At a pivotal time for the Maine Arts Commission, a new leader offers hope

In the 19th century, renowned landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church built a majestic house called Olana on a hilltop in New York’s Hudson Valley. But he also had a small camp on Lake Millinocket and often painted in Maine. His depiction of Mount Katahdin hangs in the Portland Museum of Art.

In 2019, Amy Hausmann became director of Olana, now a state historic site. Like Church, she pursued a career in New York. Like him, she had long felt drawn to Maine. As a child, she spent summers in Ocean Park, and as an adult, she spent summers with her parents in Richmond. Hausmann left Olana that summer, but followed Church to her adopted home.

“I have always watched the Maine State Art Commission,” Hausmann said in an interview. “So when I saw this job was available, I knew I wanted to throw my hat into the ring.”

Hausmann started as executive director of the Maine Arts Commission in August, with 30 years of experience working at the intersection of arts and government agencies. It comes at a crucial time for the commission, which is among the lowest in the country in terms of state funding. The commission has at times struggled with budgetary and bureaucratic constraints to stay relevant, and observers expressed hope that Hausmann would expand its reach.

“I would like to see the arts committee at the table in a more robust way because it brings the arts to the table,” said Shoni Currier, executive director of the Bates Dance Festival.

Bob Keyes, chairman of the Maine Arts Commission and a former arts reporter for the Portland Press Herald, said he was inspired by Hausmann from her first interview.

“I felt like we could aim a little higher and benefit not only from her experience, but also from her big thinking,” Keyes said. “Maybe we could try to do the things we haven’t done.”

“I had a voice”

When Hausmann was in fourth grade at a public school in New Jersey, the poet visited her classroom every week as a teaching artist. She encouraged students to write poems about paintings, their families and their earliest memories. The class prepared a small book containing the results of their work. Hausmann still has it.

“She showed me that I had a voice,” Hausmann said. “She taught me that I can look at something and see many different layers to what I’m looking at. She taught me that I was a creative person and I have never forgotten that.

She studied art and art history at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and worked briefly at a nonprofit gallery before becoming a public official.

In New York, she worked for both the New York Transit Museum and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arts & Design. One of the main goals of her career has been to bring visual and performing arts programming to the city’s subways and train stations. She oversaw the selection of more than 150 new standing contemporary art commissions totaling $22 million and directed programs such as Poetry in Motion, which placed poems on subway cars.

In 2019, she moved to the Hudson Valley and became the principal of Olana. In 2021, the site saw the highest number of visits in its 54-year history, up 74% from 2019. Hausmann launched Poetry in the Parks in partnership with the Poetry Society of America, integrating contemporary poems in New York’s state parks and historical places.

Hausmann said she has built her career in both art and government because she believes that art should be integrated into everyday life.

“I strongly believe that arts and culture are for everyone and I strongly believe in ensuring that everyone has access to arts and culture,” she said.

Artist Jean Shin, who lives in the Hudson Valley and Brooklyn, has known Hausmann for years and has worked with her on three different public commissions over the years.

“It’s great to have an administrator at the helm who really understands what artists need and how to make it better,” Shin said. “There are a lot of things that can go wrong in this process, and to have someone who has a keen eye and can advise when the processes aren’t working to choose a more artist-friendly path, I think it’s incredibly important to have a true master of the art in public space.”

79 cents per capita

In recent years, the Maine State Arts Commission has operated in a selection mode.

In late 2020, former executive director Julie Richard left for a job in Arizona. The committee made the unusual decision to abandon the search for a job for its deputy due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to quickly transfer emergency funds to artistic organizations. Instead, board chairman David Greenham took over as interim executive director in March 2021. He oversaw the development of a five-year strategic plan before stepping down in September 2023.

“It was a realization that I had to stay for five years or I had to get out of the way and let someone else come in and run the company from that point on,” Greenham said at the time.

The Maine Arts Commission has a budget of approximately $2 million from two main sources. Just over half comes from the Maine Legislature, and the rest comes from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The National Association of State Art Agencies found Maine ranked 38th in the nation in state arts spending per capita for fiscal year 2024. The roughly $1 million from the state came to about 79 cents per capita, the lowest in New England. By comparison, Massachusetts ranked 11th and allocated $4.46 per capita to its state arts agency.

The Maine Arts Commission employs eight full-time and one part-time staff. Hausmann’s salary is approximately $125,400. Fiscal 2023 operating expenses were $455,800. The remaining expenses are usually divided between programs and grants.

This year, the Maine Arts Commission spent $710,000 on public arts and arts education programs. These include Percent for Art (art in public buildings), Art in the Capitol (exhibitions of contemporary Maine artists in Capitol buildings), Poetry Out Loud (annual showcase for high school students), and the State Poet Laureate.

In 2023, the agency also provided $723,900 in grants to both individual artists and nonprofit organizations. The maximum individual artist award amount is $5,000, and arts organizations can receive up to $7,500. Private funders in Maine often have more money to spend; for example, the Onion Foundation, a charitable foundation supporting the arts and environmental causes, donates approximately $1.75 million annually to arts organizations. But dollars are needed and in demand. Last year, the Maine Arts Commission received 312 applications and awarded 127 awards.

Daniel Sipe, one of the founders of Lights Out Gallery in Norway, said he was thrilled that in July the Maine State Arts Commission awarded 29 micro-grants worth up to $1,000 in Aroostook County, where he grew up. He wants to work with staff to develop a similar program in western Maine.

“Rural Maine is a really amazing place where a lot of artists work, but their work isn’t shared as widely,” Sipe said. “However, recently the Maine Arts Commission has devoted more time and resources to trying to promote what is happening in remote areas like Aroostook County and western Maine.”

Others also expressed hope for the expansion of subsidy programs. The priority, of course, is more money. However, they also said that the apps could be less intrusive; funds, more targeted.

Maine State Music Theater in Brunswick Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark said grants from the commission help cover the costs of important programming, including sensory-friendly performances for young audiences. However, he said the state does not distinguish between applicants based on size or budget and would like to see a more tailored approach.

“The organization has a $100,000 budget and they get a $10,000 grant, and we have a $10 million budget and we get a $10,000 grant,” he said. “The impact of this subsidy is much smaller.”

The Cultural Alliance of Maine was formed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire for cultural institutions to have more say in funding and recovery policies. Executive director Mollie Cashwell said the Maine Arts Commission does good work but overall needs more resources.

“They give as much as they get to work,” Cashwell said. “I think in terms of the many services that they provide, the opportunities that they create, and the visibility that they increase, like the poet laureate, I think there are some really significant initiatives being developed. When you’re limited by what you have to work with, that’s how it is. “I think some people would like to see a greater presence and logo of the Maine Arts Commission on more projects.”

“UP FROM HERE”

The committee received over 90 applications for the position of executive director. Nat May, arts programming specialist at the Onion Foundation, participated in the first round of interviews and said he is excited about the experience Hausmann brings to the position.

“I hope that the commission will be a strong agency, a source of information for artists, arts organizations and artistic workers, that it will be specific and specific about what it wants to do at a given specific time, and that it will be able to adapt to new conditions as needed jobs in Maine’s arts sector,” May said.

Donna McNeil served as executive director of the Maine Arts Commission from 2003 to 2013. During this time, she handed lawmakers a stick of gum and told them they couldn’t buy it for the pennies per capita they were giving to the Maine Arts Commission. McNeil has since returned to the commission as a board member and also serves as executive director of the Ellis Beauregard Foundation. She said she believes Hausmann will be a strong advocate for the commission in Augusta and Washington

“He has everything and more that you need in a position like this,” McNeil said. “It’s up from here. The impact of the impact of state and federal dollars in Maine will be tangible.”

Art industry leaders said they look forward to getting to know Hausmann and helping her learn what they’re doing in the field. Jordia Benjamin, executive director of Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland, said younger organizations like hers especially need the support and dialogue the commission can offer.

“I hope for an active dialogue that doesn’t always have to be led by an organization, but that it is led by a committee,” Benjamin said. “They come and check the situation in art to keep their finger on the pulse.”

Shannon Haines, president and CEO of Waterville Creates, also expressed hope that the commission would help organizations share more knowledge with each other. For example, she would like to attend a workshop on managing a public art program in her city.

“I think we could use moral and educational support,” she said. “What are the best practices? How do other communities deal with this effectively? How is it financed?”

Hausmann sees the role of the Maine Arts Commission the same way. She pointed to the strategic plan that was ready and waiting for her when she started her new job. Already a few weeks before the first day, she was able to distinguish four pillars: service, contact, financing and development. She said she wants the agency to be a resource for artists, arts organizations and people who just want to know what’s happening in the arts in Maine. She began her career traveling around the state; this week she attended an arts summit in Portland and then traveled to Hancock County.

“I want everyone to know what the Maine Arts Commission does,” she said.

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