New WCA director has spent his life in the arts
James Fox is already finding ways to build on past success at the Wayne Center for the Arts. Fox became executive director of the center on June 3 and brings a varied background to the position, which may form the perfect portfolio for the director job.
In the job just one week, James Fox is already finding ways to build on past success at the Wayne Center for the Arts. Fox became executive director of the center on June 3 and brings a varied background to the position, which may form the perfect portfolio for the director job. Fox succeeds Joshua Coy, who resigned to take a position with the Ohio Arts Council.
In terms of his own artistic interests, Fox completed undergraduate studies at the University of Nevada in Reno, earning a full scholarship for voice and trumpet.
“What I’ve done has been primarily in the performing arts,” Fox said, “from grade school and high school through college and after.”
Fox also has worked in acrylics and with pottery. “It has been quite a lot of dabbling and trying our mediums, which probably works out well in terms of this position,” he said. “My father was a music teacher. I’ve been around the arts all my life.”
Early on Fox turned toward working in the nonprofit sector, helping at-risk children and adults. “It really started at the undergraduate level when I began working with children of substance abuse,” he said.
Fox went on to attain a master’s degree in community counseling at the University of Missouri. Living in St. Louis, he worked with children in crisis, in emergency shelter care, residential treatment, therapeutic schools, addiction treatment, and community-based youth and family services. “It was all centered on family relationships,” he said.
When Fox and his wife moved to Wooster in 2008, he began translating what he knew into working with the courts to develop and implement treatment in place of convictions for nonviolent drug offenses. “From there I again moved into an administrative role,” he said.
The move back to a focus on the arts has been relatively smooth. “When the directorship became available, it was the right time,” Fox said. “It felt like a very natural transition.”
Back in Nevada, in addition to his musical pursuits, Fox acted with the Nevada Repertory Company and with a Shakespeare on the River troupe. He is still very fond of Shakespearean theater and the lessons to be found in bringing it to the stage, especially for Wayne Center for the Arts.
“Wayne Center is a very process-oriented organization, and Shakespeare is a great way to learn processes,” Fox said.
Fox said his guiding principal is “collaboration whenever possible,” and that will play a role in laying out the future of the center. To begin, he wants to build on the foundation already in place.
“Programs here are really quite wonderful,” Fox said. “The ballet program is just fantastic, for example.”
Fox would like to get more music into the building, both for instruction and in creating more ensemble work. He also would like to look toward less traditional means of reaching the underserved population of the area.
“Find ways to get kids away from their phones and X-Boxes,” Fox said. “A design studio may develop in the future. I think there are excellent partnerships to be found in education with STEM and STEAM programs, areas like robotics, where there is design and creation but also a big element of programming and engineering.”
Fox said he would like to find ways to get out into the community, perhaps creating some after-school programming at the center.
“I want to make sure that anyone who would like to take a class or participate in a program is able to do so, regardless of their ability to pay,” Fox said.
And that brings him around to what will surely be a key part of the new job: fundraising.
“I think you have to be very cautious about becoming too dependent on a single funding source,” Fox said. “You have to create a funding package that is sustainable and diverse.”
Fox plans to work with local corporations to find working partnerships. “Fundraising is difficult today,” he said. “There are a lot of organizations who need support. But I think that partnerships — collaboration — are a key to success.”
Fox said he is grateful to find himself working in a supportive community. “Wayne County is fantastically supportive of the arts,” he said. “We’re very fortunate.”
Fox points to the arts as a way to fully develop personal abilities and skills. “I’d like to get an improv program started,” he said. “It brings transportable skills, learning to think on your feet, thinking creatively and finding solutions in the moment. I think we’re in a good position to offer spaces for that kind of artistic creation. We have that kind of flexibility.”
Wayne Center for the Arts Board of Directors chair Vikki Briggs said, “We are thrilled to have been able to attract a great executive like James Fox to the Wayne Center for the Arts. He is perfect for the role and is a true advocate of our mission to enrich lives and strengthen the community through art.”
Wayne Center for the Arts is at 237 S. Walnut St. in downtown Wooster.