Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Peter Lane, WAC CEO
Peter B. Lane joined the Walton Arts Center on May 1, 2009, as president and chief executive officer. It is his task to lead WAC into its 31st year and beyond. He answered these questions for What’s Up!
Q. What did you perceive when you came to WAC as the strengths of the organization and as potential opportunities for growth?
A. From the very beginning I saw Walton Arts Center’s strengths as being our people, our brand, our programming and the place that we hold in the community. What I mean by that last part is that people respected the organization and felt tremendous ownership of the organization. That ownership was evident in the way the community supported the organization through ticket sales, Friends’ gifts and by attending events.
As for opportunities, I knew we had space to grow in our arts education work and in making programming accessible to more people throughout the community. Up to that point, we thought of ourselves as a place or a building, and I knew we needed to see ourselves as more than that — an organization that serves the entire Northwest Arkansas region. Often than happens in our building — but sometimes it happens beyond our walls. This new way of thinking and operating led to developing new programs like the 10x10 Arts Series and Artosphere and seeking new opportunities like the purchase of the Arkansas Music Pavilion. It also led us to find ways to deepen connections with local and regional artists, educators and students through the development of “Digging Up Arkansas.”
Q. What was the first thing you learned about WAC’s role in the community? And the first thing you learned about its supporters?
A. I immediately learned that our supporters are deeply passionate, completely invested and some of our strongest advocates.
I also realized that Walton Arts Center is treasured by our community and that community expects us to provide world-class artists and entertainment opportunities that did not exist in any other venue in the state or the region. People cared about that then, and they still do now.
Q. What did you learn about those two topics when the pandemic shut WAC down?
A. The pandemic reinforced to me just how much this community valued, cared for and supported Walton Arts Center. In the span of a month, we went from 120 mph to zero. Venues and performing arts centers were one of the first businesses to close and were one of the last to open. But our community stepped up and supported us through ticket donations and monetary donations. We would not be here today without that support. I know other arts centers and venues that are still struggling to recover today.
Because the community supported us, we were able to stay operational, and that allowed us to turn our focus during the pandemic on filling other needs within the community during that time. We found ways to provide entertainment virtually. We supported
other local nonprofits. We hosted blood drives and outdoor concerts with local artists. We employed hospitality workers for shows and during Holidaze. We also took our Colgate Classroom Series virtual and reached new and different schools because of the free virtual opportunity. It was important to give back to the community, and people appreciated it.
It reminded us we must be flexible and creative, and the pandemic allowed us to contribute in a different way.
Q. For several years, there was discussion about needing a second edition of WAC in Benton County. Is that still a viable topic of discussion?
A. A second performing arts center in Benton County is no longer being discussed. However, the findings from that research conducted 13 years ago on the feasibility of additional venues does still stand. A region of our size and our projected growth could easily support additional venues. For Walton Arts Center, the addition and permanent relocation of the Walmart AMP to Benton County helped fill much of the need and allowed us to expand programming into Benton County, but there’s still room in the community for additional development.
Q. If not, in what directions has WAC decided to grow instead and why?
A. Deepening access to all of our programs is key to sustained growth for Walton Arts Center. We are continually asking ourselves how can we serve all members of the community? Some of the biggest growth opportunities are in the area of arts education serving children, families and teachers across the region. We want to build on our existing programs that serve 30,000 to 50,000 children and teachers annually. Work is getting under way now to identify not only all of the arts education programming in the region but also what our region lacks. This will allow us to develop initiatives and partnerships that fill those holes and help us serve every child in Northwest Arkansas.
Q. It’s too hard to look 30 years down the road! But where do you hope to see WAC in five years or 10?
A. For Walton Arts Center, the future in my view will be more about quality and not quantity. We want to be laser focused on making sure the programs and services we offer in our halls, in schools, in the community and at the Walmart AMP meet the needs of our community. We need to create a place that educates as well as entertains and provide a home for the performing arts and for the artists who create it.
We must continue supporting and serving art makers and producers in our community like Trike Theatre, SoNA, Opera Fayetteville, Community Creative Center, NWA Jazz Society and many more. Our goal is to help them grow in capacity and do more of that they are already doing.
Our success as a region is tied to the diversity of our arts community, and I see a future where we continue bringing worldclass performers to the region while also working even closer with art makers to create a fabric of arts programs that serve everyone in our vibrant region.