Kendell Lusk Named Executive Director at BCA

The newly named executive director of the Belton Center for the Arts (BCA) is a familiar name: Kendell Lusk. That’s not only because Lusk had been serving as the interim director but because she previously worked there.

An Anderson native, Lusk grew up with a passion for drawing, never without her sketchbook. At first, the incessant sketching annoyed teachers—until they “realized if I was not drawing, I was not paying attention,” said Lusk.

She attended Anderson University on an almost full ride, graduating with a degree in art with a concentration in painting and drawing. “That was the only thing I wanted to do,” she said. “I threw practicality out the window.”

But two weeks after graduating, she landed a job at BCA, doing program management and whatever else needed to be done—everything from coordinating classes and teaching summer camps to graphic design and exhibit installation. She stayed for five years, then resigned to spend more time with her kids and to paint. “I was living my dream though I wasn’t making any money except for some commissions and portraits,” she said.

One of the more unusual projects she took on started with painting a portrait of a friend’s stillborn baby. Word spread, and she ended up doing these portraits for six other heartbroken women. To create the portraits, she touched up the photos in Photoshop first. “People want to remember their children the way they should have appeared,” she said. “It was really special.”

But then she was offered the position of interim director at BCA when the director left and eventually was named the permanent director.

Among her goals, Lusk hopes to expand the adult class offerings, especially now that the upstairs classroom has new flooring and has been cleaned up. The first adult class of the new year will be a glass fusion workshop on Saturday, January 18, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. A new offering is party packages in the classroom space in the new year. Groups can choose between different canvas painting or pottery painting options, including baby shower and bachelor/bachelorette party themes. Staff will set up the classroom, provide materials, and fire any pottery.

There is a small pottery studio with three wheels and a kiln, and bisque and glaze firing is available for a flat fee for members. And recently the center hosted a holiday market in which vendors sold crafts and art. There are also annual fundraisers.

The BCA will continue to host six exhibits per year, including a few that are open to area artists. The next exhibition will be a solo show featuring work by Elizabeth Nason, to open on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.

For more information about the Belton Center for the Arts, visit https://www.beltoncenterforthearts.org/.

For more information about Lusk, visit https://www.kendelllusk.com/.