Women in the Arts: April Kirk on Art, Community, and Why Historic Westville Village Feels Like Home
- TheColumbusite
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
Interview by Carrie Beth Wallace
When April Kirk talks about museums, she doesn’t speak in terms of static buildings or preserved artifacts. She talks about people. About creativity. About community. About museums as living, breathing spaces that serve many purposes at once.
That philosophy is exactly what led her to Columbus, Georgia — and to her new role as Executive Director of Historic Westville Village.
A Foundation in Art (and Curiosity)
April’s path to museum leadership began, unsurprisingly, in the studio.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history, with a concentration in painting and printmaking, from Queens University of Charlotte. Along the way, she added minors in communications and religion, and leaned fully into college as a space to explore every creative avenue available to her — from creative writing to interdisciplinary study.
“I didn’t know what I could do with all of that,” she admits. “But I used college as the opportunity to do everything I ever wanted to do.”
Two dreams emerged early on: becoming a high school art teacher, or running a museum. What running a museum actually meant, however, was still unclear.
Learning the Business of the Arts
After graduation, April landed a role at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival — not as an artist, but as a grant writer.
“I had no idea how to do that,” she says, laughing. “But they told me, ‘You can write. We’ll teach you grants.’”
That moment changed everything.
Grant writing led to development work, which led to event production, memberships, donor cultivation, and — critically — understanding how arts organizations survive.
“It taught me a skill I never knew would change the trajectory of my life,” she says.
Over the next several years, April built a career in nonprofit development across arts organizations and health and human services agencies, learning how mission-driven work could (and should) be run with both creativity and financial sustainability.
Bringing Creativity Back Into the Museum
Eventually, April made a decisive shift: museums.
Her first museum role was at Historic Stranahan House Museum in Fort Lauderdale — the oldest surviving structure in Broward County. While historians were being interviewed for the role, April approached it differently.
“I told them, ‘You don’t need a historian. You need a nonprofit professional and an artist.’”
That perspective reshaped the museum.
Under her leadership, Stranahan House became more than a historic home. It evolved into a creative hub — hosting plein air painters, supporting local artists through its gift shop, staging county-wide quilt exhibitions, and re-centering the museum as part of the region’s cultural ecosystem.
It was also where April returned fully to her own art practice.
She began painting Fort Lauderdale itself — its architecture, landmarks, and familiar scenes — eventually becoming a featured artist at Fort Lauderdale City Hall and selling work throughout the community.
Art as Access, Art as Community
When the pandemic disrupted public life, April adapted — creatively.
She shifted to daily drawing challenges, exploring mixed media, loosening long-held artistic “rules,” and sharing accessible, affordable work directly with her community. For more than a year, she completed (and sold) a drawing a day, releasing her art into the world rather than holding onto it.
At the same time, she was navigating profound personal change — caring for her mother, managing museum leadership through COVID, and ultimately relocating to be closer to family.
A subsequent role operating a 64-acre living history museum in Tallahassee added another layer to her experience: large-scale sites, active archaeology, and complex public operations.
“All of that gave me the tools to be the right person for Westville,” she says.
Why Columbus, Georgia?
April is direct when asked why she chose Columbus.
“I love it here.”
Her first introduction to the city came through a guided visit that immersed her in Columbus’s museums, neighborhoods, restaurants, and cultural institutions — from CSU and the National Infantry Museum to Uptown galleries and historic mill sites.
“What I kept seeing was history and the arts — together,” she says. “Not forced. Not performative. Integrated into the landscape.”
What stood out most was the sense of care.
“This community genuinely cares about the arts,” she says. “And that care has been passed down for generations.”
She noticed it in philanthropy, in how people invest back into the city, and in how readily people welcomed her — not just professionally, but personally.
“Every person I met introduced me to someone else,” she says. “And they meant it when they said, ‘We’re happy you’re here.’”
A Vision for Historic Westville
April sees Historic Westville not as a single-purpose institution, but as a multi-layered community asset.
“We’re a museum. We’re a park. We’re a store. We’re a tourism welcome center. We’re a venue. We’re a classroom,” she explains. “And balancing all of that takes the right people and the right vision.”
At its core, her approach centers on accessibility, creativity, and community — values shaped not only by her professional life, but by her personal one as well. Through her mother’s work on the U.S. Access Board and years spent learning from national arts leaders, April brings a deeply informed perspective on inclusive, welcoming cultural spaces.
“This is a place for the community,” she says simply. “Families belong here. Children belong here. Everyone belongs here.”
Looking Ahead
As April settles into Columbus and into leadership at Historic Westville Village, she brings with her a rare blend of artist’s intuition and operational expertise — someone who understands that museums don’t exist apart from their communities, but because of them.
And if there’s one thing she’s certain of?
“This is where we want to be.” ◾️
Visit Historic Westville Village
Historic Westville Vilalges is NOW OPEN! Hours are Friday-Saturday from 10AM-4PM.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
