Nan Baker, the on again, off again, on again, off again arts director
A brief history for those who may not be aware of the history of this organization, once called the Sioux Empire Arts Council.
It actually ran very well out of the Horse Barn for several years, it was an alternative for visual artists, musicians, poets and actors who couldn’t or wouldn’t participate in activities at the Washington Pavilion.
So when the Pavilion was planning to move the offices of other local arts orgs to their building, they conveniently placed the (former) VAC director, David Merhib, on the board of the SE Arts Council, ironically a Brookings resident, who now runs the Brookings Chamber of Commerce.
It was a planned power grab. Quickly Mr. Merhib convinced the closure of the Horse Barn (a storage shed now) and moved the offices to the Pavilion, with a name change, Sioux Falls Arts Council, then Nan Baker steps in (Nan is part of the Baker family, First National Bank). She is well connected with the monied elite in Sioux Falls, to say the least.
Nan ran the organization to begin with, than found herself suffocating in the big purple building, so she moved it out of the Pavilion, then she left, then she came back, now she is leaving again.
Yeah, like anything involving the Pavilion and its board members, complicated and baffling (and probably a touch of corruption).
Sandra Pay explains the recent exit in this letter to the editor. Â Sandra has served on both the Sioux Falls Arts Council Board and the Executive Board of the Pavilion.
Interesting ‘cover’ story Sandra wrote. There is something bigger going on here, that we are not being told and to be honest with you, I don’t have the slightest clue, but if I had a wild guess, the Pavilion is involved again, and it may be why Nan has exited, again. She has expressed in the past that she wasn’t very happy about the relationship between the Pavilion and the Arts Council. Probably because the VAC was ran by someone who knows nothing about art (he damaged one of the Rockwell’s while unpacking the exhibit) and an arts center ran by a reservist military commander (Jon Loos, Operations Manager at the Pavilion). A recipe for frustration from the arts community in Sioux Falls, to say the least.
Now let’s read Nan’s farewell on the Facebooks;
It has been rewarding to see the Arts Council’s transformation. In 2015 they will be looking for a FULL TIME director. Get your resume or cv dusted off and apply. Great organization. I’ll be spending more time with my fellowship, family and friends. Stay in touch. Get out and enjoy Frist Friday! Happy Holidays!
Maybe I should also apply for this job, in case my bid for the county commission falls through? I actually probably have a better chance at the county job 🙂
I have actually put a plea out there on my blog to have a DaCola interview with the new Pavilion VAC director, Kara Dirkson, with no response. And an artist friend of mine also encouraged her to talk with me. I won’t even print her response to him, because it was so ridiculous, I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone. But let’s just say, the Pavilion is on information lockdown when it comes to the arts center.
Not sure if the Pavilion is trying to weasel their way back into the Sioux Falls Arts Council, but I think we all better keep a watchful eye.