Ellen A. Plummer

When Ellen “Nan” Plummer became executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center in 2002, she had to fill some big shoes — those of Townsend Wolfe, the center’s founding director and 34-year veteran of the institution. That she has succeeded is a testament to Plummer’s devotion to serving all the people of Arkansas.

“We had 731,553 people who came through the [Arts Center’s] doors or went to performances last year,” Plummer said. That’s in a state with a population of about 2.8 million, and Plummer’s proud of “that statewide service,” which, she noted, “is six times that of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, for example.”

Plummer said her collaborative approach to leadership serves her, and the Arts Center, well. “I grew up in my professional life understanding that it takes more than one person to run a large and complex organization,” she said. Leadership is important, but “especially in an organization like this that belongs to everyone, I can’t hear everything that I need to hear, see everything that I need to see,” making collaboration essential.

“I try to ask for people’s input,” she said. “I try to let decisions be made at the appropriate level, and I try to let everyone have input not only because that’s where the good information comes from, but because people perform better when they feel they’re a part of the process.”

“My most wonderful moments in my work life are when I’m in a group of people and some great ‘Aha!’ idea comes out of some discussion,” Plummer said. “I try to set up an environment where that can happen.”

Plummer hopes to attract to the center even more people by offering bigger, better exhibitions and translating the pride Arkansans have in the Arts Center into participation.

She can’t keep the excitement out of her voice when expressing the mission of the Arts Center and the opportunities she sees: “There’s a real hunger here for learning more.”

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