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St. Charles Arts Council hires its first director

Alison Bastian's involvement in the St. Charles art community has come full circle in the last seven years.

As a practicing artist, she participated in the St. Charles Arts Council's inaugural pop-up gallery in 2011 - her first and only exhibition with the nonprofit before she moved out of town. Now, Bastian, who returned to the city last year, has been hired as its first director to oversee, promote and advance the organization.

"My job is kind of twofold," said Bastian, who started the part-time position this month. "We're supporting art businesses and artists, but we're also trying to make that art accessible to a larger community."

Creating the staff position is a "very big step forward" for the arts council, which was previously run entirely by volunteers, co-founder and former President Elizabeth Bellaver said in a statement.

Bastian, a visual mixed-media artist with experience working at museums and art studios, was chosen from several qualified candidates, Bellaver said. Bastian has a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Suffolk University in Boston, and a master's degree in art history and a museum studies certificate from Northern Illinois University.

In addition to managing daily operations, Bastian said she is responsible for using social media and other marketing tools to promote art-related activities in the Fox Valley, such as art shows, musical acts or theater performances. The arts council is also expected to host or co-sponsor various events, including the annual ArtsFest and an inaugural Fox River Arts Ramble on April 21.

Additionally, Bastian said she intends to push forward the organization's goal of creating a Center for the Arts, a gathering space that ideally would be in downtown St. Charles.

"We're hoping to get the wheels turning, but most of that entails generating revenue and fundraising and also getting people to commit some time to what we're doing," she said. "We're really looking to get support from our community this year, whether it be in terms of attending events, volunteering with us in some capacity or helping us with funding certain projects."

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