For Immediate Release
Contact: Casey Blake
602-771-6536
[email protected]

Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Adriana Gallego, Takes on Prominent National Role at the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC)

PHOENIX, AZ (January 10, 2012)—Adriana Gallego, currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Arizona Commission on the Arts, has accepted the newly-created position of Deputy Director at the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC). After over four years of service at Arizona’s state arts agency, her last day in the office at the Arts Commission will be January 18, 2012.

During her tenure at the Phoenix-based Arizona Commission on the Arts, Adriana developed programs, grants, partnerships and services in support of arts organizations, artists, universities/schools, community groups and government agencies. Through local, regional and national public and private partnerships, Adriana designed professional development initiatives, coordinated exhibition opportunities to increase visibility and engagement of Arizona artists, and delivered consultation and resources to cultivate field leadership. She pursued these responsibilities mindful of inclusivity, equity and accessibility.

Arts Commission Executive Director, Robert C. Booker, said of the transition, “Adriana’s bold, passionate leadership within Arizona’s arts and culture sector has been an asset to the Arts Commission and all those served by our programs. Her significant work – with local arts agencies, the Arizona Public Art Network, the Arizona/Mexico Commission and statewide individual artists – has advanced our agency’s mission in ways too numerous to mention. Though we will miss working with her on a daily basis, we are thrilled for Adriana and look forward to our continued relationship as she champions positive change from a national vantage point. She is both well-equipped and well-positioned to take on this terrific new opportunity at NALAC.”

At NALAC, Adriana will work closely with the Executive Director, Maria De Leon, representing the organization with internal and external partners, agencies, and organizations; managing the business affairs of the organization; supervising staff, and overseeing programs, projects and activities.

Executive Director of NALAC, Maria De Leon, says of the new position, “I am pleased that Adriana will be joining NALAC as Deputy Director. She comes to NALAC with multiple years of experience at the Arizona Commission on the Arts developing grants programs and providing professional development services. Adriana is an alumnus of the NALAC Leadership Institute and has been involved with NALAC over many years. We will continue to strengthen NALAC’s infrastructure over the coming months with additional staff to allow us the capacity to address the challenges facing the Latino arts community and the larger arts industry.”

About the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC): Founded in 1989, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture is the nation’s only multidisciplinary Latino arts service organization. NALAC provides critical advocacy, funding, networking opportunities and professional development training to build the capacity and sustainability of the Latino arts and cultural field to sustain artists and arts organizations in every region of the country. NALAC advances the Latino arts field with a mission of advocacy, capacity building, technical assistance, and enhancing communications with and among the Latino arts and cultural community. NALAC’s constituency is a multi-ethnic, multigenerational, and interdisciplinary community that includes thousands of artists and more than 750 not-for-profit Latino arts and cultural organizations located in urban and rural communities across the country. http://www.nalac.org/.

About the Arizona Commission on the Arts
One of 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the United States, the Arizona Commission on the Arts is an agency of the State of Arizona that supports a statewide arts network. The Arizona Commission on the Arts supports access to quality arts and arts education opportunities for all Arizona citizens; the development and retention of statewide jobs in the nonprofit arts, culture and education sectors; and increased economic impact in local communities through arts-based partnerships that develop tax and small business revenue. For more information, visit www.azarts.gov.

We imagine an Arizona where everyone can participate in and experience the arts.

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To request this or any other agency publication in an alternative format, contact the Arts Commission offices at (602) 771-6502, or [email protected].

Images available upon request.