Billy Love
The Bascom has found its new executive director in Billy Love, who recently accepted the role at the center for the visual arts. With Love now serving as the organization’s director, plans are being set up for further growth and expansion.
Love previously served as a teacher at Tuscola High School, before becoming involved with The Bascom and working his way up.
“I actually moved here in 2014 to work for the Bascom, and in my original role, I was the adult education manager. So, kind of transitioning from one art education role to another one, and duties and responsibilities have evolved over the years and. And here I am,” he said.
In his role as The Bascom’s new director, Love said he will be managing day-to-day operations, which he is already familiar with, alongside working on some development strategies and exhibition schedules that will be coming up.
“We’ve got a really awesome team here at The Bascom, so just really looking forward to continuing to work with the staff to get the programs out there in the community,” he said. “We always have a good schedule of education programs throughout the year and of course, our community outreach programming.”
Speaking on changes he would like to implement with his new role, Love said that there is always room for The Bascom’s programming to evolve, wishing to explore new opportunities and to expand some of its outreach programming.
“I think there’s an opportunity for that now,” he said. “That’s something that’s really exciting for me. And we’ve been in a long master planning process. So, we’re looking at new ways we might utilize this campus more efficiently to serve the mission. There’s a lot of exciting things on the horizon. The organization is definitely in a growth mode.”
Moving on to long-term goals for The Bascom, Love said he is looking to utilize the campus for more robust programming, with the possibility of offering more opportunities for youth and young families visiting the area, which has become an increasingly impactful demographic.
“Want to see that grow, particularly our presence in Cashiers. We want to see where we can grow on the plateau for sure,” he said.
Love added that he hopes to bring stability and collaborative leadership as The Bascom’s new director, which he said is important to the entire team and overall work environment.
“I love this place. So, I think I bring commitment and passion certainly to the role. I really think what we do is important and I love what we do here. Fortunately, I’m working with a bunch of people who feel the same, so our team here is really passionate about executing the mission,” he said.