Merritt to step down as Arts Council director
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on July 17, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Sarah Merritt, director of the Arts Council of Wayne County, poses at the Arts Council Wednesday. Mrs. Merritt has announced that she will be stepping down as director for the Arts Council after 10 years to move to Pennsylvania to be closer to her family.
Sarah Merritt is leaving the Arts Council of Wayne County after being its director for the past 10 years.
Mrs. Merritt and her husband, Jeff, an Air Force retiree, and their 8-year-old son, Ian, are moving to Pennsylvania at the end of this year to be closer to family.
"Goldsboro is the longest I've ever lived anywhere in my life, 17 years," she said. "This really is our home, and it's going to be hard to say goodbye."
Mrs. Merritt said since she made the decision to step down as the Arts Council's director, people have asked her what's going to happen to the nonprofit organization.
"I think the thing people need to keep in mind, there doesn't need to be another Sarah Merritt in this position," she said. "The thing to remember is that for the organization to grow and thrive, there needs to be fresh blood and fresh ideas. It would be good to have some fresh eyes that a new person can bring to the position."
She said that even if her family had not decided to leave Goldsboro, she would have turned the directorship over to a new person within a year.
"I feel that after a certain amount of time, somebody new needs to come in with fresh ideas," Mrs. Merritt said.
"We have a great staff, a dedicated board of directors and a great group of volunteers. This organization has come to be recognized by the state as one of the best arts councils in the state. That's a really great thing."
Mrs. Merritt came to the Arts Council in December 2006. She has a bachelor's degree in art history, and is an artist -- a painter -- herself.
At the time the position came open, Mrs. Merritt was in the real estate business, but wanted to get into an area that she went to school for.
"And I needed to be working with what I love, what my passion is," she said. "I came into something that had a great staff, something that was pretty solid. That was very helpful because I had time to get really acclimated to the work. I had never run a nonprofit, so I had a lot of learning."
Mrs. Merritt has seen the Arts Council go through a lot of positive changes in her time as director, including moving from its old location on East Ash Street to its current one at 102 N. John St. in 2011.
"I always was optimistic about the move, but you just never know what the future is going to hold," she said. "But it turned out to be the best decision."
Mrs. Merritt said that being downtown has made a huge difference in the work of the Arts Council.
"Our mission is to ensure the arts are thriving in our community, and a big part of that is making sure we're accessible to everyone in the community," she said. "Downtown is the heart of the community.
"It's just really been amazing to be in the center of all this activity, all this foot traffic. It's opened a lot of doors for us."
Since moving downtown, the Arts Council's programs have grown dramatically, Mrs. Merritt said. She said its music program has gone from 20 to more than 50 students. And the organization started a studio artist program, and currently has a waiting list of artists wanting space in its building.
The Arts Council also added First Friday, open mic night, community drum circle and the jazz showcase to its schedule.
Its exhibits have gotten a lot more visitors because people walking around downtown can see through the windows and want to see more, Mrs. Merritt said.
"It's just been really amazing to see how the community has embraced the Arts Council in downtown and how much the Arts Council has grown," she said. "Our budget went from $220,000 a year to $327,000 this year."
Mrs. Merritt said she knows the Arts Council will only continue to grow.
One of the big things she's not going to be here for is the yearly $30,000 grant the Arts Council will receive as a result of Goldsboro being named a Smart Community by the state last year, one of only five in the state.
The grant will fund art-based economic development projects, along with public art planning and implementation of those project.
The Arts Council has been working with Walter Hood, a North Carolina native and world renown landscape architect, urban designer and public art planner who lives in California.
"It's a great opportunity for the community to incorporate more art in public life," Mrs. Merritt said.
Projects won't focus just on sculptures and murals, but other things like benches. The community should start seeing some of these projects in the next few months.
The second part of plan deals with arts-based economic development, and could include affordable retail space for a group of artists or more art studios downtown. Mrs. Merritt will be leaving Goldsboro around late November or early December.
"I hope the next person in this position will carry on the work and make changes where necessary and grow the organization," she said.