Keynote:
Robert
L. Lynch is the
president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, where he has served since the
organization’s inception in 1996. Currently in his 30th year of work
for the arts industry, Lynch has been motivated by his personal mission to
empower communities and leaders to advance the arts and to advance appreciation
for the arts in society. He has raised more than $30 million toward information
and advocacy work for the arts during his career. In 1985, Lynch joined the
National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) as executive director, where he
worked with corporate executives and volunteer leaders of local arts agencies to
improve support systems for the arts across the country. While serving as the
president and CEO of NALAA, Lynch managed the 1996 merger of NALAA with the
American Council for the Arts (ACA)―one of the small number of successful
mergers of two national nonprofit groups, forming Americans for the Arts. Lynch
has delivered and presented more than 1,000 speeches and workshops and been
significantly awarded for his efforts. He has served, and presently serves, on
several boards, including the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. Lynch’s arts career
began at the ARTS Extension Service of the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst as the arts resource coordinator where he also served as director for
nine years.
Presenters/Panelists:
Nancy
Atcher works as the
product development coordinator for the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, an
initiative funded by the Kentucky State legislature in 2000 to provide a new
avenue for the sustainability of the craft industry in Kentucky. Under her
coordination, Nancy has initiated several pilot projects, teaming with Kentucky
craft businesses, artists, and retailers to determine a long-term program for
product development. Through her nearly eighteen years with the KCMP, and as one
of the first staff members, she has been an integral part of the many activities
that has brought Kentucky national acclaim for its craft marketing efforts. She
began her craft career in 1983 as the first Executive Director of the Kentucky
Art and Craft Foundation, a non-profit organization in Louisville, Kentucky,
founded by then First Lady, Phyllis George Brown. Nancy received a B.S. in
Business from Indiana University and her “art” is music and acting.
Mark
Barone is the
coordinator and the creator of the Paducah Artist Relocation Program, viewed as
the national model for neighborhood revitalization using the arts. This cutting
edge program has won the Governor’s Award in the Arts, the Kentucky Chapter of
the American Planning Association Distinguished Planning Award, and the national
award from the American Planning Association for a Special Community Initiative.
Mark has received five grants for artistic excellence and has been accepted in
over 100 national and regional shows claiming many of the top honors. He was
also named “One of the Top 25 Most Influential Art People in the Midwest” by
Dialogue Magazine. His work has appeared in Art Calendar Magazine, Art in
America, Sculptural Pursuit Magazine, Dialogue Magazine, Arts Across Kentucky,
Bible Review, The Other Side Magazine, Niche Magazine, and Preservation
Magazine. He has had many solo exhibitions throughout the country and his work
hangs in many private and corporate collections throughout the world. Mark
Barone received his B.S. from the University of Minnesota in 1983 and his MFA
from Southern Illinois University.
Peggy Burgio
is the manager of the Berea College Student Crafts Program. She has worked for
over 20 years in various positions. She was named Kentucky Retailer of the Year
in 2002 and has been selected as 100 Top Retailer by Niche Magazine. Peggy has
also been Berea Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year (1985), Berea College
Labor Supervisor of the Year (1991), and Berea College Outstanding Women Award
(1992). She serves on the Berea Tourism Commission (19 Years) and was chair
twice. She has a B.A. in Geography from the University of Kentucky and her
"art" is her passion for Knitting.
Chris Cathers
is the program manager for the Kentucky Artisan Heritage Trails (KAHT), a
project of Eastern Kentucky University, which he joined in January 2004. KAHT is
a website and business development program designed to improve, promote and
increase cultural heritage tourism primarily in eastern Kentucky. It combines
the technology of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software for cultural
attribute mapping, business homepage development, beautiful photography, and
easy navigability so that tourists can develop their own custom driving tour
based on their interests and timetable. It encourages program participants to be
knowledgeable about attractions and opportunities in the region so each business
is serving as a regional ambassador to each tourist to highlight local artisans
and promote the area’s rich, cultural heritage. Mr. Cather’s background includes
an undergraduate degree in Marketing and a MBA in Business Administration from
Morehead State University. His previous work included internet-based marketing
for a newspaper company and telecommunications consulting. He is also a
part-time college instructor teaching in the disciplines of Marketing and
Management.
Gary
Clontz, is director
of Professional Craft Programs, at Haywood Community College where he has been
the Clay Instructor and Department Chairperson in the Professional Crafts
Program since 1974. His teaching duties include technical clay courses, design,
and include studio planning, studio equipment construction, and craft
marketing. In the early 90’s, Gary and his teaching colleagues with the
assistance of REAL Enterprises conceived and developed the first craft
entrepreneurial curriculum in the NC Community College System. It is believed
to be the first of its kind in the states. This program has become a role model
for other colleges. Gary holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Technology from
Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
David
Cohen, the executive
director of Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery, is a graduate of the Pacific
Northwest College of Art, David has worked for a range of institutions including
Portland Center for the Visual Arts, The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh,
the Oregon Arts Commission, the Elizabeth Leach Gallery, the Salem Art
Association (SAA), and the Portland Children’s Museum. During his time in Salem,
he also managed and oversaw the expansion of the Salem Art Fair & Festival, the
city’s largest and longest running community event. He has been involved in
numerous statewide activities including being on the advisory board for the
Masters in Arts Administration program and the Board of Visitors for the
University of Oregon Allied Arts and Architecture Department, the Northwest
Business for Culture and the Arts, the Oregon Festival and Events Association,
the Salem Convention and Visitors Association and Salem’s Riverfront Carousel.
David is serving as host for the 2006 CODA Conference.
Scooter
Davidson is a leasing
agent and retail specialist for the Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center, the
creative brainchild of developer John Clark. Formerly the Fischer Packing
Company, this vast, 350,000 square foot center is being renovated into over 200
artist studios, storefront specialty retail, galleries (including a 3-story
tenant art gallery), office space, rehearsal space for theatre groups and
dancers, entertainment space and more. Scooter is an artist representative for
many local artists and retail organizations. A graduate of Parson’s School of
Design, she previously owned stores in Manhattan (Trump Tower), Connecticut and
New Jersey. She also had her own design firm that wholesaled products across the
country. She has over 28 years experience in retail, sales promotions, public
relations, and as a free-lance designer.
Victoria Faoro
has been the executive director of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea since
January 2001. The 20,000 square foot
facility's
offerings include crafts, music, art, books, and specialty foods for purchase,
as well as on-site dining. In addition to the arts sales and showcase function,
it provides arts education programs and serves as a tourism information center
and Interstate rest stop. The Center has been twice designated as a Top Kentucky
Crafted Retailer, by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program.
Prior to this appointment, Victoria had been founding
director of the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah and
executive editor of American Quilter magazine. Before moving to Kentucky in
1990, she had worked with arts and education in a number of capacities,
including working as a full time quilt artist, teaching English at the high
school and college levels, serving as project editor for an educational media
company, and serving as executive director of a regional arts council in
Oneonta, NY that administered an artists in the schools program. She has served
on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Association of Museums, the Southeast
Museums Conference Board and as an advisor for the Kentucky Guild of Artist and
Craftsmen. She has a BA and MA from the State University of New York at Albany.
Tim
Glotzbach, Dean of
Heritage & Humanities at Hazard Community &Technical College in Hindman
Kentucky. Tim, a jeweler/metalsmith, also serves as Dean/Director of the
Kentucky School of Craft, a new two-year professional craft school devoted to
design, technical and business education in the craft disciplines. He is
presently chair of the CODA board of directors, and one of the 2005 conference
hosts, serving as conference co-chair.
Cheryl
Hartley –
With over
20 years experience in non-profit administration and development, retail
management, education, public service, tourism, and hospitality, Tamarack’s
general manager describes herself as a passionate advocate for economic
development through the arts. In New Mexico, she worked with Native Americans
and cultural tourism during her 6-year tenure as Director of Artist Services for
the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (Santa Fe Indian Market). She is a
member of the Craft Advisory Council of the HandMade Institute for Creative
Communities, the West Virginia Industry of Culture steering committee, and was
elected to the CODA board of directors in 2004. She assisted with founding the
Tamarack Foundation, which provides programs that benefit artisans by creating
viable economic, educational and marketing opportunities for the craft industry
of West Virginia. Cheryl has been with Tamarack for five years and holds a BA in
anthropology from Temple University.
Craig
Kaviar,
forging metal
sculpture and architectural metalwork for the past 28 years starting as an
apprentice to sculptor Phillip Darling and then attended the School of the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. “I try to create cool, classical artwork from
the inferno of the forge.” Kaviar’s work has been featured on HGTV’s Modern
Masters. He recently opened “Kaviar Forge & Gallery” and has many pieces on
display in prominent public and private collections, including the Brown-Forman
Corporation, the Humana Corporation, Reba McIntire, and Carrie Fisher, among
many others. His work has received national recognition in Dona Z. Meilach’s
three books on contemporary blacksmithing and her newest book covering jewelry.
Photographs of his creations have been published extensively in Southern
Accents, Landscape Architecture, The Anvil’s Ring and American Craft.
He received an Honors Award from the Kentucky Chapter of the American
Society of Landscape Architects. Kaviar is co-curator for “FORGING AHEAD:
Contemporary American Blacksmiths”, documenting the current state of this art
form in the United States; opening in Kentucky and traveling with Exhibits USA
for the next three years.
Mary
Lacer, River Falls,
WI, is managing director of the American Association of Woodturners. Years ago
Mary wanted to work with wood so she took a refinishing class but found out that
was not what she wanted to do. North Hennepin Vo-Tech offered cabinet making
courses and this is where she discovered a lathe tucked back in a corner. Mary
has been turning for 25 years and had her own business for 10 years doing
one-of-a-kind woodturnings and production runs prior to becoming Administrator
for AAW. She also enjoys turning alternative materials such as plexiglas, bone,
soft stone and metals including copper, brass and aluminum. Mary is known for
turning goblets of all sizes and materials. She has assisted in teaching
numerous week-long and week-end woodturning classes at Arrowmont School of Arts
and Crafts and Marc Adams School of Woodworking. Currently, Mary is the driving
force behind AAW’s 2,400 square foot Exhibition Gallery located in downtown St.
Paul’s Landmark Center. She is presently treasurer of the CODA board of
directors.
Steve
Loar
is a professor
in the Foundations Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology,
Rochester, New York. Steve is past director of RIT's School of Art, School of
Design, and School for American Crafts, having previously been the Chairman of
the School for American Crafts. Steve's teaching expertise is three-dimensional
design, with special interests in introductory design curriculum, creativity,
and the issues of transition to college. His work is in major collections
throughout the United States. Being a commentator on contemporary woodturning
and craft, he lectures regularly at major conferences, and has articles
appearing frequently in publications in the U.S., England, and Australia. He is
an active member of the National Advisory Council that guided the creation of
the Kentucky School of Craft. In August of 2005, Steve will leave RIT to become
the first Director of the newly created Center for Turning and Furniture Design
at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania. He is currently
serving on the CODA board of directors.
Lori
Meadows has been
with the Kentucky Arts Council since 1994, and has served as Executive Staff
Advisor since 2000. She is currently directing the agency’s State Arts
Partnership for Cultural Participation Wallace Foundation project, and is the
liaison for agency participation in special initiatives with the Governor's
office and the Commerce Cabinet. Directing technical management for all
branches within the agency, she coordinates the development of standards-based
assessment for all programs and services, and has oversight of the agency
strategic plan and performance measurement. Ms. Meadows also manages the
performing arts and presenters programs at the council. Prior to her tenure with
the Kentucky Arts Council, Ms. Meadows served as Director of the Kentucky Save
Outdoor Sculpture! Project, sponsored by Heritage Preservation and the
Smithsonian American Art Museum. From 1990-1993 she initiated and managed the
Kentucky Textile Project, a documentation, preservation and public recognition
project of all the known Kentucky textile collections. She is a past juried
participant in the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program and continues her work with
historic textiles as a consultant.
Mike
Mullins is the current
steering committee chairman for the Knott County Community Development
Initiative. Knott County’s CDI proposal to the Kentucky Appalachian Commission
was one of two selected in 1997as part of a pilot project to enhance economic
development in the region. The approved plan resulted in $18 million in priority
funding from the state legislature for community projects focused toward
building a future based on the region’s heritage. Mike has served as Executive
Director of the Hindman Settlement School since 1977. Prior to that he was
Campus Director of the Appalachian Oral History Project, Project Director of the
Appalachian Oral History Project for four colleges in central Appalachia and
Director or the Appalachian Learning Laboratory. He has received numerous awards
for his efforts to advance the literature and culture of the Appalachian region,
including the Governor’s Award in the Arts for Education in 1987. He has been
active in several local, state and regional groups serving as a founding member
of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation and the Knott County Arts & Crafts
Foundation. He received his BA in American History from Berea College and his MA
in American History from the University of Cincinnati. Mike Mullins was born at
Hi Hat in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky.
Paula
Owen has been the
president of the Southwest School of Art & Craft in San Antonio, Texas since
1996 and was the director of the Hand Workshop Art Center in Richmond, Virginia
from 1985-1996. She has served on numerous national boards and panels, including
the Visual Arts Panel for the NEA, and has written for the New Art Examiner,
American Craft, Metalsmith, Artpapers, and American Ceramics. A book of essays,
OBJECTS AND MEANING: New Perspectives on Art and Craft, by Owen and Anna
Fariello was published in 2003. Owen has also organized or been the curator of
over 100 exhibitions, including MARK LINDQUIST:Revolutions In Wood, which
traveled to the Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art in 1995. She
has also organized regional and national conferences, including Women and the
Craft Arts at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 1993. She holds an MFA
degree in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University, a
Masters Degree in Art Education from Moorhead State University in Minnesota, and
a BA in Art and Political Science from Luther College in Iowa, which awarded her
a Distinguished Service Award in 1996.
Phil
Psilos is director of
Economic Development Programs for Rural Technologies Strategies. of Chapel Hill,
NC and Washington D.C. RTS is a nonprofit economic development research and
consulting firm dedicated to helping regions create better jobs and wealth for
more people through economic development and workforce strategies. Phil
currently manages cluster-based economic development for Louisiana Economic Dev.
and the ARC, and training for the Northwest Area Foundation and the Louisiana
Community and Technical College System. He is also working with the National
Center for Education and the Economy to develop an advanced curriculum on
economic development for workforce system leaders. Prior to joining RTS, he
served for the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, writing
and advising on cluster-based economic development, arts and cultural strategies
for development entrepreneurship, rural development, globalization and trade.
Previously consulting on the development of advanced industries worldwide in
Argentina, Jordan, the Philippines, Finland, Panama, and Korea. Phil holds a
B.A. from Johns Hopkins Univ. and a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics,
and held an appointment as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of
Foreign Service, Georgetown Univ. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Prague
Institute for Global Urban Development.
Fran
Redmon is program
director of the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program (KCMP), a division of the
Kentucky Arts Council. Since 1987, Fran has directed the activities of this
nationally recognized model program that works to develop the state's craft
industry. KCMP activities include the award winning annual wholesale/retail
show, Kentucky Crafted: The Market, the Product Development Initiative and the
Kentucky CollectionÒ.
She has consulted with numerous states and countries about craft programming,
served on numerous interagency government, state and national boards and
committees, and is presently on the national advisory council for the Handmade
Institute for the Creative Economies. She is presently a member of the CODA
board of directors, and is one of the 2005 conference hosts, serving as
conference chair.
Judy
Sizemore is the
outreach coordinator for the Kentucky Arts Council and works closely with
community arts organizations and individual artisans across the state. She
helps communities develop ways to integrate the arts into economic and cultural
development and cultural heritage tourism. A most recent project is the Kentucky
Festivals Cultural Heritage Improvement Project. The goal of the project is to
develop, field test and maintain a system of resources to provide training and
support to the organizers and volunteers of festivals in Appalachian Kentucky so
that they can more effectively identify, preserve, showcase, and celebrate their
local traditions and enhance the quality and authenticity of their
community-based festivals. The program will incorporate a Peer Advisory
Program, a web-based tool kit, workshops and Community Scholars training. The
resources and tools developed will be disseminated through Arts Kentucky, the
Kentucky Folklife Program, and a website so that they can be utilized by small,
economically challenged communities across the country.
Randy Stone
is city administrator for the City of Berea, which has been designated by the
Kentucky Legislature as the Folk Art and Crafts Capital of Kentucky. The City of
Berea has played a vital role in the development of the local craft community
and businesses and has been a key partner in the planning and development of the
Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea. Randy continues as one of the six Artisan
Center Authority Board Members appointed by the Mayor of Berea, and also serves
on the Center’s building and executive committees.
Mike
Stutland is owner and
operator of Artique. Since 1980, Mike and Kathy Stutland have nurtured this
vision from a small boutique into a nationally renowned, full-spectrum gallery
of fine contemporary American craft. The gallery is now represented in three
locations in Lexington, Kentucky and features over 1000 artists’ works from more
than 45 states. Artique has been recognized as a top Kentucky craft gallery by
Kentucky Monthly Magazine and has seven times been selected as a Top 100
Retailer by Niche Magazine; acknowledged by the craft community for "treating
artists with courtesy and respect, giving back time and energy to the craft
community, and mentoring emerging artists". Mike has served on the board of
directors for the Kentucky Small Business Development Center and Downtown
Lexington, which honored him with an Outstanding Leadership Award. Prior to
Artique, Mike was owner and operator of the Unfinished Universe, a furniture
production and restoration studio. He also designed a line of clothing working
with a co-op of indigenous artisans from Ecuador. Mike, a furniture maker, says
he has always enjoyed working with emerging artists to assist them in their own
work, and conceptually with ideas, over producing his own work. Mike was born on
the east coat and came to Lexington when he attended the University of Kentucky
to study business.
Carole
Summers serves as the
director of tourism for HandMade in America located in Asheville, North
Carolina. HandMade is a regional non-profit organization that has been nurturing
craft culture and community in western North Carolina for 10 years. It is most
well known for its award winning guidebooks -- The Craft Heritage Trails of
Western North Carolina and Farms, Gardens & Countryside Trails of Western North
Carolina. HandMade in America works in partnership with more than 20 local,
regional and state organizations to support the creation of traditional and
contemporary crafts in the region, to protect natural resources and to promote
community development. Prior to her position at HandMade, Ms. Summers served as
the Cultural Heritage Tourism Director for the Kentucky Department of Travel.
She helped to develop and write the first Strategic Plan for Kentucky Cultural
Heritage Tourism, a first two-cabinet plan for the state. Ms. Summers has worked
previously for Main Street programs in Kentucky and Tennessee, and Historic New
Harmony in Indiana. Carole Summers holds an M.A. in Public History and Cultural
Resource Management from the Middle Tennessee State University and a B.S. in Art
Education from Murray State University.
Kenneth
vonRoenn, a
Louisville, Kentucky native, is president of Architectural Glass Art, Inc., and
serves as head designer managing a staff of 30. The family owned glass company,
formerly known as Louisville Art Glass, is one of the most progressive glass
studios in the country. The studio has executed hundreds of projects in the U.S.
and abroad. Ken has designed over 1,000 commissions over his career, lectured
extensively and received numerous awards, including the American Crafts Award
for Architectural Art. In 2003, vonRoenn was named one the “25 Most Influential
Art People in the Midwest” by Dialogue Magazine. In the 1990’s, working with a
group of developers and investors interested in the revitalization of downtown
Louisville, guided by vonRoenn’s vision, developed the multipurpose glass
facility now known as Glassworks. In addition to a new home for Architectural
Glass Art, a space was created to further develop and expand the glass studio
movement by establishing a center where a broad variety of glass artists and
craftspeople work and learn together, and to acquaint the public with the
excitement of glass. The Glassworks’ expansion now includes more than 7 acres in
downtown Louisville, recognized as the Glassworks district. The completed
district will contain more than 250,000 sq. feet of commercial space, a 12-story
office tower, 400 housing units, a theatre, two parking garages, a 250-room
hotel and the Graduate Art Department for the University of Louisville, which
will include a new glass program.
Linda Van Trump,
is
managing director of
CODA since 2001. Over 25 years experience in the crafts field beginning as a
jeweler and leather worker, marketing at craft shows; leading to nonprofit
administration and consulting for project development and grant writing;
administrative and organizational development, and serving as a panelist and
juror for shows, awards, grants, fellowships, exhibits, etc. Appointed by three
Governors to the Arkansas State Arts Council starting in 1989, with the 4th
4-year term running through 2005; currently serving as Chair. She is a member
of the Mid-America Arts Alliance Board of Directors, one of six regional arts
organizations serving each of the 50 states, (supported by the NEA). From
1987-1999, she was executive director of the Arkansas Craft Guild, a 300
member-owned marketing cooperative, with 5 retail outlets and 3 annual craft
fairs.
David Willard,
is director of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts since 2001, with over 25
years experience in visual arts education, university administration,
fundraising and community arts leadership. After receiving his MFA he continued
his research in glass as a Fulbright Scholar in England. As a community arts
advocate he has served as a panelist and juror for many organizations and on the
Board of Directors of the TX Assoc. of Schools of Art. He is currently serving
as a charter member of the Craft Advisory Council for Handmade Institute for
Creative Economies and on the board of the Gatlinburg Gateway Foundation.
Larry Watson
has been a full-time ceramic artist working and living in Alexandria, Kentucky
for 15 years. He is the recipient of numerous awards at exhibits and fairs and
has been published and featured in Ceramics Monthly, Crafts Report, Arts Across
Kentucky, and was an arts feature writer for City Beat Newspaper in Cincinnati.
He was selected by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program to be a participant of
the "Platinum 10", a training project associated with the Program's Product
Development Initiative. He has taught several professional level workshops,
including Pricing & The Business of Art, and is adjunct professor of art in the
Northern Kentucky University Ceramics Department. He has served as Board member
and President of the Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen, and has served with
the Advisory Committee for the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, Kentucky
Artisan Center at Berea, and the Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft. He holds a B.S.
In Industrial Technology from Eastern Kentucky University, and his prior career
was as production manager of a commercial printing firm.
