The second candidate for the director of the Tarble Arts Center said he sees the center as a creative resource for people and will preserve that resource by representing the community’s rich history artistically.

He also said he believes the development and changes that challenged and refined the role of the center will help to uphold its reputation as a creative resource.

Michael Schuetz has served as the assistant director of the Tarble Arts Center since June of 2010.

Schuetz said he has over 15 years combined work experience as an artist, museum professional and educator.

“The way people perceive art, how and where they absorb it, has changed,” Schuetz said. “So the institution has to move with the times to reflect and support those changes, both in its physical appearance as well as in its accessibility.”

Before working at Tarble, Schuetz was employed at the Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio museum in Lenox, Mass from June 2000 to May 2003.

He also served as an instructor at the Kids Arts Camp, a community-based public outreach program that was sponsored by the museum.

After that, Schuetz worked as Collections Technician at Historic New England, a museum in Boston, Mass from May 2005 to June 2010.

Schuetz’s juggled a number of jobs while working at the Historic New England, including the management of a collection of 60 thousand objects in a storage facility.

Throughout the years, Schuetz has done freelance work with different museums as well as taught art classes at different colleges in New York and Massachusetts.

“When I first started as an artist directly out of school and began teaching, my philosophy was ‘lay low and lead a clean life,’” Schuetz said.

Nearly 20 years later, Schuetz said he has gained experience and a broader sense of what it takes to be a leader.

Stephanie White can be reached at 581-2812 or at sewhite2@eiu.edu.