5 minute read
Choosing Albany
Chloe
HINTON
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Chloe Hinton was born and raised in Albany, but when she left for college in Charleston, S.C., she never anticipated coming back.
After Charleston, life took Hinton to Macon for a while. In fact, she lived in Macon from 2006 to 2015. When her niece was born with a heart condition that required open heart surgery at three months old, life took Hinton to Auburn to watch her niece, who couldn’t go to daycare because she was immunocompromised.
And then the Albany Museum of Art (AMA) was looking for a director of education position that brought Hinton back to her hometown.
“You go where life takes you, and I am glad it’s landed me back here,” said Hinton. “I’ve loved being back here. It’s provided me a lot of time to be with my family. My daddy died in February of 2021. He’d gotten diagnosed with cancer five years before. If I hadn’t been back here, I wouldn’t have gotten to spend that time with him. I’m grateful for that.”
Being back home has allowed Hinton to relive some of her childhood memories through her daughter, Francie. Like House of China on Friday nights, (although the magician and cards on the ceiling from Hinton’s childhood are gone), attending Deerfield-Windsor School and being outdoors.
“Francie goes to the same school that my husband and I went to, and that is just such a joy to get to
be a part of that,” said Hinton. “I didn't anticipate when I moved back here that would bring me so much happiness, but watching her enjoy the same elementary school that I did is pretty precious. … If my teacher hangs in there one more year, she can be Francie’s first grade teacher.
“I also love that she gets a little bit of everything here. She can be outdoors in five minutes and up to her elbows in mud or watching deer in the backyard or bunnies or foxes, and we live in town,” she said. “She can also come to the museum, Chehaw (Park), the Flint RiverQuarium, all these places. There are things here for her to do. She has a community that loves her in school, and Albany is centrally located to a lot of stuff.”
In her initial role at the AMA as the director of education and public programming, Hinton was responsible for all the museum’s programming for community members — everything from classes for babies to octogenarians. Hinton said she especially loved working with the kids in the different children’s programs.
“Working with kids is fun,” she said. “Some of my favorite collections are during summer camp. We run an extensive summer camp for six to eight weeks, and the kids would draw pictures of you. … One little girl found a picture of me and my husband online and had somebody print it out, and she gave us like dog bodies.
“It’s hilarious and precious, but I really believe in the power art has with kids. I think every kid should enter a museum by the time they’re in second grade,” she said. “You don’t have to be an artist to go to a museum. That’s not the point. There are so many other things that happen in a museum. Exposing them at a young age teaches them to have a broader worldview, exposes them to different places, and that’s just a good thing.
“There’s nothing wrong with exposing kids to more stuff, especially if they’re not naturally interested in it,” she added. “I really love the value of art education and programming, and I’m a strong proponent of it.”
And so when a position for the museum’s director of development and membership became necessary, Hinton said it was easy for her to transition to that role because of her strong advocacy for the museum’s programming.
“I already love the programming, so I am more than happy to tell anybody about it anytime,” she said. “It was a natural fit for me to get to do that and hopefully encourage others to come and join us to make (the museum) as accessible as possible for Albany and the community.”
As Hinton explains, her parents were very involved and engaged in Albany when she was growing up, and that was something they instilled in her as well.
“We watched our parents give back, and it was just something you did. It was just something we participated in,” she said. “That's a big reason I enjoy
nonprofit work, and a big reason any work like that is something I will enjoy because my parents instilled that in me.
“I feel like I have repeated this a lot to other people, but my mom used to say ‘Leave things better than you found them.’ All you can do is try and notice something, and if you see something, try to make it better. I think my parents definitely did that, and I’m hoping that I’m doing that as well.”
Through her community engagement, Hinton has been able to see the many ways that many people are championing Albany, and discern just how vibrant the community truly is.
“Once I became engaged here and being back here … (I saw) how many people are working really hard to make Albany vibrant and keep it vibrant,” said Hinton. “I think we have a lot of great cheerleaders here in Albany, in so many different sectors, too. I think we’re really fortunate to have those voices, like the (Albany Area) Chamber’s and like so many other people that are cheerleading for Albany constantly. And I’m proud that I get to cheerlead for Albany constantly.”
And despite the struggles that Albany has faced over the years, Hinton sees a bright future for the city.
“Albany keeps facing some pretty fantastic struggles, but what we keep finding is we keep overcoming. Everybody seems to come together and work through it, come together and work through it every time we do that,” she said. “You’re going to get stronger and come out better for it. It makes us unique in those struggles. They don’t define you, but they help give you character. I think that Albany just proves that we’re strong. We’re going to keep going. We’re definitely resilient.
“I know that there are so many things on the horizon for Albany, a lot of really great opportunities, and these groups are working really hard to make things happen here,” she said.
pretty bright future,
AND I’M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS BY THE TIME MY CHILD GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT ALL HAS CHANGED. I HOPE I GET TO BE A PART OF IT IN SOME SMALL WAY.”
