Jocelyn Scudder: Building a Creative Community in Park City
Jocelyn Scudder: Executive Director
For Jocelyn Scudder, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Park City & Summit County, creativity has always been about more than making art. It is a way to process the world, connect with others, and build community. From studying fine arts on the East Coast to finding her place in the nonprofit arts world in New York City and making her way to Park City, her path has been shaped by a belief in the power of creativity to bring people together.
Today, that belief continues to guide her work supporting artists, strengthening Arts & Culture, and helping shape the creative community across Park City and Summit County.
Finding Her Way in the Arts
Jocelyn grew up on the East Coast in a family surrounded by art. Her mother and uncle were artists, and her father studied art history at Yale before attending law school. She spent her school years taking every art class she could, eventually studying Fine and Studio Arts at St. Lawrence University, where she focused on printmaking and contemporary art theory.
After graduating in 2008, Jocelyn found herself navigating a challenging job market for recent arts graduates. Like many young people finding their footing, she took a less traditional route. A group of college friends headed to Park City for a ski season, and what began as an adventure eventually became part of a much longer journey. After working locally and spending a year traveling around Australia, she moved to New York City to pursue opportunities in the art world.
There, she worked her way into the nonprofit arts sector through the Lower East Side Printshop, an organization supporting artists through residencies, workshops, shared studio space, and exhibitions. The experience helped her discover that she could build a career in the arts without focusing solely on making art herself.
“The people I met were passionate, grounded, and genuinely invested in supporting one another,” Jocelyn recalls. “That environment reminded me why I wanted to pursue a career in the arts beyond making art myself. I wanted to be part of a creative community where people supported one another and believed in the power of art to bring people together.”
That sense of shared purpose stayed with her. Eventually, it would lead her back to Park City and to the Arts Council.
From Artist to Arts Advocate
Before joining the Arts Council, Jocelyn returned to Park City in 2013 and spent four years as Education Program Coordinator at the Kimball Art Center. She also served on the Park City Public Art Board, where she connected with then-Executive Director Hadley Dynak and became involved in Project ABC: Art, Beauty, Culture, a cultural planning initiative that brought the region's arts community together to think about its future.
In 2017, Jocelyn joined the Arts Council as Community Manager. The organization was entering an exciting period of growth, building on decades of arts advocacy while exploring new ways to support artists and cultural organizations. She became Executive Director in 2019.
Arts Council Staff at the Latino Arts Festival
Since then, Jocelyn has helped guide the Arts Council through an expansion of its programs, team, and role in the community. One of the things she is most proud of is the growth of CREATE PC. What began as a three-day pop-up in 2016 has evolved into a year-round space for local artists, bringing together studio space, a retail gallery, professional development, and community programming.
The model reflects a philosophy that runs through much of Jocelyn's work: listen to artists, understand what they need, and create opportunities that allow them to thrive.
She is also proud of the continued growth of projects like the Latino Arts Festival that use creativity to bring people together. One particularly meaningful project was a 2018 mural initiative with street artist Bisco Smith. Through workshops, local teens and tweens explored street art and self-expression while contributing to a mural along the Millennium Trail. At a time when the community was grieving the loss of several young people, the project offered students an opportunity to express themselves and honor those they had lost.
For Jocelyn, projects like these demonstrate why Arts & Culture matters. Art can create space for expression, connection, and shared experiences, often in ways that words alone cannot.
Creativity Beyond the Canvas
Although her work now centers on supporting the broader creative community, Jocelyn remains an artist herself. She is a printmaker at heart, particularly drawn to intaglio etching on copper plates, and also enjoys woodcuts, linocuts, painting, and sketching.
Her personal art practice has become more occasional over the years, but creativity remains an important part of how she understands the world.
“Creativity has always been about more than making something beautiful. It's a way to process the world, work through things, and reconnect with myself,” she says.
It is a perspective that extends beyond her own artistic practice. Through the Arts Council, Jocelyn works to ensure that artists have opportunities to create, share their work, and build sustainable careers, while residents have opportunities to experience and participate in Arts & Culture.
She is quick to recognize that this work is a collective effort. Jocelyn credits the Arts Council's staff, board of directors, community partners, and the many people who continue to show up for the creative community.
For her, building a strong arts ecosystem means creating an environment where people can support one another, try new ideas, and help bring something meaningful into the world.
Looking Ahead, While Honoring Where We Came From
As the Arts Council celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026, Jocelyn is thinking about both the organization's history and what comes next.
2027 Arts Council Board & Staff
Over the past four decades, the Arts Council has helped strengthen arts funding, establish public art advisory boards, support the development of cultural organizations, and lead cultural planning efforts across the region. Much of this work has happened behind the scenes, helping create the foundation for the vibrant Arts & Culture community that residents and visitors experience today.
Jocelyn is particularly excited about implementing the new Arts & Culture Master Plan, which was adopted by the Park City Council and the Summit County Council in 2026. The 10-year plan creates opportunities to strengthen support for artists, explore new funding mechanisms, expand cultural programming, and recognize the role Arts & Culture plays in the region's identity and quality of life.
She is also looking ahead to the next chapter of CREATE PC, which has become an important home for local artists. As the organization plans for the space's future, its goal is to continue creating opportunities for artists to work, sell their creations, and connect with the community.
For Jocelyn, the 40th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the people who helped build the Arts Council, the artists and organizations that have shaped the region, and the community that continues to support this work.
Celebrate Where We Come From
On Wednesday, November 4, the Arts Council invites the community to celebrate 40 years of Arts & Culture at an anniversary party at CREATE PC. With an 80s prom-inspired theme, the evening will feature music, trivia, art, food, drinks, and an opportunity to reconnect with the people who make our creative community special.
Whether you have been part of the Arts Council's story for years or are just discovering its work, the celebration is an opportunity to look back at how far we have come and look ahead to what we can build together.
From Jocelyn's own journey into the arts, to the many people who have shaped the Arts Council since 1986, one thing remains clear: a thriving creative community is built by people who believe in the value of art and in the importance of making space for it.
Join us in celebrating where we come from and the next chapter of Arts & Culture in Park City and Summit County.
Arts Council of Park City & Summit County 40th Anniversary Party:
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
4 to 8 p.m.
CREATE PC Local Artist Collective
1500 Kearns Boulevard, Suite F110, Park City
