Sculpture Walk Springfield installs new director

Provided by Sculpture Walk Springfield

Bridget Bechtel, a native of Springfield, has returned to her hometown.

Sculpture Walk Springfield has a new executive director in place.

Bridget Bechtel, a Springfield native, has returned to her hometown and now leads the arts nonprofit, according to a news release.

"She looks forward to pushing Springfield into a new era of public art appreciation and working with the community she knows and loves," officials said in the release.

Bechtel took on the role this month after deciding to move back to Missouri to be closer to family.

In an email, Bechtel said she succeeds Avery McQueary, who exited the director role Feb. 17 to focus on family.

As executive director, Bechtel oversees Sculpture Walk Springfield's mission of providing public art in the downtown area of the city. Sculptors are paid to borrow their pieces, and they are set up around downtown each year, according to past reporting.

Prior to working at Sculpture Walk Springfield, Bechtel had experience as an education fellow with the New York Public Library and director of programming and events for a senior living community in Austin, Texas, according to the release.