During a recent meeting at the Historic Arkansas Museum (HAM), Foundation board member Jessica Sabin was taken on a tour of the museum’s on-site storage, a veritable treasure trove of historic furniture, pottery, papers, paintings and more that are a part of HAM’s permanent collection. She was awestruck.
“Then someone said, ‘Jessica, come here, you’re really going to love this,’” she recalls.
There amidst the relics was a study for the portrait of Hattie Caraway — painted by Arkansas painter John O. Buckley — that hangs in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol.
Caraway, who lived in Arkansas, was the first woman elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate, in 1932.
For a political analyst, strategist and successful young woman like Sabin, this moment was nothing short of transcendent.
“I was like, ‘Wow, you’ve got to be kidding. This is the best day ever,’” she laughs. “I love it, and that’s what makes it all worth it. Everybody has a piece of history that they attach themselves to, and I absolutely love her. And the Historic Arkansas Museum has all the reason in the world to be thankful to the power of one woman.”
In fact, the museum, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2016, wouldn’t be in existence except for the perseverance of one woman — Louise Loughborough. In 1939, she insisted that Little Rock’s Block 32 and its 100-year-old structures had historical significance and should be saved.
Block 32 was home to the Hinderliter Grog Shop, the oldest building in Little Rock and, according to HAM, possibly the meeting place of the last Territorial Legislature. The block also contained the structure where the founder of the Arkansas Gazette had lived and printed the paper during the 1820s and 1830s; the home of Robert Brownlee, a stonemason who contributed to Arkansas’ first state house (now the Old State House Museum); and a fourth house that was associated with Arkansas’ fifth governor.
Loughborough launched a one-woman campaign, lobbying the Arkansas Legislature for funding to restore the buildings and have them preserved as the Arkansas Territorial Restoration. The museum opened in July 1941, and, in 1981, became the state’s first history or historic site museum accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM).
Now called the Historic Arkansas Museum, the facility serves as the state’s primary interpreter of frontier Arkansas. Over the past five years, HAM has served more than 370,000 Arkansans, which doesn’t include individuals across the state and nation that have seen artifacts loaned to other museums.
Sabin — who joined the board in January at the invitation of Board President Marci Riggs — really captures the spirit of Loughborough. Thoughtful and positive, she’d be the type who wouldn’t let something significant slip away. She’d dig in her heels and persevere.
“Jessica has the perfect combination of energy and vision, paired with a perspective that not a lot of young people have,” says Bill Worthen, longtime director of HAM. “She thinks that history is important, and she is willing to spread the word!”
She joined the board along with her peer Jordan Carlisle, CEO and co-founder at Strengthen LLC.
“It’s nice to see HAM has taken an interest in bringing younger people on the board,” Sabin says. “You want people who can talk about the importance of this board and talk about it amongst their friends. Because, you know, you look at things generationally and you talk about who’s going to be responsible for maintaining and supporting this. So I was thrilled to do it, and I know he was too.”
A native of El Dorado, Sabin grew up a “theater kid,” immersed in the local arts scene and a member of El Dorado High School’s Thespian Troupe 42.
Though she no longer performs, she remains passionate about the art form.
“It is very, very hard for me to go to a theatrical or dance performance and not wish that I was on stage,” she says. “I love theater on all levels — community theater, professional theater, children’s theater. I think children’s theater is probably one of the most valuable pieces of an arts community. It’s such a great way for a young person to find their voice, to be brave.”
Sabin majored in theater at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, along with political science and liberal arts. She also earned her certification in philanthropy and voluntary service from Georgetown University in 2006. In between classes and studying, she worked on political campaigns and with nonprofits, picking up valuable skills along the way.
“A lot of it was just general exploration, trying out new things and trying to figure out how to be the best public servant I could be.”
She landed her first job at CareLink as the Region V Certified Volunteer Ombudsman Coordinator, followed by a stint in public affairs with Paschall Strategic Communications and then as senior director of policy and media at the Center for a Better South, before launching her own strategic consulting firm, Areté Strategic Partners, about five years ago.
Sabin is currently studying to obtain her master’s degree in public service at the Clinton School of Public Service, and she serves as a political analyst and strategist for Talk Business & Politics on KATV Channel 7 and KARK Channel 4’s “Political Plays.” She is also a regular roundtable contributor to Channel 4’s Sunday morning show “Capitol View” and co-anchors the Talk Business & Politics “Talk Politics” podcast series with Roby Brock.
In addition to the HAM foundation board, Sabin serves on the Arkansas Literacy Councils Inc. board, she’s a councilwoman for the Governor’s Advisory Council for Gifted Education and a commissioner for the Arkansas Alternative Energy Commission, among many other things.
And if her roster of commitments isn’t full enough, she recently helped launch the state’s first arts advocacy group, Arts Advocates Arkansas.
“I have a very deep passion for the arts. Theater and dance have been a part of my life ever since I was teeny tiny. So this is personal,” she says. “The arts are sorely underrepresented in this state, so I feel like I have the skills to advance that conversation, to put a spotlight on the arts and to show what the creative economy is in the state and bring all of these creative, wonderful people together.”
Sabin says the organization is about much more than advocacy, it’s about supporting arts education around the state, possibly some of the same programs she participated in as a child.
“And also, exploring what art actually is — photographers, architects, poets, designers, you name it, and then figuring out how all of that intersects with other industries. You look around and everything you see, everything you touch and what you know of has an artistic component to it,” she says.
And while art may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Arkansas history, it is a big part of it, and a lot of it is housed at HAM.
“We have the largest collection of Arkansas-made fine and decorative art in the world,” says Ellen Korenblat, director of community engagement at HAM. The on-site storage area Sabin visited is just the beginning. There’s also an on-site archive that houses hundreds of documents, letters, books, photos and other items, plus an off-site storage location, and the historic houses and their contents.
Korenblat says funds raised at this year’s Candlelight Gala will go toward acquiring more Arkansas Made items for the permanent collection.
An annual fundraiser for HAM, the November 7 event will usher the museum into its 75th diamond anniversary. The evening will have a 1940s theme — a nod to the museum’s roots — and the color scheme will be silver and gray, with diamonds and pops of fuschia. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction filled with original artwork and fun experiences, followed by candlelit dining on the historic grounds, a live auction and dancing to big band music.
“This is such a tremendous way to launch yourself into that big year. It’s my hope that this event will create more awareness of what the museum’s purpose is, what it does, who it serves,” says Sabin. “And maybe even inspire people to say, ‘I’d really like to be a part of this and contribute because it’s so unique. It’s so culturally rich and so interesting.’”
Candlelight Gala
When: 6-11 p.m., Saturday, November 7
Where: Historic Arkansas Museum
Tickets + info: 324-9305, HistoricArkansas.org
Getting Personal with Jessica Sabin:
Family: Sabin’s husband is State Representative Warwick Sabin, and the couple will celebrate their third anniversary this month. They first met when Jessica was an intern at the Clinton School, Warwick a guest speaker. They reconnected a few years later at an Arkansas Literary Festival event. “I believe in him wholeheartedly, and I think anything he sets his mind to, he can do,” she says. The couple has a dog, Scout. Jessica also has an older brother, a younger sister and a beloved niece, Olive Fiona.
Favorite Instagram accounts: Travel and Leisure @travelandleisure; Anna Bond @annariflebond — She’s the founder and creative director at Rifle Paper Co., and is so wonderfully creative; Pete Souza @petesouza — He’s the Chief Official White House photographer, which has got to be such an exciting gig.
On her nightstand now: “My nightstand is completely covered in books. In fact, you could say that about most of the surfaces in my house.” Current favorites: “Informing the New: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism” by Thomas E. Patterson; “Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent” by E.J. Dionne Jr.; Foreign Affairs Magazine; Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
Favorite type of music: “Without question, that would be a blend of jazz and electronic music. A dear friend of mine recently shared his amazing jazz playlist with me, and it’s perfect for studying, cooking and long drives. The electronic music pushes me while I’m running.”
Best performance you’ve ever seen: “This is the toughest question. The best answer I can give is that I’ve only seen two performances in my life that I couldn’t find a way to enjoy, and I’d venture to guess that my mood had something to do with that. I love theater, and I love to dance and cherish every opportunity to see a performer fully immersed in their craft.”
Most fun you’ve ever had performing: “One of the most fun moments I remember was the night I lost my stage fright. I remember standing on stage waiting for the show to begin and feeling all of my fear slip away. It never came back. That was over 10 years ago. Discoveries like that are turning points for performers. But if I had to choose a particular play, it would probably be an undergraduate performance of ‘Lears Daughters’ (directed by Jay Raphael). I pushed myself so hard in that show and have nothing but fond memories of the entire process.”
Favorite place in the entire world: “I’m an adventurer who loves to travel, and I have left a piece of my heart in so many of the places I’ve been. Each location is unique and wonderful, but the best experiences so far have been shared with my best friend, my sweetheart. But for the sake of giving you a more narrow answer, I’ll say: Paros, Greece; Colmar, France; Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.”