Aug. 5, 2022 | Jessica Shafer '25
From making art at UNCW to curating it at multiple museums across the state, Jeff Bell ’98 shares how he found his heart for art while a Seahawk in this latest Hawk's Eye View.
In June, the art history and studio art double major was named Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC).
He attributes his professional life in art to his time at UNCW saying, “I’d always drawn and made things, but never considered art as a career choice. When I started school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I wandered around for a little bit, but when I connected with art everything clicked.”
The relationships he made at the university pushed him to explore new avenues and be his best.
“I formed some close friendships making artwork at all hours of the night trying to get a project done," Bell said. "Knowing that someone was there doing it with you was so motivating.
“I was really engaged with art at UNCW and all that entails,” Bell continued. “Obviously with visual art and exhibitions, but I started taking the history of jazz and other classes like that. Going to theater performances and all sorts of variation of what art is and can be. You were around a lot of different people at the same time, which I really liked.”
The UNCW staff was sure to take care of and encourage him.
“Dr. Joyce Morden taught me a lot about what it meant to work in a museum and that was really crucial for me,” Bell said.
Taking classes with Margie Worthington, retired UNCW professor and the first Curator of Education at St. John’s Museum of Art (now the Cameron Art Museum), made a huge difference.
Jeff Bell '98
Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC)
photo by Amanda Duncan
The experiences the university made available were also incredibly valuable to him.
“I did a few important internships while I was there and those have affected the rest of my life. It sets the stage for how I go about creating my artwork,” Bell continued. “It laid the foundation for how I approach things.
“I learned so much at UNCW that I just do. I occasionally think back to why I understand color or welding. They are innate to how I go about what I do, and it was all learned there.”
Bell also had influential interactions and experiences within the city.
Working with artist Al Frega who Bell says, “taught me what it meant to be a working artist. I’d never known a person who just made artwork for their occupation. I learned a lot about sculpture from that experience as well; using found materials and taking things to make other things.”
One such experience like no other through UNCW was interning with St. John’s Museum of Art (now Cameron Art Museum) under Anne Brennan, who was the curator for Bell’s internship and is currently the Cameron Art Museum’s Executive Director.
Bell says Brennan taught him, “a lot about working in a museum, what it was like to put on an exhibition, how to work with artists, lay out shows and hang the artwork. I was blown away by her ability to talk to people. Her ability to talk to different audiences and different age groups was cool.”
After graduating, Bell went on to work at various North Carolina museums, starting at the Cameron Art Museum where he did shows responding to all that was, and is, going on in the world.
He then went on to the Duke University Art Museum, or the Nasher.
“When I worked at the Nasher I learned a lot about all aspects of museum work and worked around a collection I really liked,” Bell said. “We did some incredible shows. I was able to be around some very important historical works of art. I’m still good friends with the exhibit designer at the Nasher, and his ability to take a curatorial vision and have it make sense within a three-dimensional space is an incredible skill.”
Then it was on to the 21-C in Durham where Bell says, “their collection is just amazing. Always rotating and always reconsidering the collection in different ways. We also were able to work with local artists, which I appreciated.”
Closest to his heart, however, is the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, only 20 miles away from where he grew up in Goldsboro.
“My mom took me to see them,” Bell said of the large whimsical pinwheels. "I don’t think I even thought of them as art, but they were very important to me and continue to be. To be a part of that and a part of Vollis’ work in helping to establish the park and museum is special.”
As Bell begins his role as executive director of the NCAC, his goal is to spread the Council motto “arts for all people” across the state.
“I am very interested in finding ways to support artists,” he said. “The North Carolina Arts Council has been around a long time, and they have done a lot to support artists, art organizations and local art councils. But they’ve especially worked hard these past few years to expand. I want to make sure the resources we have for artists and organizations are available to everyone. Everyone in our state can be aware of them, apply for them and enjoy the art we have helped support. It’s an ongoing evaluation of the landscape of how we can better meet the needs of North Carolina.”
It’s clear that as he walks into this new position, Bell approaches others with a genuine love of the arts and passion to share it.
UNCW is proud to see another Seahawk spread its wings and pursue change in the community for the better.