Director of Anderson Arts Center Resigns

April Cameron, executive director of the Anderson Arts Center (AAC), has resigned after five years in the position. Her successor is Anderson Artists Guild member Kathy Moore.

One of Cameron’s main goals at the AAC was to make it more welcoming. She wanted the public to know that “you didn’t have to be wealthy to come and appreciate art, and you didn’t have to be the most talented artist to participate,” she said. “We have done that. I’ve seen the demographics change for those coming to openings and entering shows.”

Other accomplishments include starting an after-school art program for children and initiating the Art Slam, in which artists must create something on the spot from a given selection of supplies.

She can also point to a big financial feat: paying off the debt on the AAC’s building. Though the capital campaign was interrupted by COVID and put on hold for a few years, it finally met its goal during the celebration of the AAC’s fiftieth anniversary in 2022. And now a building fund has been started to take care of needs such as HVAC repair.

While there are a few things she didn’t get to—she always wanted to host a folk art exhibit, and the building needs a new roof—she feels proud of what she and her team have done over the past five years.

Cameron is moving to the Savannah area, near family, to take a new job as president of the Port Wentworth Chamber of Commerce. Her duties, she said, are a combination of business development and tourism marketing.

She’s excited about the new challenges but sad about saying goodbye. “The artist community was so welcoming to me, and I love our staff,” she said. “Making this transition was a bittersweet and difficult decision.”