Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Still.
Hi Amanda, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. But I also understood that it could be a challenging profession to make a good living in. So I decided early on that I would study interior design in college. As a teenager, I was already seeking out artistically designed magazine advertisements and art posters to cover my bedroom walls practically from floor to ceiling. I would even rotate out the “artwork” when I discovered new “pieces.” So it was a perfect fit during college when I found a job at an Austin art gallery while working toward my degree in interior design.
I loved the art scene; I loved hanging the artwork. I loved meeting the artists and hearing about their journeys and inspirations. I loved the artist’s demonstrations and how the activity engaged people with the work and the artist. So I also minored in art, focusing on drawing and architectural renderings, the predominant art form for interior design. After I earned my State license in interior design a few years later, I opened my own interior design business. My journey eventually took me to Georgetown, TX, where I opened an art gallery while operating an interior design studio. My goal: is to get as much artwork up on clients’ walls as possible!
I also discovered that Georgetown’s active artist community is the perfect backdrop for a vibrant art scene. However, the local target audience for investing in statement pieces of artwork was very underdeveloped, and many things needed to be accomplished to create such a market to sustain local artists financially. So I joined the community’s Arts and Culture Board, and alongside my fellow board members, I began to work toward advancing the arts in the community.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been challenging to balance a career and be a mother of three! Sometimes it has been chaos, and sometimes I wonder if I am even up to the challenge. But it helps to have a vision and mission to cling to! I’m passionate about how the arts can bring people joy and healing. I also believe that the arts can be leveraged as a vehicle for economic development. I envision artists being empowered to make a living in the arts, design, and creative careers. After my third child was born, I decided to close the gallery after operating joyously for 4 years. But I took the opportunity during my “downtime” to earn a master’s in arts development and program management, which I felt would help further my vision for the arts in Georgetown.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
After almost 20 years of working in the private sector in residential and commercial design and the private art gallery business, I joined the City of Georgetown in 2019 as the Arts and Culture Coordinator. My continued education in arts development helped prepare me for administering the City’s Public Art Program. I felt like this position was a way to bring more meaning to art and design by making a difference in my community.
Georgetown’s Arts & Culture Program enhances the quality of life for the residents and visitors of Georgetown by promoting community engagement & cultural participation, fostering business development, and facilitating cultural tourism through public art programming & collaborative events. The Public Art Program in Georgetown has taken off, and I’m very excited that some of our murals have received grant funding from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Preserving History mural by local artists Devon Clarkson and Norma Clark received grant funding from the TCA. It was a collaboration between Georgetown Arts and Culture and the nonprofit that manages the African American Shotgun House Museum. Devon Clarkson’s portion of the mural is a realistic portrait of local education advocate Mary Smith Bailey, the founder of the first preschool for non-white children during segregation. Norma Clark’s portion of the mural features abstract shapes that reflect the community’s journey from segregation, integration, and changes to the neighborhood through urban renewal to the present day.
The K9 Heroes mural by J Muzacz and army veteran Jay Rivera was part of the Arts and Culture Program’s Healing Arts for Veterans and received funding from the TCA and NEA and sponsorship from local business Wag Heaven. The K9 Heroes mural was a tribute to civilian and military service animals and was located on the local Wag Heaven business. A music component of the Healing Arts for Veterans Program involved taking veterans’ stories and composing them into songs. This was a collaboration between Georgetown Arts and Culture, Austin Classical Guitar, and country music artist Wynn Williams.
The GISD Student Mural Project collaborates with the Georgetown Independent School District and Georgetown Arts and Culture, where one selected art class designs and installs a mural every year in a downtown building. There have been two mural installations so far.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
1. David Valdez, Chair of the Arts and Culture Board & former senior White House photographer for the George H.W. Bush administration, certainly deserves credit for his contributions and service to the Georgetown arts and culture community. Mr. Valdez has taken all of the photos submitted for the interview, and he graciously captures photographs of the program’s murals and sculptures and the local arts events.
2. Eric Lashley, former Director of the Georgetown Public Library, managed Georgetown’s Public Art Program and the Arts and Culture Board as a part of the library for many years. He led the library to win the National Medal of Honor, a highly prestigious distinction, and helped establish the Georgetown Art Center in Georgetown. He worked tirelessly to get the approvals for a dedicated staff position to manage the Arts and Culture Program, and he gave me the opportunity to excel in this role. If it weren’t for him, the Arts and Culture Program would not be where it is today!
3. Muralist Sarah Blankenship designed and painted the mural in my photograph, Greetings from Georgetown, TX. She was also the very first Arts and Culture Coordinator in Georgetown!
4. Members of the Arts and Culture Board have dedicated their time to the arts in Georgetown. Artists, musicians, business owners, and arts administrators have served on the board.
5. All the artists who have shared their gifts with the community in the form of murals and sculptures.
Contact Info:
- Website: arts.georgetown.org
- Instagram: artsandculture_gtx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artsgeorgetown
Image Credits
All photographs by: David Valdez, Preserving History murals by: Devon Clarkson and Norma Clark K9, Heroes mural by: J Muzacz and Jay Rivera, Traditions to the Future mural by: Mila, Sketch Everyone Deserves Kindness by: Georgetown High School students, and Be Your Own Person by: Forbes Middle School students, Library Crosswalk mural by: Joshua Macias
