About Us

three actors performing a play in a park with a pipe and drape backdrop

group of kids dancing on cobblestone in a park surround trees with an audience behind them sitting at tables

woman laughing while sitting on the grass in a park with a phone in her hands with people sitting in lawn chairs behind her and large buildings in the background.

group of six people standing under a gazebo

group of seven people posing in a park with trees holding signs

group of people sitting in meeting room with a projector raising their hands.

Mission Statement

The Springfield Area Arts Council enriches the community by promoting and supporting all art forms and providing creative opportunities to participate in and enjoy the arts.

Our History

Founded in 1975 and incorporated in 1976 as a private, nonprofit organization, the Springfield Area Arts Council (SAAC) serves the greater Springfield area within Sangamon and Menard counties by providing community arts excellence through programs, events, and outreach to underserved populations. SAAC is governed by a Board of Directors.

Our mission umbrellas the many aspects of SAAC’s programming. We foster cooperation among arts organizations, encourage development of arts services and programs, provide economic opportunities to artists, enhance school curriculum through Arts-in-Education, and re-grant designated funds. In these, our mission is achieved.

Over its 48-year history, over 200 individuals have served on the SAAC Board of Directors, more than 6,000 individuals have volunteered for SAAC programs and events, and countless artists have benefitted from SAAC’s commitment to enriching the community through the arts.

Recommitment to Equity

In the sweep of pandemic and protest, the Springfield Area Arts Council renews our commitment to encourage, embrace, and celebrate diversity. SAAC affirms our pledge not to discriminate in any way by reason of race, color, religion, national origin, income, mental/physical ability, sexual orientation, or gender identity/expression and to listen to those who know better than we do where discrimination lingers in our society.

The visual, performing, and literary arts in the greater Springfield area should encompass all creative efforts. Therefore, SAAC stands ready to ally with those who seek to educate and to find community-led solutions. As SAAC nears our 45th anniversary, we will endeavor to help the community imagine, engage, heal, and move forward.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama”

The Springfield Area Arts Council is partially supported with funding from the Illinois Arts Council.

Administrative Staff

Bella Szabo is a visual artist, curator, and arts administrator. In addition to working at the Springfield Area Arts Council, she is an instructor at the Springfield Art Association

Bella Szabo

Executive Director

Bella Szabo is a visual artist, curator, and arts administrator. In addition to working at the Springfield Area Arts Council, she is an instructor at the Springfield Art Association

Sheila Walk has worked with the Springfield Area Arts Council for over 16 years. She is a former teacher at Ursuline Academy and continues to educate the community in her new role as Education Director.

Sheila Walk

Education Director

Jodie Owen, an independent accountant specializing in nonprofits, began her career as a bookkeeper at the Illinois State Museum Society. She now serves several nonprofits in Illinois, including the Illinois Audubon Society, the Illinois State Academy of Science, and the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Jodie Owen

Bookkeeper

Board of Directors

“I believe in service and have been with the Springfield Arts Council going on six years during two intervals.” Steve Rambach was a teacher and counselor at Lanphier High School for 52 years. Married to Libby Larison Rambach for 50 years, they have three children and six grandchildren.

Steve Rambach

Officer: President

Sarah Beuning is a patron of the arts and volunteer. She is a recipient of two different awards from Springfield Business Journal, 40 Under Forty (2011) and Women of Influence (2014). With a background in law, she currently works as General Council at the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Sarah Beuning

Officer: Administrative Vice President

woman smiling softly in front of an abstract backkground

Corrin Smithson McWhirter is a native of southern Ontario, Canada. She studied sculpture and installation at the Nova Scotia Collage of Art and Design and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from York University. She currently lives in Springfield, Illinois, and works as Chief Operating Officer at Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Corrin Smithson McWhirter

Officer: Developmental Vice President

woman leaning against a bookshelf in a library with more bookshelves behind her

Dr. Corrine Hinton currently serves as Dean of English and Humanities at Lincoln Land Community College. Before joining LLCC, Corrine was a tenured professor of English in Texas where she also directed a summer writing and arts camp for youth, writing workshops for teachers and community members, and judged various arts and literature competitions.

Corrine Hinton

Officer: Secretary

selfie of a woman with short blond hair wearing a cap in front of a silvery background

Allison Lacher is a visual artist and curator based in Springfield, IL. She is the Director of the University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery and she is a Co-Director at STNDRD. She was a founding member of the artist-owned gallery Monaco in St. Louis, MO and she served as Co-Director of DEMO Project until its demolition in 2018.

Allison Lacher

Director

Douglas Holt is an Artist, Actor, Writer, Entrepreneur, Photographer, Private Diplomat, International Award-winning poet, and National Senior Olympian. He has been a Community Activist for more than 30 years, serving on local and national boards.

Douglas Yul Holt

Director

Ron Silver, a composer and performer, is the Director and Producer of NEW MUSIC SPRINGFIELD and an Adjunct Instructor at UIS, leading the Make A Noise Ensemble. Previously, he directed and produced New Music New College in Sarasota, FL, and was the lead singer, songwriter, and keyboard player for the alternative rock band No Radio in New York City.

Ron Silver

Director

Melinda Kaye is a former Adjunct Instructor of Music at Lincoln Land Community College. She studied Community Arts Management at University of Illinois at Springfield.

Melinda Kaye

Director

Melinda Kaye is a former Adjunct Instructor of Music at Lincoln Land Community College. She studied Community Arts Management at University of Illinois at Springfield.

Makai standing at a podium and smiling. He is wearing a blue suit and tie.

Makai Trees-Gant is a life long resident of Springfield, participating in many community events around the city. He currently works for the Illinois Senate President, and is a graduate of the University of Illinois Springfield, receiving a Bachelors Degree in Public and NonProfit Administration.