The International Festival of Arts & Ideas (Festival) has selected Shelley Quiala as Executive Director, following an international executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). She will begin her tenure on August 1, 2020
Ms. Quiala comes to the Festival from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Ordway) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she has worked since 2003. For the past six years, she served as Vice President of Programming, Education, and Community Engagement at this multifaceted organization. During her tenure, Ms. Quiala led a team that programmed and produced concerts, comedy, dance, and educational programming that reached more than 150,000 people annually. Under her leadership, participation in school programming grew by more than 50 percent to reach more than 60,000 youth each year. Fluent in Spanish, she led major initiatives in bilingual programming and guided extensive community engagement work that centered on the narratives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Prior to her work at the Ordway, Ms. Quiala worked with Teatro del Pueblo, a Latinx theater company in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Ms. Quiala co-led professional development as a former board member for the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY). She currently serves on the board of Theater for Young Audiences, United States division (TYA-USA), where she is active in supporting its annual festival and conference. Committed to reducing barriers to arts and educational participation, she is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. Ms. Quiala graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a double major in Spanish and performance as a medium for social change
In making the announcement, Festival Board Chair Gordon Geballe said, “On behalf of the entire board, I am delighted to congratulate and welcome Shelley Quiala to the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Shelley’s remarkable track record over the course of nearly two decades at the Ordway Center––particularly in the areas of executive management, fundraising, program development, social impact, and community engagement––uniquely qualifies her to lead the next chapter of the Festival.”
“New Haven is filled with a spectrum of diversity and creativity and is rich with opportunities to co-create new pathways forward,” said Ms. Quiala. “I am thrilled to be able to build on the Festival’s extraordinary foundation with a talented staff, vibrant community, and visionary board of directors.”
“Congratulations to Shelley Quiala on her new professional adventure as Executive Director at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas,” said ACG President Dr. Bruce D. Thibodeau. “Her commitment to community partnerships, as well as equity and access in the arts and culture sector, will enhance the Festival’s artistic and intellectual engagement programs for its attendees and highlight New Haven as an international cultural destination.”
Photo Credit: Tommy Sar
June 2020