![\"\"](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/files\/2016\/11\/Shannon-Haines-Profile-Pic-300x300.jpg\")
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Shannon Haines easily could have ended up far from the arts community in Waterville. Though she grew up in the area, she went to college at Middlebury, in Vermont, and after college went on to work in Rhode Island as a Waste Management and Recycling Specialist. However, after a few years there, often driving back and forth between Rhode Island and Maine to visit family, she realized she would rather live where she grew up. She got a job in Augusta, but soon ended up in Waterville \u201cbecause of the very same assets that I love today \u2013 the Maine International Film Festival and Railroad Square Cinema, Colby and the Colby Museum, and the Waterville Public Library.\u201d Haines cares deeply about community development and Waterville\u2019s arts and culture community. As she herself said, \u201cThat\u2019s just what I have a passion for.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has extensive knowledge and faith in the arts in Waterville. She can list off Waterville\u2019s arts achievements with ease and pride: a newly renovated, historic opera house, the largest art museum in the state, the largest and longest running film festival in the state, the only Art House Sundance theatre in the state. She is also interested in and excited about Waterville\u2019s future, saying that \u201cright now is a super exciting time for downtown revitalization.\u201d She is eager to hear more conversations about Waterville\u2019s current state\u2014more dialogue between those who want progress and those who are hesitant about change. Haines is passionate and knowledgeable about Waterville and its arts and culture, and this passion was a huge motivator in bringing her back from Rhode Island to Waterville.<\/p>\n
Each of her jobs \u00a0in Waterville has related to community development or the arts in some way, beginning with her work at Waterville Main Street. She spent years as its director, \u201cworking to enhance the community\u2026and\u2026to make it a better place to live.\u201d It wasn\u2019t an easy job, with a lot to do and a lack of investors, but she worked hard to promote Waterville, boost its economy, and increase community engagement. Often in this job, she found herself thinking about arts and culture because, she says, \u201cArts and culture were always a focus for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After working at Waterville Main Street, Haines became the executive director of the Maine Film Center. As she had found herself focused on the arts in her community-centered job, she now found herself focused on the community in this arts-centered job. She explained that she worked at the Maine Film Center \u201cnot because I\u2019m a film expert, but because I saw its impact on the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fittingly, she eventually found a job that \u201ccombines arts and community development in\u2026 a big way.\u201d Waterville Creates!, where Haines is now the CEO and president, does exactly that. The organization gives \u201ccommunity level access to the arts.\u201d Haines runs events like Youth Art Month, which makes art accessible for everyone by providing a gallery for local children where they and their families can come see their artwork displayed. It is Haines\u2019s hope that this exposure to the arts will inspire the kids\u2019 families to \u201cpursue their own creativity\u201d by, for example, visiting an art museum or taking an art class. Not only is Haines clearly passionate about arts and culture and Waterville itself, but she is also trying to spread that passion to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shannon Haines easily could have ended up far from the arts community in Waterville. Though she grew up in the area, she went to college at Middlebury, in Vermont, and after college went on to work in Rhode Island as a Waste Management and Recycling Specialist. However, after a few years there, often driving back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7860,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7860"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/watervilleprofiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}