product of cities like Cincinnati and Indianapolis, Francine never envisioned that she would be spending her days on a farm. But, with her aura of serenity, Francine appears completely at home at the bucolic Featherstone Center of the Arts campus in Oak Bluffs. A native of Cincinnati, Francine served as the Director of Programs for the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the world's largest children's museum for twenty years. After earning a degree in history and political science from Oberlin College, Francine worked as a high school Social Studies teacher, raised her four daughters before taking on the job of organizing programs and exhibits for the museum.

Francine had come to love the Vineyard through spending the summers of her adolescent years here with her physician mother. In 2003 she came back here to take on the job of running Featherstone, the island's only year-round, non-profit arts center. She had planned to retire in order to write the story of her father, a high school principal and grandfather, an Episcopal minister. However, when she found out about the opportunity on the Vineyard, she couldn't resist. Now, after traveling all over the world and living in Ankarra, Turkey and Basel, Switzerland, she calls Oak Bluffs home and seems pretty content with the latest chapter in her globe-trotting biography. "My friends remind that I had always said I would live on the Vineyard one day," says Francine. Well, here she is, and we're very lucky she decided to come back to stay.

What’s your favorite thing about MV? Besides the fact that it’s just a tranquil, quiet, lovely place, I just like the tempo of the island. There’s a civility about the island that you don’t find in the city.

In all your travels what’s your favorite place? Florence, Italy - for the art and architecture and history.

Where would you like to travel to next and why? The Norwegian Fjords. I just like peaceful places.

What’s your favorite style of art? Contemporary and abstract

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve ever met? I met Romare Bearden at an artist’s workshop at Penn State in 1985. He was a famous printmaker and collage artist and part of the Harlem Renaissance. He told fascinating stories of how the artists of the later years of the Harlem renaissance worked together to survive economically by creating group galleries and holding rent parties for each other to enable them to pay their rent.  He founded the Cinque gallery in NYC to provide a site for emerging African American artists to exhibit their work.  He was a magnificent storyteller of art and history. In 2003 The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. presented a retrospective of his work. It was the first time that an African American artist has been recognized by the National Gallery.

Were there other career paths you considered? My mother wanted me to be a doctor. However, I went to college with the idea of pursuing a career in law. I wanted to work for the UN and travel and solve all the legal problems of the world. I fell into teaching as a way to make money to put my husband through Medical School.

What’s your favorite place on the Vineyard? Squibnocket beach and my home on Nashawena Park.

What’s your favorite island event? The Featherstone Chocolate Festival  I started it three years ago because I wanted to have an event that was mine, and do something different. It’s been very popular and a good fundraiser for Featherstone. (The Festival takes place over Columbus Day Weekend. Be sure to check it out.)

What’s next for Featherstone? An Art’s Café is in the planning stage. Eventually we’d like to have a bigger gallery space to hold artist’s retrospectives and hopefully a small theater, maybe 200 seats, to give a permanent home to the MV Film Society and other small arts organizations.

What advice do you give young people? Follow your passion. If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, move on. And don’t let anyone else make your decisions for you.

by Gwyn McAllister photography by David Welch

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