STORY & PHOTO BY KRIS VAGNER JANUARY 21, 2016
Two local arTs organizaTions have new direcTors
of the guard 14 | RN&R |
Meet Annie Zucker and A. Perry, the new directors at Sierra Arts Foundation and St. Mary’s Art Center respectively. RN&R checked in with them about their visions for the future and why a hospital background and an architectural background are turning out to be perfectly good springboards to arts-leadership posts.
Zucker wasn’t an art major back at Oregon State University. She was a competitive swimmer contemplating a medical career. Before she finished college, an illness led to a six-week hospital stay. Her family brought her all her CDs, and she binged on Fleetwood Mac. It started to make her feel better. “You could see my recovery happen faster,” she said. She ended up graduating with a liberal studies degree instead of a medical degree, but having depended on those CDs during her recovery convinced her that music and other art forms might have serious healing power. “It changed my way of thinking about how I could help people,” Zucker said. In November, she became executive director of Sierra Arts, and helping people, whether they’re artists looking for business advice or families looking for art classes, is still on her priority list. Previously, Zucker had worked for nearly a decade as a development specialist at Renown Health Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Renown hospital network. The foundation supports obvious necessities such as equipment, facilities and research. It also raises funds for in-hospital arts programs, including journaling workshops, bedside drawing lessons and concerts by visiting musicians. Coordinating with artists and musicians, Zucker got to know a lot of people in the arts community over the years, including former Sierra Arts directors Jill Berryman and Stacey Spain. In 2014 she was appointed to the board of Nevada Arts Council. “I think I was hired because I don’t represent a certain art or genre of art,” she said. “I have deep appreciation for all arts and artists.” Under Zucker’s direction, Sierra Arts’ current programs will remain in place, including gallery exhibits, the Artists in Schools program, elder-care
concert series and grants to artists. And its staff will remain intact. “I think we have an amazing staff here,” she said. “It’s a small staff, but they’re extremely passionate.” The major change she’d like to effect is an increase in Sierra Arts’ public profile. The organization is working with the Reno Arts and Culture Commission on a new brand identity, and Zucker said the website, whose design and utility is stuck somewhere between web 1.0 and web 2.0, will be overhauled this year. “We’ll be putting on a few more workshops with artists off Nevada Arts Council roster,” she added. And the Galleries at Work program is contracting with some higher-profile venues. It’s now curated by fashion photographer and former St. Mary’s Art Center Director Frances Melhop. “That’s where we go out to businesses and curate local arts,” Zucker said of the program. Recent new venues include Aces Ballpark, where plans are underway for murals and
curated exhibits in the luxury suites. Zucker would also like to expand Sierra Arts’ member bases and donor bases. She explained her approach: “I learned from [Certified Fund Raising Executive] Joel Muller, my boss at Renown. He’s an incredible fundraiser. It’s connecting people to their interests. When we talk to donors, I want to find out what they’re passionate about and be really good stewards of that money. They’re putting money in your hands that you’re going to do the best thing with that money. I want to focus on friend-raising, not fundraising.” “In non-profit work you’re trying to get ahead of the game,” she said. “What I really want is to put an emphasis on the artists, help them become the best, most productive.” As well connected as she is, another of Zucker’s immediate goals is to get to know Reno’s community even better. “I want families down here. I want kids learning to look at art,” she said.
“Come down to the gallery and see what we’re doing, and let’s chat. Artists, I want to meet all of you.” annie zUcker execUTive direcTor, sierra arTs
