the WAC, is the founder of Potluck Arts, an independent producer and presenter committed to improving the arts and culture scene of Northwest Arkansas through community development and collaborations. She is also a founding member of the John F. Kennedy Center’s Performing Arts Center and Schools Program, past member of the Broadway League where she served as Tony voter for six years and is serving on the Artistic Advisory Committee of Circus Now, a national organization that encourages and promotes circus as an art and a practice in North America.
“Jenni Taylor Swain is a cutting-edge arts leader,” Tareneh Manning, ACO Board of Directors president, noted in an ACO press release. “She has extensive arts presenting experience, fundraising, and participation on an executive team from startup to a multimillion-dollar organization. She is nationally known and brings a wealth of experience that will enable the center to grow and expand its new vision.”