A Springfield native is the new executive director of Sculpture Walk Springfield.
Bridget Bechtel, a graduate of Kickapoo High School, takes over for Avery McQueary, who has served in that role since January 2021. Bechtel returns to Springfield after living in New York City and Austin, Texas, over the last 10 years.
“(Bechtel) looks forward to pushing Springfield into a new era of public art appreciation and working with the community she knows and loves,” a press release reads.
In New York City, she worked for the New York Public Library, serving as an Education Fellow. In that role, she created and implemented academic, social and emotional programming for youth in the Bronx. That work was done in association with the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. While at the New York Public Library, Bechtel was one of only two individuals selected to lead a highly prestigious summer intensive program.
Bechtel, who studied English at the University of Kansas, served as director of programming and events for a senior living community in Austin.
Sculpture Walk Springfield calls itself a “museum without walls with access to all.” Its mission is “to encourage the artistic transformation of Springfield through outdoor sculpture, thus enhancing our quality of life and promoting economic vitality.”
The organization launched in 2016 with 13 sculptures placed throughout downtown Springfield. It has grown to more than 40 sculptures — 29 temporary sculptures and 12 permanent acquisitions — and added Jordan Valley Park and the Rountree neighborhood to its open-air museum.
