Serenity and clarity aren’t the first things that come to most minds when thinking about Iowa City’s bustling Pedestrian Mall. For Jessica Netolicky, the education programming director at Hancher, the Ped Mall is a place to clear her head and capture her thoughts.
After spending some time getting to know her, this ritual becomes understandable. Getting caught in the midst of the Ped Mall’s madness allows her time to separate herself from her duties.
Netolicky, an astute woman with expressive hands, lights up at the mention of her involvement with arts in the community. As the head of all of Hancher’s education programming, she is in charge of creating ways for artists to share with the community. She said working in the UI, Iowa as a whole, and K-12 communities are all important aspects of her job.
“Whether it’s in a second-grade classroom, with students in the School of Music, or with a community organization, that interaction between the audience and the artist is really the most remarkable part of my job,” Netolicky said.
She works with artists who are willing to provide workshops and other projects. These projects are referred to as “residencies” — when artists temporarily reside in and share with the community.
“We certainly want to educate our audiences on the types of performance art we’re hosting,” she said. “And learning from artists who offer workshops or discussions is a great way to delve deeper into that particular art form.”
A devoted dancer and former Cedar Rapids Community Theatre choreographer, Netolicky stresses that Hancher wasn’t her introduction into the art world.
“Arts have always been a part of my life,” she said. “So working at Hancher seemed to be a very natural fit to me.”
Hancher’s slogan, “Can’t Contain Us,” declares that despite the loss of its building, it has not ceased to provide an impressive array of art-education programs for the community. Netolicky ensures that this mantra is rightfully maintained.
Amanda Garrett, her personal assistant, said she’s learned a lot about people skills since she started working for Netolicky.
“She works on projects with artists … which requires building strong relationships with the performers,” Garrett said.
Jacob Yarrow, the Hancher programming director, believes that education programming is a fundamental part of Hancher’s mission. Most people are unaware of the number of programs Netolicky is in charge of overseeing, he said.
“All the different events that she coordinates are a complicated equation to pull together, but she does,” Yarrow said. “There’s a lot that she has to juggle.”
Despite the overwhelming list of artful duties, Netolicky exudes a calm, unfazed attitude about her responsibilities. To her, the culmination of her work is worth all of the labor.
“I find the interaction between the audience and the performance so rewarding,” she said.