Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Parkinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Samantha , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was a fairly well performing student in school, so it was a surprise when the guidance office called me in, in the last semester of my senior year because I had not completed any humanities credits — my choices were theater or a studio art class for freshman. As a shy bookish type, I opted for the studio class. I am from a small town in Florida, and did not have very much exposure to art. The “art students” (which now included me, if only by several weeks, took a field trip to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. During this field trip there was an Andy Warhol traveling exhibition on view — I was completely captivated by, of all things, the red car crash painting (Red Disaster). I couldn’t stop looking at it. It was so massive. And the subject was so disturbing — who wants to look at that? I had so many questions and wanted so badly to understand what I was looking at, why I was looking at it and why I was so intrigued by it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in a very small, coastal town on the gulf-side of Florida. Growing up, I didn’t have very much exposure to art. I had an experience with an Andy Warhol painting as a senior in high school that completely changed the trajectory of my life — even if I didn’t know it at the time. In my freshman year of college, I was required to take survey Art History courses as a requirement for humanities and I knew after the very first class, that I needed this in my life. Within that semester, I knew it would be my professional pursuit.

I am not an artist. I am academically trained as an art historian and critic and professionally experienced as a curator and cultural keeper. My work, my passion, is sharing the creative projects, pursuits and journeys of art and artists with people in my community.

This is my long form bio, but I think it captures much of the information being asked in this question:

Samantha Parkinson, “Sam”, as she is known to most of her colleagues has been with the Englewood Art Center (EAC) | Ringling College of Art and Design since 2010 – first serving as the Coordinator for five years, and as the Director for the last eight years.

Samantha is 5th generation Floridian, born and raised in Charlotte County, Florida. In 2002, she earned her Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, in the History and Criticism of Art, concentrating in modern and contemporary American art; with minors in Studio Art and Museum Practice from Florida State University. Samantha spent two years working for the Tallahassee Museum, a regional history museum and natural habitat zoo. In 2004, Samantha moved to New York City. She earned a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from New York University in 2005. In New York, Samantha had the opportunity to work with several prestigious organizations including the Museum of Modern Art; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; and the Creative Capital Foundation. While her love for the modern aesthetic began during her undergraduate studies, it was her time in New York that really ignited her passion for contemporary art. Her New York experience gave her a keen understanding and awareness of the importance of creativity in our culture and the significance of supporting, not only culture making endeavors, but the people who pursue such responsibility and enjoy it.

Though not an artist, Samantha is dedicated to supporting the proliferation of creativity and artistic culture through her curatorial, educational, and administrative posts. Her work gives Samantha a platform to blend her passion and experience through the opportunities to bring artists ranging from the locally celebrated to the internationally recognized to the galleries and studios of EAC. In her own words, Samantha says, “for me, all of this work is very personal. It is about sharing the moments with people, with individuals, when they connect with the art, and it changes them. Not just a response, but the moment that the experience of the art, deeply and profoundly changes the way they see the world. I recognize that I am very fortunate to work in a space where I get to witness it so regularly for others – sometimes for the first time and sometimes, maybe, for the hundredth time. Then, very occasionally, I get really lucky and have the opportunity be a part of the structure that facilitates it – that’s when it really inspires me.”

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Once I arrived in New York, I thought I would never leave. I finished my MA, had a great job with a phenomenal artist support organization and was living my best life, 4 years into life in New York. My husband, at the time, was a school teacher. His father was diagnosed with very late stage cancer and everything about my life changed. My husband moved home and for nearly a year we tried to maintain separate homes in New York and in Florida, so that my husband could be with his family during the end of his father’s life. After 12 months, it became clear that we could no longer financially maintain, both residences. I put my marriage and family above my career and moved home. I told my husband we could stay as long as we needed to but for my career, I needed to be in a city. A year after his father’s passing, I got a job in Washington DC with Americans for the Arts — the day I was set to accept the offer, my husband said, he didn’t want to leave home agin, didn’t want to start over in another new city. Two years later, we divorced.

I was certain that I would never be able to work in my chosen field, close to home. As fate would have it, instead, I have had the opportunity to work for one of the leading Art and Design College’s in the world for almost 15 years. I am beyond grateful for the chance to do what I love — share art and artistic culture with this small, but growing, community, where I was raised. In some ways, it is easy to be in New York, in a cultural bubble that values and supports art and artists in a way that many communities in the US do not. The challenges and rewards of bringing art–including the diversity of perspectives that it entails and the dialog that it opens up–to a community of people, for whom some, much like my younger self, may have little exposure to art and creativity, has been one of my greatest joys in life.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It is important to facilitate the creation and proliferation of artwork in communities small and large. Museums are an integral part of documenting our history, but supporting living artists and and participating with cultural organizations are key components to making any creative ecosystem robust. It is important for people to know that supporting and participating does not only mean commissioning or purchasing their art, but also sharing their work, participating in their events and acknowledging their contributions to the cultural community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ringling.edu/eac
• Instagram: @sparkijo_artpro or @englewoodartcenter
• Facebook: @EnglewoodArtCenter

Image Credits
Speaking at Ringling College (2020) Various artists in community exhibition @ Loranger Gallery, Englewood Art Center, Ringling College (2024) Joan Libby Hawk, artist talk, @Mitchell Gallery, Englewood Art Center, Ringling College (2024) Raku workshop at Englewood Art Center, Ringling College (2024) Paul Spyropolous @ Mitchell Gallery, Englewood Art Center, Ringling College (2019) Englewood Art Center members, Ringling College Galleries tour (2024)