Louisiana arts executive Gerd Wuestemann, D.M.A., has been appointed the new president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts. “Gerd was the unanimous choice of our board,” said Scottsdale Arts Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Wills. “His extensive experience working with a city to develop its vision for the arts, managing a multi-disciplinary arts organization, fundraising experience and enthusiasm for the Scottsdale Arts’ mission make him the ideal choice to lead and take this organization to the next level.”

Wuestemann, an arts administrator for 10 years who has a total of 38 years of experience in the arts, will begin his new duties on March 19. He will succeed Scottsdale Arts’ Interim President and CEO Mike Miller, who will continue to serve on the Scottsdale Arts board.

Over the past nine years, Wuestemann has led the transformation of a small arts council into the Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA). He developed public and private funding that allowed the arts center to build two new facilities, hire more staff and create a strong board to jointly develop a vision and implement it. AcA has since quadrupled in size, annexed another arts organization and created a growing endowment, along with building local, regional and national partnerships.

The new job represents a kind of homecoming for Wuestemann, who said he “developed a strong affinity for Arizona” while working on his doctorate at the U of A. “I am excited for the opportunity to expand existing programs, create new initiatives and partnerships and further the mission of Scottsdale Arts and the arts and cultural life in the City of Scottsdale.”

Canal Convergence, and Remembering a Supporter

Canal Convergence is almost here. Scottsdale Public Art’s interactive art event will take place at the Scottsdale Waterfront between Scottsdale Road and Goldwater Boulevard over two weekends: Friday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 24, and Friday, March 2, through Saturday, March 3, from 4–10 p.m. each day. The large-scale art installations featured at the event also will remain on display throughout the week. Visitors will be able to experience nine days of cutting-edge public art installations suspended above, and placed throughout, the canal, and a range of educational activities and engaging events including screen-printing workshops, outdoor dance performances, community bike rides, a series of artist talks and poetry readings, and a special VIP Preview Party on Thursday, Feb. 22. Live music by local bands will be featured on Friday and Saturday nights, and guests also may enjoy the beer, wine and food garden at Soleri Plaza. A full event schedule and an interactive map are available on our new website, CanalConvergence.com, as well as important information, such as what to bring, parking and more.

Scottsdale Arts mourns the passing of friend and supporter Fred Unger (April 19, 1949 – Jan. 20, 2018). Known for his acumen in redeveloping downtown Scottsdale into the destination that it is today, Unger envisioned art playing a vital role in creating a sense of place and community. He was an active member of Scottsdale Arts’ Public Art Advisory Board since 2014, weighing in on public art projects as they developed throughout Scottsdale, as well as providing insight and financial support to Canal Convergence, ensuring that it would grow to be recognized as a world-class event. Unger’s humor and knowledge about downtown history and its redevelopment will be missed.

The TEN Tenors Perform

The Center is proud to present The TEN Tenors on Feb. 28 and March 1. This acclaimed vocal ensemble from Australia has a worldwide following of more than 90 million people and has released six platinum and gold recordings. BroadwayWorld.com stated, “As individual vocalists, each and every one is a stand-out, but it is when they sing together that the magic truly happens.” The TEN Tenors’ program in Scottsdale will feature material from their recent recording, “Wish You Were Here,” which includes songs by artists who left us too soon, such as David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Amy Winehouse, John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Leonard Cohen. 

Get tickets for these performances and learn more.

Three Spring Exhibitions Open This Month

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) will present three exhibitions this month that tackle the questions surrounding artists and their subjects’ identities, the sense of belonging in a community and the weight of art history in our time. As SMoCA continues to challenge and broaden the definitions of contemporary art, the museum is proud to show a diversity of work by artists hailing from such disparate places as Kinngait, a remote Inuit community located in the Arctic on Dorset Island in Nunavut, Canada; the United States/Mexico border regions of the Southwest; and the city of Guadalajara – considered by many to be the cultural center of Mexico. Each exhibition narrates intimate stories about how the artists see themselves and their work in the larger confines of their culture and the world. “SMoCA is delighted to host an exciting and diverse lineup of spring exhibitions that will take viewers on a voyage of discovery across North America,” said SMoCA Director and Chief Curator Sara Cochran, Ph.D.

You are invited to our free Spring Opening Celebration on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. All three exhibitions will be featured that evening. Get more information on these exhibitions.

Two Generous Grants Awarded

The work of Development is centered on building relationships across diverse and myriad communities — internal and external. These exchanges are vital to deepening the awareness in all areas of Scottsdale Arts as we strive to connect all of our communities throughout the region with innovative programming.

We recently received an $80,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in support of commissioning works by eight artists from Mexico who will lend their notions of place as a border state by exploring shared cultural histories and present-day concerns. This is a prestigious grant in the contemporary art community and something to be proud of. It also is an excellent example of internal partnerships that included Sara Cochran, Ph.D., SMoCA director and chief curator; Jennifer McCabe, SMoCA curator of contemporary art; Hillary West, grants manager; and Kathy Joyce, director of development.

We also received a $50,000 grant from The Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation in support of our 30th Anniversary of the Wolf Trap and Art Start program. This program reaches across all demographics to bring meaningful arts experiences to children. Scottsdale Arts was the first in the nation to become a partner in this prestigious arts education program. The Marley Foundation has been a partner in support of this endeavor for six years. This collaborative effort was led by Grants Manager Hillary West, in partnership with Director of Education & Outreach Natalie Marsh, as well as updates from Wolf Trap Arizona Regional Director Francis Cohen.

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