By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Irreplaceable. That is the word that local artist Michael Jilg used to describe Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder.
"I've never heard a bad word about Brenda, except that she talks too fast," Jilg said. ... "It's all about the artists."
Meder, 68, has been the director of the arts council for 35 years. She will be retiring as of Aug. 31. Her retirement reception is from 6:30 to 9:30 tonight at the Hays Arts Center during the fall art walk.
Jilg said Meder has been a tremendous cultural and financial asset to the community. She brings people to downtown Hays, and they shop, eat and spend money, Jilg said. She walks up and down the street during the art walks and talks to business owners.
"She does that just because it's good for the arts and artists," he said.
Jilg, who has known Meder for 35 years, said she could set an exhibit like no one else. He has a downtown studio near the arts council and said Meder often works until 10 at night when she is setting up a show.
"I know she can't ride a unicycle," he said.
The one time Meder did not personally set a show, she had tried to ride a unicycle at a family reunion and broke her wrist. She was in a cast, so she asked Jilg for help.
"I had everything laid out before I hung it, and she came in and said, 'That's not bad, except for this, and then she changed everything — every piece I had put out, and it was better."
The performer
Meder's love of the arts started early, but her passion did not lie in the visual arts. She fell in love with being in front of an audience, whether that be acting a scene for a forensics tournament, playing clarinet or cheerleading during Friday night football.
Her clarinet still sits on the top shelf of the closet, with dry corks and cracked pads, but still too treasured to part with, Meder said.
"It represents a time," she said.
Victoria High School did not have a theater program, except for a junior play, which was staged to raise money for prom. She landed the role of Emmy Fry in "A Feudin' Over Yonder: A Hillbilly Farce."
She still has the script at home.
Victoria High did have a competitive forensics and speech program.
"Wow, I get to act in these amazing scenes that we weren't going to perform in plays at little Victoria High School. We're not going to do Tennessee Williams, William Inge or Shakespeare or whatever it might be, but I can do these things at the forensics competitions," she said.
She continued to pursue theater as she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in communications from Fort Hays State University.
She landed roles as Blanche in "Streetcar Named Desire," Kate in "Taming of the Shrew," the narrator in "Agnes of God," and the "Belle of Amherst," a one-woman piece based on the life of Emily Dickinson.
She organized "Nutcracker" productions, which involved dozens of local dancers and local choreographers. She directed "Cabaret" at FHSU, "Evita," "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" for Hays High, and "Midsummer Night's Dream."
Meder said she has missed acting and directing, but through her work at the Hays Arts Center, she has remained involved in the performing arts.
Famous Figures
Although Meder did not create the Famous Figures competition for fifth-grade students in Ellis County, she has helped it grow and flourish.
The competition involves students from Ellis County public and private schools portraying in costume famous people from the present and the past.
The competition culminates with finalists performing at the Beach Schmidt Performing Arts Center in front of their classmates, members of the public and judges.
She said she adores the kids, especially those she works with through Famous Figures.
"I know they are all nervous little Nellies, so I expend every ounce of emotional energy I can on them that day because it's about them," she said. "So I'm exhausted when that's finished, because I want everyone to be excited. I want those kids to feel they are taken care of, that they are stars."
Meder's youngest son, Heath, who portrayed Robert E. Lee, participated in Famous Figures when he was in fifth grade, and Meder's grandchildren, Olivia and Harlo, will have opportunities to create their own Famous Figures characters this year.
Meder may have never made it to Broadway, but no matter what she was attacking, she said she brought the same intensity to that production or project.
"Is what you're doing the thing that is really important? Is that what feeds your soul? Is that what needs to be done?" Meder said. "Or are you looking for fame and fortune?
"No, it's the thing. As long as the thing is part of who and what I am and it's appreciated by people, that can be just as satisfying," she said.
Meder was working as an administrative assistant at the Chamber in Hays when she was hired as the executive director of the arts council.
"It was really a situation of vocation meeting advocation," she said.
She pulled together her administrative skills, creative eye, energy and performing talents to make projects that had started small big.
Art walks
The art walks were one of those projects. The Hays Arts Council Spring Art Walk had existed for a number of years, and the community had just launched a fall art walk when Meder became executive director, but Meder grew those events and expanded the art walks to a quarterly event.
When the art walks began, art was hosted in several Hays galleries or key businesses. Meder is a native of Victoria, a small town, and was not a visual artist or collector. Growing up, she hadn't had much exposure to the visual arts in rural Kansas. She wanted to expand the events to be more inclusive of the entire community.
"I was trying to be as enthusiastic and vociferous as a person can be in trying to spread the word, 'Hey, the arts are for everyone,'" she said. "There are so many ways that arts and creativity can be part of our lives.
She laughed. She said of the art walks, "Bring the baby stroller. You don't have to get a babysitter. Kids are great. Groovy!"
Meder said it is impossible to choose a favorite artist with whom she has worked. However, she said she enjoyed curating the 50th anniversary show for the arts council, which included 50 works by 50 artists, all of whom had connections to the arts council.
She also organized three floral shows, which featured live flower arrangements paired with floral art pieces.
She was also proud of "She Is," which was an art exhibition focused on the female form.
"There are a whole bunch of things that have resonated in different ways," she said. "The arts are about emotion and connection. Not only does the viewing public have that, but the artists have that, and someone like me from the outside who is putting it together.
"That is the role of art — to allow people to feel and to think and to be inspired," she said.
Youth programs
Meder has invested a lot of energy and passion into inspiring youth. In addition to expanding the Famous Figures program, she has also carried on the tradition of the Creative Writing Awards for youth, summer art classes and annual visits by performing artists to local schools.
So much can be learned through performing arts, Meder said.
When the performing duo Jay and Leslie visit the elementary school, even kindergarteners gain a grasp of square roots, she said.
"The arts bring you in," she said. "They get you engaged. I want to pay attention because this is fun. In the process, the learning is amazing."
Although Meder will be stepping down as executive director, she will continue to coordinate the arts council's youth program for the next year from a home office.
Other notable achievements included a community screening in 2017 of the Swiss film "Quiet America," which was about Hays, and the placement of the art center's mural by Dennis Schiel in the state capitol.
She was also awarded an arts advocacy award earlier this year.
SEE RELATED STORY: Hays woman named a 2025 Governor's Art Awards Winner
Meder said the most difficult aspect of her job has been being selective of her projects.
"I want to do everything," she said. "Anytime I hear about a cool project, I say, 'I want to do that.' ... I'm my own worst enemy."
She added, "It's always been important to me that sense of responsibility you have to maintain the standards that came before you. Don't forget, when I first came here, the founders were still alive."
People worked very hard to establish the arts council, the oldest continuing operating organization of its kind in Kansas, Meder said. She wanted those people to be able to continue to have pride in what they built.
"Bringing more people around to the idea that [the arts] are here for everyone. Just like sports, you don't have to be a professional athlete or coach to go to a professional football game," she said.
"So why do you think you have to be a professional artist or have taken an art history class or been to a ton of museums to go out on an art walk? No! It's the power of art to bring the community together to influence and impact our lives, even if the arts aren't our lives."
Does she ever sleep?
Kathleen Kuchar, local artist, who called Meder an icon, echoed Meder's own words, saying she has made the arts available to everyone through creative programming.
"If I made a list of her contributions, it would be in the thousands, not hundreds!" said Kuchar, who has known Meder for 35 years. "She has created an amazing website, organized amazing exhibitions, written grants, and has made sure everyone has had a taste of what the arts can do to enhance everyone's lives. Does she ever sleep? Her wheels are always turning!"
Kuchar said she was grateful for Meder's contributions to her artistic career. The highlight was when she offered her a retrospective in 2018.
Kuchar illustrated a children's book, "Millie's Garden" written by Dr. Joyce Frey, and Meder asked to have an exhibition of the original artwork on Halloween. Dr. Joyce read the book to the children, and it was a day to remember, Kuchar said.
Meder was insistent the original illustrations find a permanent home. They line the walls of the new day care facility north of HaysMed for children and adults to enjoy for years to come, Kuchar said.
Leaving a legacy
As Meder prepares to depart, Brittney Squire, Hays Arts Council president, said her legacy at the arts council is enduring.
"Her energy is infectious, and it’s been a joy to work alongside someone so passionate and skilled. I’m grateful for her decades of dedication in shaping HAC into such a vibrant hub for the arts in Hays," Squire said.
Meder said she is excited about the renovation project, which will connect the current arts center to the former Madd Matter building and the art center annex, all of which the council owns.
She said the center is overdue for maintenance and upgrades.
"By and large, this is the same space it was 40 years ago," Meder said.
Besides assisting with the youth programs, Meder will continue to help with the county spelling, announcing FHSU graduation and Oktoberfest.
Meder said she spends many, many hours at the art center, admittedly at her choosing, so she is looking forward to a few weird little things that are part of everyday life.
"I might plant flowers, because I will be around to water them," she said, "or maybe I'll paint a room in my house."