“I can remember the first time I went to an art museum. I was probably six or seven,” said Meghan Bias, executive director of Art Center Waco. “The colors and textures of the paintings, the sculptures–it was like I was home. A place where I just felt like I belong.”
Back in June 2023, those feelings resurfaced when Bias took the helm at the art center.
“This is where I’ve wanted to be since I was an intern 20 years ago at an art center in Colorado,” she recalled. “That was an amazing time as I was able to work with Christo and Jeanne-Claude [noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations] and see their process of involving the community, town meetings, and going through the Environmental Protection Agency. I got to see the whole business side of managing a non-profit.”
Bias holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History and Studio Art from Sul Ross State University and an master’s degree in Museology/Museum Studies from Texas Tech University. She showcased her own artwork back in April 2021 at the Heritage Museum of Big Spring.
Jeremy Vickers, Art Center Waco’s former board chair who also serves as associate vice president of Innovation and Economic Development at Baylor University, remembered managing the hiring process.
“We went through a national search, but Meghan’s connection to art and arts administration was unique,” he said. “She was excited to bring high-quality exhibits to the Art Center Waco and she has fundraising experience. She was head and shoulders above the other candidates.”
The Center’s Early Days
The third-oldest community arts organization in Waco, Art Center Waco found its first permanent home on Franklin Avenue, moving in the late 1970s to the former summer house of the William Cameron family on the McLennan Community College campus. The Junior League of Waco was the driving force behind its creation using federal funds from the Model Cities program.
“We had several different downtown locations at first, but then we went to the MCC. They graciously gave us a 50-year lease for $1 a year, and that made it possible for us to grow as we didn’t have overhead,” said Alyce Beard, a longtime member of Art Center Waco, who has served on its board four times over the past 50 years.
For more than 40 years, the center’s location–“on the hill,” as local residents referred to the MCC campus–provided two exhibition galleries, as well as space for art classes and workshops, meeting rooms, and facilities for community functions.
“I was invited back on the board in 2015, and we had started doing strategic planning because we wanted to move downtown and then, in 2017, we got the news that our building on the MCC campus was being condemned,” said Jill Michaels, former Art Center Waco president and board member. “There’s nothing that motivates you more than being told, ‘Hey, pick up your purses, pick up your laptops—you’ve got to get out right now.’”
For the next four years, Art Center Waco was essentially homeless.
“We rented space for a little while, and we found places like American Bank, which allowed us to have an after-hours artist talk. We used the library as well. We even used a wine bistro once,” Michaels said. “Hillcrest Professional Development School allowed us to have art classes there in the summer, and that was huge. It was wonderful how the community helped us through that period.”
But during this time, Beard also recalled, there were some hardships.
“We couldn’t afford a director. We didn’t have office assistance. We had nothing except some part-time temporary help and a board that was fully dedicated to the survival of Art Center Waco,” she said.
Celebrating 50 Years
The pandemic was tough on both fundraising and reconstruction for the new Art Center of Waco, but the $3.1 million renovation of a former daycare center on South Eighth Street was completed in the fall of 2021, a stone’s throw from its original Franklin Avenue location.
“Grant Dudley, now a retired architect [from his award-winning architecture and décor firm Raso, Bailey, Dudley & Rose, Inc.], was on our board, and he gifted us with his time and talent of getting the plans drawn up and designing the new building,” said Beard.
First on the agenda for Art Center Waco’s new executive director was the 50th-year celebration exhibit.
“It’s a good thing I know how to hit the ground running. We took down the exhibit by abstract artists Ty Nathan Clark and Vy Ngo, and then we were preparing for the 50th event,” said Bias. “I was happy to jump in and just start going and doing whatever needed to be done.”
The nostalgic retrospective showcased more than 60 drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures, all of which had been exhibited by the art center over the past five decades.
“I just started collecting the art. I had several pieces, as did Alyce Beard, and I went around town asking people if they would loan us their art for the duration of the exhibit,” said Michaels. “It was like a treasure hunt and a lot of fun.”
The exhibition, which was held back in early November 2023 for members only, featured the artworks of Stephanie Beard, Carol Crosthwait, Greg Davis, Charles Evans, Harriet Hayward, Flip Kimmel, Greg Lewallen, John McClanahan, Paul McCoy, Steve McCurry, GiGi Mygdal, Kermit Oliver, Karl Umlauf, and Bob Wade.
“The 50th celebration allowed me to do a deeper dive into the history of Art Center Waco,” Bias said. “It was really nice to go back through old exhibit catalogs and listen to people’s stories about when they went to art class here and how that changed their life. I got to meet a ton of people who had helped start the organization, who kept it going, who were volunteers, kids who had taken classes and are now artists themselves.”
Focusing to the Future
After almost two years in her new position, Bias is confident that Art Center Waco will continue to be a platform for all of those voices to share their stories and worldview through art and expression.
“It’s really important to have relevant exhibits and programs. And with a diverse community, as Waco is, it’s a challenge trying to make sure that we’re inclusive and reaching all of the audiences,” Bias said. “There are so many people who could get so much benefit from coming to exhibits … and we’re free.”
Baylor University is one of many local organizations that advocate for Art Center Waco.
“We have so much support from Baylor,” Bias said. “We hire interns from the communications programs and there are several board members who are professors or on staff at the university.”
Aside from exhibitions—the latest of which was “Beyond Blue,” featuring art from 14 Professional Artists of Central Texas (PACT) members—Bias said a major initiative over the past two years has been to increase classes and camps for children and community outreach. She credits children’s education manager AnnaLauren Packer for the coordination of summer and winter camps and many new art classes designed for children.
In addition to new children’s programs, the art center under Bias’ leadership has increased visitors in many other ways, including adult workshops, open studies, free community events, and family days, Bias said. There are still plans to expand the outreach of the art center on the horizon.
“When we were homeless, we decided we needed to bring art to the kids,” Michaels said. “So we purchased a trailer and we used that as a mobile art exhibit. We haven’t done that for a couple of years, but we’re going to go back to that.”
Art Center Waco also arranges tours where local artists can demonstrate how they work.
“We hosted a tour out here for young people from the Art Center,” said Bryant Stanton, owner of the family-owned company Stanton Studios, who is also president of The Stained Glass Association of America. “They came out to see our glass-blowing operation, our wood shop, and the stained glass that we’re doing. I remember going to the Art Center when I was a kid and, without art, I have no idea where I’d be right now. Art really helps kids explore what’s inside of them.”
Perhaps the most important task for Bias over the past two years has been the acquisition of the Flora Cameron Art Collection, including works by Gustave Baumann, Edward Borein, Marc Chagall, and Nicolai Fechin, valued at around $2 million.
Bias said the acquisition has been in the works for Art Center Waco for a long time, the culmination of work by the current and previous boards. The generous offer from the Flora Cameron Foundation came around the time Bias took the helm, and the art center came into possession of the 80-piece collection at the end of last year.
“Flora’s Treasures,” a sneak preview of 26 works from the collection, will go on display Thursday, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. on March 27. Bias invites anyone to visit the exhibit for free while it’s open from March 27 through April 26.
The rest of the 80-piece collection, currently housed in a storage facility in Arlington, will find a permanent home next to the art center’s current facility soon, with construction starting in the late spring, Bias said.
As Bias looks beyond the current exhibitions, she’s planning to bring even more art to the Waco community. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, she emphasizes the importance of donations, grants, volunteers, members, and supporters to be able to grow and continue offering great collections and classes.
“Art tells stories, connects people, and it gives different perspectives,” she said. “As a community, a lot of times we forget that we’re all in this together. And I feel like art really brings you back to that human connection.
“I’m looking forward to the next 50 years.”
Visit “Flora’s Treasures,” Art Center Waco’s exhibit of gifted works from the Flora Cameron Art Collection, from March 27 to April 26.
