Executive Placements

Lieven Bertels Director The Momentary Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Names Lieven Bertels As Director of the Momentary

19:30 07 September in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

Following an international executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has selected Lieven Bertels as Director of the Momentary, an innovative arts venue under development in Bentonville, Arkansas. Supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the venue is an adaptive reuse project that will transform a decommissioned Kraft Foods plant into a multi-disciplinary space for visual and performing arts and an artist-in-residency program. Mr. Bertels will begin his tenure in late September 2017, with a goal of opening the facility in early 2020. A Belgian musicologist, Mr. Bertels hails from Amsterdam, where he was CEO and Cultural Director of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 European Capital of Culture, a year-long arts festival in the Netherlands focusing on the arts in a rural context. He has also held positions at the Sydney Festival, Concertgebouw Brugge, and the Holland Festival. The Sydney Festival in Australia garnered acclaim for its...

Wiley Hausam University of North Carolina School of the Arts Managing Director of Performance Facilities Executive Search Arts Consulting Group

University of North Carolina School of the Arts Announces Wiley Hausam as Managing Director of Performance Facilities

15:19 14 August in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) has selected Wiley Hausam as Managing Director of Performance Facilities, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He began his tenure on August 1, 2017. Most recently, Mr. Hausam served as Senior Artistic Advisor and Artistic & Executive Director at The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College, where he presented an acclaimed West End staging of Orwell’s 1984, the Knights, Aaron Neville, Rosanne Cash, Chita Rivera, and Matthew Morrison. He has previously served as Executive Director of Stanford Live and Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University, Executive Director of The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College (State University of New York), and Executive Director of the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University. From 1999 to 2010, he worked as an independent producer, artist manager, and consultant, leading Wiley Hausam Associates LLC and...

Dana Knapp President & CEO ArtsKC Executive Search Executive Placement Arts Consulting Group

ArtsKC Names Dana Knapp as President & CEO

14:22 12 July in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

ArtsKC has selected Dana Knapp as President & CEO, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). She has served as Interim President & CEO since January 1, 2017 and will begin her new role immediately. Ms. Knapp has served as Director of Programs for the Mid-America Arts Alliance for nearly four years, overseeing all regional and national programs, including grant making, touring exhibitions, and professional development for arts professionals. She also led the development of a new strategic plan, establishing a revised repertoire of regional programs that serve arts organizations and artists. For nearly 20 years, she worked at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art as Director of Planning. During her tenure, she led the Bloch Building construction and the renovation of the Nelson-Atkins building, including oversight of the capital expansion and associated planning. She also served as leader of the exhibition design team and as a practicing...

Community Music Center of Boston The Music Center Lecolion Washington Executive Director Executive Placement Arts Consulting Group

Community Music Center of Boston Appoints Lecolion Washington as Executive Director

19:54 05 July in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

Community Music Center of Boston (the Music Center) has selected Lecolion Washington as Executive Director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He will begin his tenure in September 2017, succeeding David Lapin, the Music Center’s Executive Director for a record-breaking 34 years. An advocate for music as a means for social change, Mr. Washington currently serves as Co-Founder and Executive Director of the PRIZM Ensemble, a Memphis-based organization that builds a diverse community through chamber music education, youth development, and performance. Under his leadership, PRIZM has created community engagement and youth development programs such as the OMusic Project, a music program in the first African American neighborhood to be built by African Americans. He also oversaw the PRIZM in the Schools program and the PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Washington was later invited to join the Memphis Music Initiative (MMI) as Director of In-School Programs....

Gavin Farrell Executive Director Powers Music School Executive Placement Arts Consulting Group

Powers Music School Announces Gavin Farrell as Executive Director

19:47 07 June in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

Powers Music School, located in Belmont, Massachusetts, has selected Gavin Farrell as Executive Director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He will begin his tenure in August 2017, succeeding current Executive Director Helen Clapp Stevenson, who announced her retirement last fall. Dedicated to supporting music and arts within the community, Mr. Farrell brings 18 years of experience in teaching, financial management, program development, and operations to Powers Music School. He most recently spent two years as Executive Director of the Peabody Institute's Preparatory Division in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Farrell previously held various roles within the organization, including Interim Executive Director of the Preparatory Division and Academic Services Administrator. He also served on the faculty, teaching music theory. During his tenure at the Peabody Institute, he helped develop Pathways to Peabody, a program that provides financial aid to talented and dedicated musicians. Additionally, he worked with the...

Mari Riddle Grand Performances Executive Director Executive Search Arts Consulting Group

Grand Performances Appoints Mari Riddle as Executive Director

19:40 23 May in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

Grand Performances has selected Mari Riddle as Executive Director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). She began her tenure on May 22, 2017, replacing Michael Alexander, who will retire after nearly 30 years of service. Ms. Riddle has more than 25 years of executive management experience at nonprofit performing arts and social service organizations. Most recently serving as Program Director at Community Partners in Los Angeles, she was responsible for developing new business and overseeing a portfolio of projects and programs. Prior to joining Community Partners, Ms. Riddle held the President and CEO position at Centro Latino for Literacy as well as Executive Director roles at The Friends of the Levitt Pavilion–Macarthur Park, Telacu Community Capital, and Coalition for Women’s Economic Development. Over the course of her career, Ms. Riddle has developed and implemented new programs, launched special initiatives and events, and cultivated board and staff....

Debbie Racca-Sittri Director of the Department of Arts & Culture City of San Antonio Executive Search Executive Placement Arts Consulting Group

City of San Antonio Names Debbie Racca-Sittre as Director of the Department of Arts & Culture

16:27 01 May in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

The City of San Antonio has selected Debbie Racca-Sittre as Director of the Department of Arts & Culture, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). She began her tenure in February 2017. Ms. Racca-Sittre has 16 years of experience with the City of San Antonio, most recently serving as Interim Director of the Department for Arts & Culture since April 2016. In addition to overseeing the department’s day-to-day operations, she also planned and executed strategic initiatives throughout the department’s four main divisions: San Antonio Film commission, Arts Funding Leadership, Cultural Events and Exhibitions, and Public Art San Antonio. During her tenure, she led the $6 million City of San Antonio Art Funding Process and developed a strategic plan for the San Antonio Film Commission. Ms. Racca-Sittre is currently leading a planning effort for the future of Centro de Artes and is exploring the establishment of a music...

Lourdes Ramos Museum of Latin American Art MOLAA President and CEO Executive Placement Arts Consulting Group

Museum of Latin American Art Appoints Dr. Lourdes Ramos as President and CEO

18:30 17 April in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) has selected Lourdes Ramos, PhD as President and CEO, following an international executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). Beginning her tenure on May 1, 2017, she will be the first Latina to hold this position in the museum’s 20-year history. A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Ramos has led the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan, one of the largest and most prominent Latin American cultural institutions. As Executive Director and Chief Curator for the past 12 years, she managed both the museum’s financials and curatorial program, helping organize exhibitions, including shows devoted to Puerto Rican impressionist Francisco Oller and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Prior to her tenure at the Museo de Arte, she was the Director of the San Juan City Museum and the National Collection of Puerto Rico at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. She holds a...

East West Players Announces New Artistic Director

13:48 02 August in Executive Placements by Amanda Bertone

East West Players (EWP) has selected Snehal Desai as artistic director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He took over for outgoing Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang beginning on July 1, 2016. Mr. Desai was most recently EWP’s associate artistic director, with directorial credits including A Nice Indian Boy, U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind, and The Who's Tommy. At EWP, he also produced the annual EWP Visionary Awards gala, oversaw play submissions as literary manager, managed artistic partnerships with local and regional theaters, and administered the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute, the 2042: See Change National Playwriting Competition, and the New Asian American Musicals initiative. Mr. Desai has directed plays at venues from The Old Globe in San Diego, Boom Arts in Portland, Oregon, and the Old Vic in London and has worked at more than a dozen theaters in New York City. He previously served as resident director of Theater...

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture Names New Executive Director

19:44 22 June in Executive Placements by Gary Ballard

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture (The Amistad Center) has selected Frank Mitchell as executive director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). Since 2013, Mitchell has held the role of assistant director and curator after serving as the curator-at-large for three years. During his time at The Amistad Center, Mitchell redefined the exhibition program from a collection-based focus on historical timelines to a topical exhibition program that integrates collections material and loans of contemporary art and partnerships with leading artists. Mitchell will begin his tenure as executive director on July 1, 2016. Mitchell began his career as a community programs coordinator at the Studio Museum in Harlem and has curated, organized, and produced exhibitions and programs at The Schomburg Center, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Anacostia Museum, University of St. Joseph Art Gallery, Capital Community College, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Hill-Stead Museum, Hartford...