In January, Newark Arts announced that its Board of Directors named a new Executive Director, Felicia A. Swoope. Recently, I sat down with Ms. Swoope to discuss her background and her point of view on institutional support for local arts and artists, her introduction to Newark through the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, and her view for the future of Newark Arts and the Newark art community.
Ms. Swoope, a former dancer and producer, has held leadership positions in major New York City arts organizations and brings a range of administrative, artistic, and programming expertise to the post. She was selected after a national search facilitated by Arts Consulting Group.
Ms. Swoope succeeds Jeremy V. Johnson, who led Newark Arts for five years before becoming one of the highest ranking arts leaders in Northeast Ohio, the first President and CEO of Cleveland’s Assembly for the Arts.
She will work closely with Newark Arts’ many champions and sponsors, including Mayor Ras J. Baraka, nationally known as “the arts mayor”; fayemi shakur, the City’s Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs; and The Prudential Foundation, which has granted millions of dollars to the arts in Newark over the years.
