The Art Center of Waco not only will have a new building this fall, but a new director, with trustees selecting Waco nonprofit officer Doug McDurham as the arts organization’s new chief executive officer.
McDurham, 57, topped the list of about 50 applicants in a nationwide search for a new director, buoyed by his background in nonprofit management, a network of community contacts built over 20 years, his love for the arts, considerable people skills and a vision for the role of arts in the community, Art Center board President Jill Michaels said.
“When (the search committee) went through all the names, the last name standing was Doug’s,” she said. “We’re tickled to death.”
McDurham will start his new position Aug. 9, following nine years as director of strategy and programs at Baylor University’s Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. He, too, is excited to start and sees the arts filling an essential role in the community.
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“I definitely believe in the power of art and the healing power of art,” McDurham said. “I loved the job I was in, but when I saw the posting for this, it spoke to my heart.”
He said he thought the lack of a background in professional arts management made him a long shot for the position, but felt his experience in nonprofit management, grant writing, board and community building, whether in education or providing resources for a vulnerable population, were skills that would transfer.
“It doesn’t feel that much of a leap,” he said.
He and his wife, Robin McDurham, CEO of the Transformation Waco charter system within the Waco Independent School District, have lived in Waco for 21 years. Their sons Dakota and Zane, both graduates of Waco High School and Southwestern University, now live and work in Austin.
Trained in social work, Doug McDurham served as CEO for the Community In Schools program in Waco for about 13 before moving to the Baylor collaborative. He is a McLennan Community College board member, representing District 1 since 2015, and serves on the United Way of Waco-McLennan County board of directors. McDurham also has served on the boards of the McLennan County Hunger Coalition and the MCC Adult Education and Mental Health advisory boards.
McDurham said his lifetime love of the arts and experience in community work combine in his vision for what the Art Center of Waco can do. Its art education programs for children and adults, its use of space for community and its exhibition of art that speaks to the spirit all contribute to Waco and its quality of life, he said.
“I want this to be a place for folks to gather, a place for folks to learn, a place for folks to experience,” McDurham said.
The new CEO will have new physical place for that gathering within the next few months as construction and renovation continue on its downtown location at 701 S. Eighth St. The one-story brick center, once a child care center, realizes a dream for many Art Center leaders and supporters to move back downtown after four decades on the McLennan Community College campus in the former summer residence of the William Cameron family.
Structural damage to that three-story building discovered in October 2017 forced the Art Center to leave for a new location, which it found months later, a few blocks away from the Magnolia Market at the Silos complex. The center’s $2.6 million renovation is heading into its final stages before opening to the public in early fall.
Board President Michaels said most of the center’s construction work is expected to be finished in the next four to six weeks, but uncertainty about supply chain delays and an ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases recently led board members to delay a ribbon cutting that had been penciled in for Sept. 8.
The new center will feature a main gallery with two side galleries, classrooms, offices, a gift shop, kitchen area and a large multipurpose space opening into a patio area. Many of the works in the Sculpture Garden of the Art Center of Waco’s former home will move to the Eighth Street location.