Theatre, music, painting, and dance are all forms of fine and visual arts discussed by the McKinney Arts Council which art teacher Amanda Beller has joined in hopes of giving a different perspective as an artist and teacher.

“We kind of help make decisions about the aesthetic of the city murals, mosaics, and sculptures,” Beller said. “Also, we fund to bring in art shows that are done, music shows theater groups–anything related to the fine arts, not just visual arts.”

After being asked to apply for membership by a friend, Beller felt she was a good fit, especially since her family is community minded and interested in politics. Beller’s husband has served on a public housing board for McKinney for six years now, giving her more insight into the community. All members of the Arts Council, despite their diverse backgrounds, share a common interest in the arts.

“I was just sworn in in the fall. It’s really recent,” Beller said. “It’s all different [people]. There is a realtor, an art director, a retired art teacher. It’s mostly just people who are interested in the arts [and] promoting the arts, theatre, music in McKinney.”

In order to determine what is being funded, the council has meetings every three months in McKinney City Hall. There are also meetings for the sub-council, where certain topics are discussed more frequently.

“Different groups will make propositions,” Beller said. “The Bluegrass Foundation presented [at one of the meetings], so they proposed that they wanted to do a bluegrass show at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, and they would ask for a grant to help fund that. We don’t fund anything fully; it’s a partial funding, and so we kind of look at what [it’s] going to be like, how many people could attend, and then we vote. It’s an open meeting, so everything is public knowledge.”

Beller is not only interested in the art aspect of the Council, but the involvement in the community, as well.

“It’s important to be able to have a say in where your tax dollars go,” Beller said. ”I think it’s a benefit that I am able to view that from an art standpoint, but when you think about it, cities have boards for public housing and for parks and recreation, and just to be able to have some say on how those dollars are spent is important.”