By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | GwinnettForum has learned that the Hudgens Center for the Arts will name Ife Marie Williams as its new director. She previously was the interim director of the Department of Art and Culture in Fulton County.
Ms. Williams was introduced to the board of directors of the Art Center on Thursday night. Reached by telephone, she tells the Forum she is looking forward to “doing what the Hudgens does well, reach out into the community, and expanding into new programs. The Hudgens wants to do what the community in Gwinnett wants it to do.” She also adds: “For years I have been coming to the Hudgens Center for the Arts as a patron, and now I am excited about being its director.”
Bill McCargo, chairman of the board of the Hudgens Art Center, says: “We are most fortunate to have a lady with such deep experience that knows the art scene locally in Atlanta, and has aspired to keep ascending to be one of the top arts centers in the region. She has the skill sets to take us to the next level. Our goal is to be the top arts venue in the region, and she can help us do that. There were 45 candidates for the position and she was obviously the best candidate for the job.”
McCargo with Williams on Thursday night.
Ms. Williams, 42, has an impressive background in arts education. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan in fine arts (sculpture and metalsmithing), and holds a master of arts degree from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in museum studies. She also has a certificate of Nonprofit organization and management from the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. She was born in Atlanta, lives presently in Midtown and plans to move to Duluth.
She brings a wide background of experience in the arts field to her new position. That includes consulting, grant writing and as a museum curator at the Viscaya Museum and Gardens and later as a consultant at the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, both in Miami, Fla. She was also with the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington in Seattle as an assistant collections registrar.
She joined the Fulton County government in Atlanta in 2005, as first a public arts program coordinator, development specialist, and deputy director of arts and culture, with a specialty in acting, before becoming the interim director supervising a 70 person staff.
While in museum management, Ms. Williams has been recognized for several awards in the arts field. She was a Distinguished Fellow at Georgia’s Hambridge Center in 2014; employee of the quarter for the Fulton Arts council in 2008; a Paul Abrams Endowment project Sculptor-in-Residence in Miami, Fla.; and won a Syracuse University graduate fellowship.
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Meanwhile, the Hudgens Arts Center also has a new development director, as of December 1. He is David Bell, who has lived in Berkeley Lake for 48 years.
Bell comes to the Center from the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry in Peachtree Corners, where he was head of corporate relations and marketing. Previously he was with the Georgia Tech Institute of Paper Science and Technology.
He is a native of Columbia, S.C., and holds two degrees from Georgia State, in marketing and printmaking. His hobbies include photography, papermaking and printmaking. Married to the former Janet Kohl of Atlanta, they have two children, ages 27 and 14.
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