Bell will lead Fayetteville’s efforts to incorporate arts in the the community

New director Bell to head up new Fayetteville program

Joanna Sheehan Bell
Joanna Sheehan Bell

FAYETTEVILLE -- The city has hired the former communications director for TheatreSquared to ensure the arts are integrated into city services.

Joanna Sheehan Bell will serve as the city's arts and culture director. It's a new position the City Council created in this year's budget, along with the creation of an arts and culture program. More than $219,000 is included in the budget toward the endeavors.

Bell previously served as director of marketing and communications for TheatreSquared. The job prompted her to move to Fayetteville five years ago.

Before then, Bell was director of programs for the American Theatre Wing, a New York organization that founded the Tony Awards. She oversaw programs ranging from grants, awards, professional development initiatives, Emmy-nominated media productions and national partnerships, according to a news release from the city.

Bell has a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University in New York and a bachelor's degree in English and theater from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. She hails from Virginia.

The city's forward-thinking investment in arts and culture is what drew Bell to the area, she said. The city already has strong resources and communal knowledge of the arts, and it will be her role to figure out what individuals and groups need and want to see in the community's culture, Bell said.

"I think that's a really exciting place to start from -- thinking about how to codify those things and make sure they happen in the most intentional way possible going forward -- so art is integrated into the city structure as all of the city services are," she said.

Bell will lead arts and culture planning for the city and help come up with a master plan that will guide projects and programming, said Alison Jumper, director of parks, natural resources and cultural affairs.

"Fayetteville already has a strong foundation, and we are thrilled to begin building upon it," Jumper said.

Serving as liaison to the Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange also will be among Bell's roles. The regional organization helps groups and individuals showcase Northwest Arkansas as a premier destination for the arts.

CACHE will work with Bell on cultural planning, strategizing with the city's arts council, activating the arts corridor downtown known as the Ramble and recovering from the impact of the pandemic, said Kelsey Howard, the organization's director of art services and strategic partnerships.

The organization also works with Bentonville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale with its municipal arts alliance program. The program provides an opportunity for cities and leaders to learn and shape policies together that will help the arts and culture of the region thrive, Howard said.

A series of group gatherings throughout the year will organize the program, with emphasis on music ecosystems, public-private partnerships and creative community development, Howard said.

Bell's salary with the city is $90,001. She begins work July 24.

 

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