Paul Henderson left Sackville seven years ago to live in the more populated Toronto after he co-found the renowned music festival, Sappyfest, and worked as the Struts and Faucet Media Arts Coordinator.
By the end of the month, Henderson will have left his home in bustling Toronto behind him to become the new director of Struts Gallery and Faucet Media Centre.
Henderson worked on his own for the past year as a freelance designer, but after pandemic isolation he’s had time to think, and wants to put down roots in Sackville again for a while.
“I think, like everyone, over the last year and a half or so [I’ve been] kind of reevaluating priorities and what it takes to have a meaningful life and this planet,” says Henderson. “The community of Sackville is a very rich and vibrant one, and we have a lot of friends, and just the kind of pace of life was really appealing. Obviously [with] everyone being so isolated through this pandemic, the importance of social fabric really became prevalent.”
The collaborative aspect of the position was also part of what appealed to him, after over a year of working alone.
“I was really involved with a lot of collaborative stuff [in Sackville], from Sappy to Struts, also Thunder and Lightning right before I left. I was very happy when we moved to Ontario to work on my own things and not be really involved… I probably did experience some sort of burnout. But after the last four years, when I’ve been really just on my own working in my studio, doing freelance design work and artwork, I just really, really missed that big part of my personality… working with people and organizing and facilitating.”
Henderson is no stranger to Struts and Faucet. He formally worked as the Media Arts Coordinator between 2004-2010.
“I kind of knew the insides of the organization and how it works, but also very aware of what life is like in Sackville. So there’s like a certain pressure….I really want to do a good job. I also just wanted to make sure I was not romanticizing the town or community because of COVID-19. I had been thinking since the new year about getting back into the workforce, so to speak. When we saw the job come up, we just kind of said, ‘Okay, this is interesting, and pretty exciting.'”
Henderson hopes to engage not just the arts community of Sackville, but the entire community of Sackville, in what’s going on at Struts.
“I see the job as being very much a steward. It’s not a curatorial position. I see it very much as taking care of the health of the organization. But in terms of programming, I would say I really just want to get communities involved and engage both the membership and broader communities… getting them in the space, get people working together and making things.”
Struts and Faucet purchased their building on 7 Lorne Street in 2018, and has been slowly working on renovating the space. The idea of reshaping the space according to what Struts and Faucet needs appeals to Henderson, who plans to stay in the position for at least the full three years of his contract.
This is the third round of hiring for this position over the course of two years.
“I felt like the organization needed some stability after a few years of flux, and my experience in the town and with the organization previously… I just thought I’d be a really good fit, and I don’t have curatorial ambitions and not out here to climb a career ladder in the arts. It’s very much the town and the organization that are attractive to me.”
Henderson says he is looking forward to swimming in the ocean, having bonfires, and seeing old friends again. He thanks former co-directors of Struts and Faucet Dave Dymant and Roula Partheniou for caring for the organization over the pandemic and providing him with a “soft landing” while he learns the ropes.
Henderson is working remotely in Toronto for now, but will be back in town at the end of the month.
