New arts coordinator ready to “art” in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — After months of searching, the city of Sioux Falls has hired an arts coordinator.

As Sioux Falls grows, so does its art scene, offering a plethora of different mediums in the city. To keep up with this growth, Sioux Falls hired its first arts coordinator, Maren Engel.

“Sioux Falls has a strong artistic identity in the visual arts, performing arts and literary arts. And we, as a city, really want to improve each of those components of the arts community,” said Maren Engel, Sioux Falls arts coordinator.

“It’s about making it really accessible to the whole community, right? Funding opportunities for artists, neighborhoods and places where people can access them, enjoy them and experience them in new ways,” said Director of Planning and Development Jeff Eckhoff.

The city hired Engel because of the variety of qualifications she brings.

“Her unique background, her education, her artistic experience, the level of activity she has today with the artistic community, but also the non-profit administrative experience that she has is a unique blend,” he said. said Eckhoff.

Although some avenues of art are more obvious than others, Engel is excited to incorporate art into all aspects of life.

“The city of Sioux Falls has a lot of emphasis on the visual arts and with our sculpture walk and with the art that we acquire as a city and with public art, a lot of it involves sort of a community of visual arts and so we “I’m really excited to support this community and also start to give additional attention to the performing arts and our literary arts community,” Engel said.

Help create an even more beautiful Sioux Falls.

“I’m really excited to open the doors and be transparent with the arts community and help people see how much the city is investing in arts and culture and what we’re doing as a city to help support this community and this effort,” Engel said. said.

Engel is excited to meet with different arts groups in the city to learn how they think she could be most helpful to them.