NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced Joshua Henry Jenkins as its new director of marketing. Jenkins will be responsible for creating, implementing, and measuring the success of a comprehensive marketing plan that advances TCG’s mission to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Jenkins succeeds Erica Lauren Ortiz, who recently joined the Ford’s Theatre as its director of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“I am excited to join Theatre Communications Group in this role and eager to amplify the exciting and necessary work that TCG, its members, and the field are doing to create a just and thriving theatre ecology,” said Jenkins in a statement. “We are still moving through such unprecedented times, and I will be pulling from years of service to various communities to ensure our field knows about and can engage with the amazing work that is still being done.”
Working with a portfolio that includes individual membership, events, and publishing, Jenkins will raise the valuation of TCG’s programs within the theatre field while championing the not-for-profit theatre to the broader culture.
An interactive media strategist and community organizer based in Washington, D.C., by way of rural North Carolina, Jenkins has worked extensively with independent artists and arts organizations to develop brand identity, design, and marketing strategies. He is the former director of web and new media strategies for Americans for the Arts. In service of the communities to which he belongs, he creates and amplifies work that uplifts BIPOC and LGTBQIA+-identifying folks, citizens of rural areas, and most importantly, those who exist at those intersections.
In response to COVID and an immediate need to create community for Black, queer-identifying folks in times of crisis, Jenkins co-created a virtual biweekly media platform for and by Black queer folks called BLACK, GAY, stuck at home.’ The space has welcomed Patrik-Ian Polk, Darryl Stephens, Vanessa L. Williams, Brontez Purnell, Sampson McCormick, Jazzmun, and others to create community around Black queer media. The series has formed partnerships with National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the Counter Narrative Project, Black AIDS Institute, Black in Media, Black Theatre Network, and Wilma Theater.
“Joshua’s experience as both a marketing strategist and community organizer make him an ideal person to lead TCG’s marketing efforts in a values-driven way,” said TCG deputy director and COO Adrian Budhu in a statement. “From his work at Americans for the Arts to his co-creation of ‘BLACK, GAY, stuck at home’ to his board leadership of the Arts Administrators of Color Network, Joshua has found innovative ways to uplift BIPOC and LGTBQIA+ communities. We’re excited to work with Joshua as we center these communities as part of our new strategic plan and mission: to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology.”
Additionally, Jenkins is the former board chair for the Arts Administrators of Color Network where he also led all marketing and communications efforts since 2018. In addition, he produced and co-hosted the monthly podcast Art Accordingly, which interrogated issues of equity and inclusion in the arts. The podcast was presented live at various events, including the National Performance Network Conference, SphinxConnect, and the Arts Equity Summit.
Jenkins freelances as a digital strategist and graphic designer with a dedicated online store of designs that function as wearable celebrations of queer and trans people of color and nods to cultural moments that shaped his identity. He is an alum of the artEquity Facilitator Cohort and the American Express Leadership Academy, as well as a former member of the Gay Professional Men of Color. He has served as a grant panelist for the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. Jenkins received his Master of Arts in Interactive Media from Elon University in 2012 and his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010.
