Local theater publicist Kate Taylor Davis has been hired as the Anacostia Arts Center‘s director. She’s been on staff since late May; the center’s owner and operator, the nonprofit ARCH Development Corporation, announced the hire today.
Davis previously led communications at Imagination Stage and Olney Theatre Center.
The 9,300 square foot Anacostia Arts Center has been hosting events since April, according to a press release sent this afternoon. The rental venue, with its multiple galleries and black-box space, is part of ARCH’s grand plan to turn Anacostia into an arts district, as Washington City Paper explored in depth in a recent cover package. The center didn’t host a grand opening party, but the kickoff of the Lumen8 festival last weekend served as a de facto public unveiling, during which around 1,000 visitors dropped by the center, Davis writes in an email. Anacostia Arts Center also plans to host events booked as part of the ongoing DC Black Theatre Festival this weekend. Its next big event will be the Lumen8 closing party on August 10.
The center is also open Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. and other hours by appointment.
Read the press release after the jump.
Washington, DC (June 25, 2013) The Anacostia Arts Center, a project of ARCH Development Corporation, has its first director. Kate Taylor Davis joined the ARCH team in late May to launch and lead the new facility, which began hosting events in April.
“We are delighted to welcome Kate to the team,” says Duane Gautier, CEO of ARCH Development Corporation. “Her professional background combined with her passion for connecting arts and audiences are exactly what the Center needs to succeed.”
The Anacostia Arts Center is already getting attention from local performers and artists. “We have the DC Black Theatre Festival joining us this week; several local artists are sharing exhibitions this summer as part of Lumen8; and we have become a home for producers rehearsing Fringe shows,” explains Ms. Davis. “The enthusiasm for this facility has been wonderful. There is so much potential in Anacostia and in this venue. I am honored to join the ARCH team and help move forward their vision of making Anacostia a true arts destination.”
Ms. Davis, a DC resident since 1999, came to the center from Imagination Stage in Bethesda, where she was director of external relations. Previously she was the chief marketing and communications officer at Olney Theatre Center, as well as assistant director of education and programs at the Association of Children’s Museums. She interned with The Kennedy Center and The District of Columbia Arts Center, among others. She is occasional lecturer on the topics of marketing and event planning at local universities, and has served as a committee member for The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, vice president for The League of Washington Theatres, keynote panelist for Theatre Communications Group, and a grant panelist for Arlington County. Ms. Davis holds an M.A. in Arts Management from The American University and a B.A. in English from The University of Michigan.
Photo courtesy Anacostia Arts Center