New SAMA Altoona site director Scott Riner is pictured in the George A. and Herbert T. Wolf Gallery. Riner succeeded Dante DiAndrea as director earlier this month. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Scott Riner sees beauty in all forms of art, from the dramatic words spoken on stage, a passionately sung song, colorful expression through paint on canvas or a cleverly turned written phrase on a page.

Recently named as the new site director at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Altoona, the Dysart resident plans on building on his success as site director at the Bedford location. Picked for the Bedford location in August, it seemed natural for him to add similar responsibilities when the Altoona location position opened earlier this month. He succeeds Dante DiAndrea, who left for a management position at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg.

Yet Riner isn’t new to SAMA.

While a student at Saint Francis, Riner said he often visited the galleries there while pursuing an English degree with minors in communications and theater. A writer of short stories, poetry and plays, he was commissioned by the Saint Francis University Center for Fine Arts to write the 2023 fall theater production, “Ekphrasis,” a one-act play inspired by Cara Livorio’s “Return to Eden” art collection, which was staged in the Sullivan Gallery at SAMA Loretto.

Ehrin Ward of Hollidaysburg, a member of the SAMA Board of Trustees, said, “On paper, Scott’s background is in theater, but the creative skills of the performance arts translate well. He has strong communication skills and the ability to speak and network and bring people together. When talking to him, I could see he would be a really good fit.”

While it’s the first time Altoona and Bedford have shared a site coordinator, Ward said she and other board members saw his hiring “as a new opportunity, especially after seeing his strong success in Bedford. It’s a great opportunity when going through a change to try something different.”

The museum system celebrates its 50th anniversary next year and is examining how to move forward into the future, she said.

“He’s young, he’s fresh out of school and we’re in this era of change as an organization. He has a fresh perspective and he’s done a great job of immersing the museum into the community at Bedford,” Ward explained. “Having someone younger we’ll be better able to engage the next generation. I’m excited to see him tap into younger people.”

Part of his perspective, Riner said, is co-mingling the various forms of artistic expression, combating “pretentiousness” and “challenging what it means to be a museum of all the arts.”

At Bedford, he brought in local musician Coltt Winter Lepley and Zach Bryson of Nashville for a concert.

Stephen George of Bedford and another member board of director for SAMA, said the Lepley-Bryson event and an upcoming holiday-themed event in partnership with Bedford and Chestnut Ridge high schools will bring in people who haven’t stepped through the art gallery’s doors.

“We live in a day and age when people want to be constantly engaged and entertained. I want to go against the pretentious air that is sometimes associated with art. Art is for the people,” Riner said.

In his first few weeks in Altoona, Riner said he’s been reaching out to donors, introducing himself to the community, coordinating with artists for upcoming exhibitions and more.

“There’s really no such thing as a typical day,” he said. He alternates his physical presence between the two galleries and said advances in technology makes it easy to stay connected because phone calls are easily automatically transferred to his cellphone.

He’s well into planning a new fundraiser for a to-be-determined date in March called “Exotic Eats,” that draws on his previous experience and connections as a butcher at a grocery store in Loretto. Entertainment for the evening will feature a local actor and custom, large puppets exploring folk tales. Attendees will be engaged in a variety ways.

Engagement is key to the museum’s future, officials said.

George said of Riner, “He’s incredible. He’s been here (Bedford) a short time but he’s very hard working, energetic, and creative. He knows what he wants to do and goes about doing it. He can make this place hum.”

The Riner file

Name: Scott Riner

Age: 24

Residence: Dysart

Family: Father, Dave Riner (deceased); mother, Mary Jo Riner; sisters, Megan Riner and Elizabeth Yeager; and brother, Adam Riner

Education: 2019 graduate of Cambria Heights High School and 2023 graduate of Saint Francis University, Loretto, with a bachelor’s degree in English and minors in Communications and Theater

Employment: Site director at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Altoona and Bedford; previously worked as a butcher at Smithmyer’s Superette (February 2023 to July 2024)

Community Service: Wrote, directed, and produced a full-length play, which benefited Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital (2022); wrote, directed and produced a murder mystery, which benefited the Patton Public Library (2016)

Awards/Honors: At Saint Francis University, he received Outstanding English Major in 2023 and Theater Award in 2022; second place winner of DES National Writing Contest (2021, 2022) and first place winner of DES National Writing Contest (2020)