A Fond Farewell: GP McLeer Departs SCAA

Eleven years ago, while attending my first-ever National Arts Advocacy Day in DC as the Executive Director of the Mauldin Cultural Center (my first job out of college), I sat down to dinner with members of the board of the SC Arts Alliance. I met Betty Plumb at that dinner, the SC Arts Alliance’s long-serving Executive Director. I found their work interesting, exciting, and something I wanted to be a part of.

Two months later, in May of 2011, I was asked to join the board. Five years later, I became Executive Director.

Today though, I bid a fond farewell.

After six years of service as Executive Director, and five years before then as a member of the Board, today I announce my departure from the SC Arts Alliance. My last official day will be May 15, 2022.

My new journey, in a new sector to be announced in May, is powered by the wonderful time I have spent with the SC Arts Alliance over the last decade. I have loved every single minute of my time with the SCAA.

I want to thank each our Board Members, as well as all of our former Board Members and our previous Executive Director, Betty Plumb, for making this job one of the most rewarding I have ever had. Specifically, I would like to thank the Board Presidents I have had the honor of serving under – Karen Brosius (former Executive Director, Columbia Museum of Art); Dr. Lem Watson (former Executive Director, Center for Innovation in Higher Education at UofSC); Dr. Stephanie Milling (Head of Dance Education, UofSC), and Dr. Cedric Adderley (President, SC Governors School for the Arts & Humanities), and our incoming President, Molly Fortune (Former Executive Director, Newberry Opera House). And a special thank you to Rose Sheheen, who served as SCAA President when I was hired.

You cannot ask for a better board at any organization.

I also wish to thank our wonderful partners – the SC Arts Commission, the ABC Project, Palmetto State Arts Education, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, South Arts, and Together SC. Without these partners, the SCAA would not be the strong institution we are today.

Over these last six years, we have been able to accomplish so many good things.

Internal advances have included rebranding the organization, developing new programs for artists and organizations across the state, and building even greater financial stability for the organization. We formed a Graduate Fellowship program, with four wonderful arts leaders taking part in our work. And we worked on strengthening our core operations, making us more efficient and nimble.

One the more fun projects that I will cherish has been our partnership with Frothy Beard Brewing Company in Charleston on the annual release of “Creative Impact”, a small batch craft beer released every year during Arts Advocacy Week that included artwork from South Carolina artists. This was always a highlight of the year for me – a fun project that raised awareness on many fronts.

Perhaps our most recognizable successes have been in our continued advocacy work. We grew our annual “Arts Advocacy Day” into Arts Advocacy Week, and added the SC Arts Summit to the mix, giving advocates more opportunities to advocate, and greater access to advocacy resources.

We have successfully led advocacy efforts to increase funding for the arts in South Carolina, including the largest single-year increase in the state’s history last year, moving per capita grant funding from $0.69 to $0.97 (up from about $0.57 since 2016). We are hopeful for another increase this year as well that moves per capita spending to well above the $1 mark, an internal goal for us for a number of years. We also helped advocate for the largest single investment in arts education by the state last year, $20 million, resulting in the formation of Arts Grow SC.

When COVID hit – a hurricane of health, economic, and social consequence on our industry and world – we worked harder than ever to ensure artists and arts organizations had everything they needed to weather the storm. We were successful in having the arts listed as a priority in the state’s CARES Act nonprofit grant program, publishing Reopening Guidelines for the industry, and making sure arts classrooms were given special attention in school reopening guidelines. We also pushed for the federal Shuttered Venues Operators Grant, resulting in over $50 million granted to South Carolina arts venues, as well as helping arts organizations navigate the complexities of federal policy as it related to the pandemic.

Beyond our state, the SC Arts Alliance has continued its long tradition of being a leader in the nation when it comes to arts advocacy. Every year, except during COVID, we have led teams to the halls of Congress during Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Action Summit where we have successfully advocated for stronger arts policy and increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts – most recently seeing the agency reach its highest funding level since the early 1990s.

Most rewarding for me personally at the national level, was my time serving as Chair of the formation of a new national coalition of state arts advocacy groups, the Creative States Coalition – which officially launched in Charleston this past November. Hosting our state advocacy colleagues in Charleston, in-person, after two years of deep, meaningful, emotional, and bright conversations over Zoom, was a personal and professional highlight I’ll hold on to forever.

This network of advocacy leaders across the nation has helped make me a better advocate, a better Executive Director, and a better person – I would be remiss if I didn’t thank them for their role in my journey.

As I reflect on these past few years, it is heartwarming and humbling to see the imprint of our work in South Carolina and the United States – it is something I am deeply grateful for having played a part.

Thank you all for your support, and never stop advocating – I know I won’t.

Stay creative South Carolina.

GP McLeer

To stay connected after May 15, please email me at [email protected].

The SC Arts Alliance Board of Directors will be approving a full transition plan in the coming weeks, including the hiring of an Interim Director ahead of a formal search for an Executive Director later this summer. All announcements will be posted online at scartsalliance.net.