Washington, D.C.:President Barack Obama has nominated Jane Chu as the next chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. Chu is currently the president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Mo. She will take over for interim chair Joan Shigekawa, who has led the NEA since former chair Rocco Landesman stepped down in late 2012. At press time, the Senate has not yet confirmed the nomination, which will allow Chu to take office.
Cincinnati: Andrew Hungerford has taken over as producing artistic director of the Know Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hungerford has worked with the Know since 2007 as a scenic and lighting designer. He takes over for Eric Vosmeier, who recently departed after six years at the theatre.
Chicago: Heather Ireland Robinson is the new executive director of the Beverly Arts Center of Chicago. A Chicago native, Robinson was most recently the executive director at the South Side Community Art Center. The center had been missing an executive director since August 2012, when Mike Nix was let go and the center faced possible foreclosure. The center is currently fundraising to settle its $4.7-million mortgage debt.
Spokane, Wash.:The Spokane Civic Theatre in Washington State has hired a new artistic director: Keith Dixon. He was formerly the artistic director of Theatre Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Dixon replaces Yvonne A.K. Johnson, who left the organization in 2013. She had led the theatre since 2005.
Hagerstown, MD.:Jessica Green has been promoted to executive director of Maryland Theatre. Green had served as operations manager at the theatre for two years. As executive director, Green will head a $1.5-million renovation project at the theatre.
New York City: David Lan has been named the consulting artistic director of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center, a Frank Gehry–designed structure that will be built 60 feet away from One World Trade Center in Manhattan. Lan is currently the artistic director at the Young Vic in London and will be working with the center in a part-time fashion. The building is scheduled to open in 2018.
