I hate goodbyes.

But today, with just shy of 30 years in Arkansas public service, I’m retiring. That word doesn’t sit easily with me. But it will have to do, I guess.

When I joined the Arts Council in January 2017, I stepped into an agency with a long and noble history. My background — more than a decade on the legislative staff, seven years with the state Historic Preservation Program — made this feel like the right job at the right time. But having taught several years of film photography at the Arkansas Arts Center’s Museum School, I also came with an artist’s questions: why aren’t more resources directed to developing creatives as a workforce? And who, after 50 years of Arts Council grants and services, were the communities, regions and artists that were still not being adequately served?

In pursuing answers to these questions, I’ve had the privilege of helping build programs that connect artists with resources, students with inspiration, and communities with their own creative power. I’ve worked with performers who bring joy to classrooms from Texarkana to West Memphis. Potters who shape the earth at their feet into art and their classrooms into artist communities. Folk artists, blues guitarists and poets whose stories and songs are woven into the fabric of Arkansas. We’ve supported murals, mosaics, mentorships, and we’ve even added post-punk fusion saxophone performers to our Arts on Tour Roster. I was proud of that one.

I leave behind a team of professionals with an abiding faith in the power of the arts to build and heal communities. They care deeply about the students, artists, teachers and arts organizations they serve. Leading them has been the best part of my career. The Arts Council is in good hands, and this staff will continue to do amazing things in the years to come.

And me? I’ll have a little more time to swim those laps, walk my dog Trav a little longer, play with my new grandson, and maybe head down to Mexico for a while with my wife Leigh Anne. And there’s always the art. I’ve neglected my own portfolio for years as Arts Council director. I want to be a working artist again, and rediscover the joy of losing myself in that work. I also plan to collaborate with other artists and arts organizations in their efforts to get more art to more people. Because no one needs this much free time in their life, and I am really lousy at golf.

To all the artists, poets, dancers, panelists, tradition bearers, creative entrepreneurs, teachers, creators, and doers: thank you for making these years truly unforgettable. Let’s all keep making good trouble, beautifully.

With gratitude,
Patrick