Cameron appointed to Arts Advisory Committee

Former educator Nan Cameron was recently appointed by the Hot Springs Board of Directors to serve on the Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Hot Springs. The nine-member committee reviews and recommends placement of permanent art at publicly-owned facilities in the city; helps organize and promote temporary art exhibits at publicly-owned facilities; and helps secure private grant funding and art donations for permanent art displays at public buildings and facilities.

Cameron grew up in Austin, Texas as an irrepressible tomboy who owned and rode horses, roamed the hills of West Lake, swam in the Colorado River and Barton Springs, climbed trees and had an idyllic childhood as the offspring of Nan Elkins, Austin's First Lady of Theatre and Tommy Elkins, singer and statistician.

At four years of age she played a part in her first theatre production, The Clown Who Could Not Smile.  Years later, while in the University of Texas Drama Department, she lost her hoop skirt while center stage in front of 2,000 people, but carried on by kicking it behind a strategically placed sofa. She also did theatre performances on the night of The Bay of Pigs invasion and the afternoon that President Kennedy was assassinated.

As one of many former Texas residents in Hot Springs who visited only once before moving here, Cameron states, "We got here as soon as we could. I became enthralled with the warmth of the community, my wonderful home on Prospect Avenue and the organizations with which I've become involved.”  She is passionate about the beauty and culture of Hot Springs: the lakes, mountains, tall trees and the ever-expanding arts scene. 

Cameron considers herself a professional educator, in addition to working in the private sector in Japan and co-owning two high-tech companies in Austin, TX, dealing with enterprise networking and Linux education. Education is her first love, whether in the form the teaching of theatre and speech communication, law enforcement classes, cooking demonstrations or writing. She was the general manager, theatre director and scenic and lighting designer at the family-owned Theatre Unlimited in Austin.

Cameron is also a traveler, having backpacked around the world alone four times during jaunts ranging from ten to sixteen months, taking the time to explore and meet people in more than 70 countries.  She lived in a van for a year while traveling Europe, resided in a Thailand monastery and stayed in the Dalai Lama's home in Dharmasala, India.  She has walked the ruins of the Pagan Kingdom and explored the floating gardens of Myanmar’s Lake Inle, driven a caravan through the north and south islands of New Zealand, experienced Kathmandu and viewed Mount Everest from the northeastern edge of Nepal.  She has dived into the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea, and constructed a mandela in a Thailand cave one year before the tsunami swept over the area. Joyous about life, her motto is, "When in doubt, throw glitter."