Sharon Karriker: New Director of the Belton Center for the Arts

Sharon Karriker, the new executive director of the Belton Center for the Arts (BCA), discovered her new town unexpectedly. A year ago, she was driving through Belton and decided to stop to check out the festival that was going on. “I walked through town and met the mayor and the people running sound,” she said. “I saw the Arts Center. I thought this would be a great place to live, and a year later I found this position.” She is also a new member of the Anderson Artists Guild.

A North Carolina native, she grew up in Wake Forest and worked as the executive director of a nonprofit called Upper Room Ministries, a Christian coffee house and band venue, in Statesville for 10 years. Her responsibilities included everything from booking bands to running sound to hosting fundraisers, Bible studies, and worship events. She also has experience as the director of Christian education at a church, as a cake decorator, and as a homeschool mom. “With homeschooling, my idea was to put resources in my girls’ hands and let them pursue their interests,” she said. “They each pursued art and music and found their heart language."

Karriker, who lives in Anderson near her daughter and grandson, started at the BCA in March. Her first goal is to open up art lessons again after the pandemic. She’d also like to expand community art lessons into cake decorating and glasswork. And a spoken word performance by Levi the Poet and open mike night is scheduled for July 21.

“Art builds and creates community,” she said.

For more information about the BCA, visit https://www.beltoncenterforthearts.org/.