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Amid the redevelop- ment of Waterville's downtown, Shannon Haines has had a key role in the revival of the city's arts community, having led the Maine Film Center and now Waterville Creates. Shannon Haines Executive director Waterville Creates V O L . X X X I N O. X V I I A U G U S T 1 1 , 2 0 2 5 26 P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Amplifying the arts in Waterville B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n ainebiz: You have a professional background that includes working as a waste- management and recycling specialist. How did you come around to the arts? Shannon Haines: When I moved back to Maine after college, I was indeed working in the waste management and recycling field; my degree was in environmental studies, and I found a great job at the state planning office in Augusta. I chose to live in Waterville because of all the arts assets that I had fallen in love with as a kid growing up in Central Maine — Railroad Square Cinema, the Waterville Opera House and the Colby Museum of Art. e same year that I moved back, 1998, the founders of Railroad Square Cinema started the Maine International Film Festival, which I thought was just a really cool, audacious thing to do in Waterville of all places, and I wanted to support it. After attending the festival a couple of times, I signed on to be the volunteer coordinator, and after a couple of years of that, the founding director was ready to step away, so they asked me to be the director — a position I ended up holding for 15 years. So, the short answer is that I fell into a career in the arts through volunteering for MIFF. M Waterville Creates What the organization does: Waterville Creates is a nonprofit whose mission is "arts experi- ences for all." It offers high-quality, year-round programming in film, visual and performing arts through three divisions, the Maine Film Center, the Waterville Opera House and Ticonic Gallery + Studios. Based at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville, it serves around 100,000 visitors per year. Number of employees: 35 watervillecreates.org