Next Generation of Leaders Fellows Announced

The Arts Initiative at Ohio State is pleased to announce newly named members of the Next Generation of Leaders Fellowship. The year-long fellowship is designed to identify, support and prepare the most promising next generation of leaders at local institutions of arts and culture. They got together recently for a welcome reception at the Arts Initiative space (above), where they talked with Karen Bell, associate vice president for arts outreach, and program director Christy Farnbauch, along with alums from previous years of the fellowship. New fellows include Lauren Emond, arts coordinator, City of Upper Arlington Cultural Arts; John Shaw, director of production and fabrication, COSI; Tony Pellerite, marketing coordinator, Wexner Center for the Arts; Ruby Classen, grants and services manager, GCAC; Eliza Jones, gallery director, Ohio Art League; Anna Wuerth, part C program coordinator, Columbus Aids Task Force; Joe Bishara, associate artistic director, CATCO-Phoenix Theatre; Dustin Grovemiller, donor relations manager, CAPA; Geoffrey Martin, assistant arts administrator, Columbus Cultural Arts Center; and Lisa Dent, associate curator of contemporary art, Columbus Museum of Art.

The fellowship will include nine small-group sessions with highly individualized attention to the professional development needs of the participants in the context of the multiple demands of leadership.

Notable News

The Arts Initiative space was lively last Thursday when it hosted an opening reception for the work of Tom Kelly (above). His exhibition, Elegies and Vestiges, is a show about fragments, drawn from literary sources and through the use of found objects. Kelly is a self-taught mixed-media visual artist, who cites lyric writing, mythology and storytelling of ancient and contemporary sources as inspirations for his work. His show continues through November.

The same evening, the Ohio Art League hosted an opening reception for Industrial Lichen, work by Michelle Stitzlein (below), while the Shoebox gallery spotlighted new works by Stephanie Livingston in her show, Plush Apocalypse.

Coming up -- the 6th annual Craftin' Outlaws craft fair will be held at the Gateway Film Center on Saturday, Oct 16, 10 am to 5 pm. Vendors include 50 of the area's top crafters, artists and designers. Activities include screen printing, pumpkin carving / decorating, and candle-making.

October is National Arts and Humanities Month! If you're looking for some ideas on how to celebrate the arts, check out the website here.