Arrowmont Welcomes New Executive Director
By Juli Watson Neil, The Mountain Press
Not many hobbyists wind up becoming executive director of a world-renowned art school. Fewer still are a trained nurse anesthetist with 30 years of experience and 15 years of expertise as the owner of a medical services company.
Jim Scarsella can check all those boxes on his resume, which makes him a unique fit for the unique Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
On April 1, Scarsella transitions from his current role as deputy director to become the Gatlinburg school’s executive director. Bill May, Arrowmont’s longtime executive director, retires on March 31.
The Mountain Press spoke with Scarsella to learn more about how he got involved with Arrowmont, what modifications are being made to the school’s operations during the coronavirus pandemic and why he’s looking forward to Arrowmont’s continued and future presence in Gatlinburg.
‘Kind of my little getaway’
Scarsella’s first exposure to Arrowmont was the same as that of most of its students from around the world: he took a class. In his case, the class involved working with wood. “I’ve always been a very serious hobbyist,” Scarsella said. “I started as a woodworker making furniture.”
Roughly 12 years ago, he traveled to Gatlinburg from his home in the Detroit area to explore new ways to work with wood. “Woodturning and carving were new for me,” said Scarsella. “I took a class. It was kind of my little getaway every year.”
Scarsella was later asked to serve as an instructor. He and May then had conversations about taking on another role. “Bill May thought my graduate degrees in management and finance would be a good fit,” Scarsella said.
He moved his self-described “large family” from Michigan to Tennessee, and he’s served as Arrowmont’s deputy director for approximately three years. Scarsella describes his deputy director duties as being similar to those of a director of operations, with responsibilities ranging from oversight of maintenance to involvement with programming.
He praised programming director Nick Deford. “Nick did the bulk of course selection,” said Scarsella. “Nick’s very dialed into all that.”
The already close working relationship with May became even more solid after May announced his retirement. “Bill’s role was more the face of Arrowmont for many, many years,” Scarsella said. “We were entering into a new (fundraising) campaign. Our goal was $20 million. We raised over $33 million.”
‘A community that cares deeply’
In November 2016, Arrowmont lost three buildings to the Chimney Tops II fires that started inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park then spread to Gatlinburg and other portions of Sevier County. Fourteen people died, and more than 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed.
The Arrowmont campus has been restored with replacement buildings and clean-up, but it now faces a disaster of a different kind — a pandemic. The school was one of the first entities in Sevier County to announce that it would close as a safety precaution. “We worked closely with the board,” Scarsella said of Arrowmont’s early move to close for two weeks. At press time, that closure had been extended through April.
“I have a medical background, and it seemed to me early on the right thing to do,” said Scarsella. “The board has been very progressive in this decision.”
Though the bulk of Arrowmont’s classes take place in the latter spring and summer, closure in March and April means canceling a few classes and turning away other art groups that have booked the facilities.
The $33 million campaign success was already in place when COVID-19 hit, and part of those funds will be used to pay the school’s approximately 32 full-time employees during the shutdown. “Arrowmont is a community that cares deeply about its people,” Scarsella said. “Our board made the decision we are taking care of our employees through four months. Our staff is working from home as much as possible.
“We’re working on 2021 programming,” Scarsella continued. “We’re scheduling for summer and fall … Thanks to the generosity of people locally and nationally, we do have some resources.”
‘We’re here to stay’
Arrowmont was incorporated in 1912, which makes it older than the city in which it resides. Gatlinburg celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.
What started as a settlement school in a once-remote mountain community has become a world-known destination for artists. Scarsella says that will not change. “We’re here to stay … We’ll be back (after pandemic closures). Arrowmont has been there over 100 years,” said Scarsella.
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