Arte Américas has a new executive director: Arianna Paz Chávez
Arte Américas, which last year hit the funding jackpot by scoring a $7 million state grant, has announced a new leader to forge the next steps for the cultural center. Arianna Paz Chávez, a Fresno native who says she got the art bug from formative years spent at Arte, is the new executive director. She brings a strong art-institution background to the job, including stints at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, the deYoung Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
She takes the helm at a pivotal time for Arte.
The state grant may seem like a windfall — and I’m sure it has supporters dreaming of extensive renovations or even a new building — but $7 million doesn’t go all that far in terms of infrastructure. The cultural landscape is littered with organizations that got too ambitious and expanded too much, too soon. Arte has a decades-long history of scrappy hard work amongst its devoted volunteers, but it’s also had its share of infighting and fiscal distress.
Related story: DESPITE MAYOR’S VETO, ARTE AMÉRICAS WILL STILL RECEIVE A $7 MILLION STATE GRANT
Chávez and her board will need to address some key issues: Does it have the community (and corporate) support to get to the next level? Can it create or land the high-profile exhibitions that will draw visitors from across the state? How can it connect with younger audiences more used to a digital world than the wall of a gallery? How can it grow in a way that keeps the grassroots charm of the place but gives it a higher profile in the artistic world?
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Still, I think there’s real potential for a new golden age for Arte. Move over, Los Angeles and Chicago: There’s no reason why a Fresno-based institution can’t become a “leading international Latino Cultural Arts center,” as the mission statement dreams.
The search committee consisted of Elva Rodriguez, a former Arte Américas executive director; Marylou Mendoza-Miller, associate vice president for human resources at Fresno State, and board members Jose Rodriguez, Janie Rostro, and Vivian Velasco Paz.
Here’s the Arte announcement about Chávez:
Welcome back to Fresno, Ms. Chávez.
