SRAC welcomes Henry Price as board president

In keeping with its recent momentum of change, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council has named Henry Price as its new president of the 35-member board. Price earned the new title in May when current president O. Delton Harrison Jr. stepped into the honored position of president emeritus.

With SRAC moving into the recently renovated Central Arts Station in February, Executive Director Pam Atchison believes this is a new day for arts growth in and around Shreveport Common, and now is the time for new voices.

The Shreveport Common is a nineblock downtown urban art and cultural project meant to rebuild and stimulate the physical and economic growth in that area. SRAC’s move into the fire station was both a catalyst for the plan and one of the first steps toward its completion.

“We had a good thing going with our board, and obviously we didn’t want to lose that. But you can’t have everything else changing around you and not the board,” she said. “The Shreveport Common initiative is a perfect opportunity for SRAC to start board rotation and a great opportunity for Henry, who is an artist himself and longtime part of the school system and has been on many boards locally. This says to our patrons, the community and donors that we are involved in something new, and we have new leadership to take us there.”

Price was previously the vice president and chaired the nominations process. He has been strongly involved with SRAC projects over the years, as well, and was chairman of the Community Cultural Plan.

“Henry has been a proponent of the idea that while it is a wonderful asset to SRAC and the community that we have faithful board members, there is a time for change,” Atchison said. “We will begin a consistency of board rotations, but it isn’t that we’re looking to ask people to leave, we’re looking for opportunities to ask people to come in. Henry has been working for some time with the bylaws and organizational structure to make that possible, and it makes sense for the person who has been so much a part of shaping our expanding mission to shepherd it in.”

Atchison said Harrison will still be very much a part of SRAC, as well as an indelible part of its history and success.

“Delton is an extremely inclusive person,” she said. “He never believes one person should do it all or that only one person should be credited. He’s a convener. He amasses lots of people to come and love you. He got us into the fire station through his own donations, his ability to talk to others about SRAC and his ability to think about what the arts community really needs to move forward. He’s been part of all the policy making that has helped us achieve so much.

“In promoting Delton to president emeritus, we are not just honoring the work he has done here but recognizing that for this community, the definition of quality is found in him,” Atchison added. “He’s a renaissance man. No one thinks of him in terms of age. He’s not just giving donations, he’s buying tickets and attending shows. You can’t lose that enigmatic commitment to what’s going on locally when you know he could experience it anywhere in the world, anytime, and he’s doing it here. We are delighted and honored that he wants to continue to provide that leadership and direction for the arts council.”

Harrison said he’s has lost track of how many years he’s been with SRAC – official records were lost in a fire in 2009 – though he has vivid memories of the ups and downs during his time as president.

“I enjoyed every moment of it and intend to stay involved. So many things have happened. The worst thing was the fire and how we had to go through that. It was also the best thing, because ultimately, we found a new space and adapted and went from a fire to a fire station. The first Christmas in the Sky, too, it was such a challenge and such a wonderful thing, and it has become one of the great successes of Shreveport.

“I’ve made so many friends through SRAC, and knowing Pam [Atchison] is one of the privileges of my life. As long as they want me to do something, I’ll do it,” he said.

Price said his goal is to expand and build on the many things Delton and others have been instrumental in doing and to move that to the next level.

“I am excited to have a closer working relationship with SRAC, to have Delton’s invaluable expertise and support and to have this chance to effect more change. I intend to continue the work that has been done and to continue to provide those opportunities to enrich the quality of life for people in our area, to strengthen and develop artists and other arts-related organizations in this region, and to empower artists ... to be able to sustain themselves economically through their work.”

Atchison agreed SRAC’s new mission is about more than just developing, promoting, nurturing and presenting the arts – it’s about equipping artists to do it on their own.

“The next phase will be determining how the arts council can facilitate others to create that kind of vibrancy. That means new training opportunities, new relationships. We must provide the environment for that to happen. There’s no bigger risk-taker than an artist. The opportunity to pursue the art is more important to them than where the next paycheck is coming from. Still, they need a net to know it’s not a bottomless pit of never seeing a dollar come in. Our goal now is to create that net for artists that is a symbiotic net for audiences as well.”

– Eric Lincoln

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