Atlantic Center for the Arts

Join us next week at the Winter Park Library!

ACA Mentoring Artist-in-Residence Crystal Wilkinson, author of bestselling culinary memoir, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Cooks presentation @ Winter Park Library May 23, 2024, 6-7 PM. Wilkinson’s newly published Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians through powerful storytelling and comforting recipes. Former poet laureate of Kentucky, and O. Henry Prize-winning writer, Wilkinson tells the stories of five generations of Black women who settled in Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine. “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts is an ode to food, yes, but it’s also a brilliant ode to ancestors, to history, to survival. Wilkinson has made a deeply necessary book about how we cook, how we eat, and most importantly, how we love. With stories that make you ache and recipes that make you heal, this book is an essential new addition to any food lover’s collection. I didn’t just read this book, I devoured it.”—Ada Limón, 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. This event is free and open to the public, ADA accessible. https://lnkd.in/ekKVX74f #writers #memoir #poetry #recipes #hybrid #culinarymemoir #artistresidency #winterparklibrary #newbook #florida #literaryevent #atlanticcenterforthearts #cooks #cooking #cuisine #biography

ACA Welcomes Mentoring Artists-in-Residence Composer, Media Artist, and Performer Pamela Z; Poet, Writer Crystal Wilkinson; Sculptor, Visual Artist Sonja Henderson; and 18 emerging and midcareer artists from across the country for a three-week residency in New Smyrna Beach, FL. In ACA's 193rd Residency May 12 -June 1, 2024, artists-in-residence will spend part of the day working with the Mentoring Artists, in group meetings, workshops, casual conversations, and activities to expand their work. #artistresidency #artistsresidency #composers #visualarts #mediaart #performance #poetry #memoir #hybrid #culinarymemoir #sculpture #interdisciplinary #collaborative #mentorship.

ACA Announces Jennifer McInnes Coolidge as Executive Director The Board of Trustees of Atlantic Center for the Arts is proud to announce the appointment of Jennifer McInnes Coolidge as Executive Director, succeeding Nancy Lowden Norman who has retired after 28 years of service to the organization.   “Jennifer has dedicated her life to the arts and, coincidentally, she started her career at ACA at Harris House, working directly with founder Doris Leeper,” said Chair of the Board Russ North. “She is very proficient in all avenues of the arts and specializes in high-level fundraising and donor relations. Her professional successes over the years have led her back to ACA and we are very enthusiastic and excited about her leadership.”   Jennifer is an arts and non-profit consultant and curator who has spent her career working with artists and non-profit arts and social service organizations. She most recently served as the Director of Philanthropy for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in Orlando, FL, and as the Lead Curator for Mills Gallery in Winter Park, FL. During her 30 years of experience as an arts administrator, Jennifer has served as Director of Development for the University of Florida, College of the Arts, raising over $9.5 million during her tenure; Executive Director for the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand, FL; Executive Director of the Florida Alliance for Art Education; and in arts education and curatorial positions for Atlantic Center for the Arts, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, and The Arts Council in Winston-Salem, NC, among others. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida House in Washington, DC; and is past president of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE) and the Volusia County Cultural Alliance. She currently serves on the FAAE Advisory Board and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Florida Cultural Alliance and the Florida, USA, Wakayama, Japan Cultural Association. Jennifer’s numerous awards for leadership in the arts include recognition as a Florida Ambassador of the Arts by past First Lady of Florida, Columba Bush.   Join us in welcoming Jennifer back to ACA!

FRI DEC 15, 6 PM: BRIAN TURNER (Here, Bullet; My Life as a Foreign Country) and KELLE GROOM (I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl) read from their new books of poetry and memoir at ACA Downtown: Harris House, 214 South Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach. Join us! Brian will be reading poems from his newest writing project from Alice James Books, three poetry collections exploring the capacity to transform grief into art: The Wild Delight of Wild Things, (August 2023), The Goodbye World Poem (Sept 2023), and The Dead Peasant’s Handbook (Oct 2023). “Brian Turner possesses the extraordinary capacity to transform grief into art, whether intimate or collective, immediate or historical, illuminating that anguish so that we may learn, survive, even flourish in its wake. Known as a war poet, Turner writes with great moral authority on war. Yet, Turner believes in the redemptive power of love against death. —Martín Espada Kelle will be reading from How to Live: A Memoir in Essays (Tupelo Press, October 2023), which explores the idea of home, and how to live with fear and uncertainty. Is home the place you left, or the place you are now? This is a central question in this fiercely won, wildly original, and ultimately beautiful meditation. – Nick Flynn #poetry #memoir #reading #writers #newbooks #literary #event #newsmyrnabeach #florida #atlanticenterforthearts

Atlantic Center for the Arts is hiring an Executive Director. APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 24, 2023 Located in New Smyrna Beach, FL, ACA is seeking an Executive Director with knowledge of current visual, literary, and performing arts to lead the vision of one of the top nonprofit, interdisciplinary artistic communities in the world. We are looking for a visionary leader to guide ACA into the future and who values and respects our 46-year history, will continue our heritage of offering diverse programming, provide a safe space for open conversation about the arts, and instill a sense of camaraderie among artists and the community at large. ACA purposefully creates access to the arts through the bridge of community engagement, long-term relationships, and sustained partnerships to provide enriching and accessible resources to 70,000 people yearly. In 2018, the State of Florida awarded ACA for its long-term commitment to diversity/accessible programming. ACA has also been recognized with the “Platinum Seal of Transparency” by GuideStar. ABOUT THE ROLE: The Executive Director is an arts administration position that is fiscally responsible for a $2.5 million annual budget, and manages a full-time staff of 15, reporting directly to the Board of Trustees. The Executive Director oversees daily operations, artistic and fiscal leadership, and is responsible for strategic fundraising priorities, a premier residency program, diverse, nationally recognized programs that engage the community through arts education and multigenerational events, the management of Arts on Douglas Fine Arts & Collectibles Gallery, representing professional Florida artists, and the presentation of Images: A Festival of the Arts, a juried fine arts festival recently ranked #18 in the United States. ACA strives to apply and advance universal practices of reflection, evaluation, and transparency in all aspects of its operations. LEARN MORE & APPLY: https://lnkd.in/eVJJDKwP #atlanticcenterforthearts #executivedirector #jobopening #arts #florida #artistresidency

Atlantic Center for the Arts is hiring an Executive Director. APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 24, 2023 Located in New Smyrna Beach, FL, ACA is seeking an Executive Director with knowledge of current visual, literary, and performing arts to lead the vision of one of the top nonprofit, interdisciplinary artistic communities in the world. We are looking for a visionary leader to guide ACA into the future and who values and respects our 46-year history, will continue our heritage of offering diverse programming, provide a safe space for open conversation about the arts, and instill a sense of camaraderie among artists and the community at large. ACA purposefully creates access to the arts through the bridge of community engagement, long-term relationships, and sustained partnerships to provide enriching and accessible resources to 70,000 people yearly. In 2018, the State of Florida awarded ACA for its long-term commitment to diversity/accessible programming. ACA has also been recognized with the “Platinum Seal of Transparency” by GuideStar. ABOUT THE ROLE: The Executive Director is an arts administration position that is fiscally responsible for a $2.5 million annual budget, and manages a full-time staff of 15, reporting directly to the Board of Trustees. The Executive Director oversees daily operations, artistic and fiscal leadership, and is responsible for strategic fundraising priorities, a premier residency program, diverse, nationally recognized programs that engage the community through arts education and multigenerational events, the management of Arts on Douglas Fine Arts & Collectibles Gallery, representing professional Florida artists, and the presentation of Images: A Festival of the Arts, a juried fine arts festival recently ranked #18 in the United States. ACA strives to apply and advance universal practices of reflection, evaluation, and transparency in all aspects of its operations. LEARN MORE & APPLY: https://lnkd.in/eVJJDKwP #atlanticcenterforthearts #executivedirector #jobopening #arts #florida #artistresidency

Atlantic Center for the Arts is hiring for the position of Executive Director: ABOUT THE ROLE: The Executive Director is an arts administration position that is fiscally responsible for a $2.5 million annual budget, and manages a full-time staff of 15, reporting directly to the Board of Trustees. The Executive Director oversees daily operations, artistic and fiscal leadership, and is responsible for strategic fundraising priorities, a premier residency program, diverse, nationally recognized programs that engage the community through arts education and multigenerational events, the management of Arts on Douglas Fine Arts & Collectibles Gallery, representing professional Florida artists, and the presentation of Images: A Festival of the Arts, a juried fine arts festival recently ranked #18 in the United States. ACA strives to apply and advance universal practices of reflection, evaluation, and transparency in all aspects of its operations. This position reports to the ACA Board of Trustees. Learn More here: https://lnkd.in/eVJJDKwP APPLICATIONS: Please email cover letter and CV/Resume to Executive Director Search Committee to Atlantic Center for the Arts ACAExecDirector@gmail.com by no later than November 24, 2023.