The Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission has a new leadership team. On Thursday last week, Michael Oleskow and Crys Waddell took over as Chair and Vice Chair of the organization.
Olekkow, cultural curator at the FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel, and Waddell, the CEO and founder of Hustle Phoenix, will continue the commission’s work focused on policy making and financial recommendations for public art and grant investment for the city of Phoenix.
The two assumed their new positions following a vote by the commission two weeks prior after the organization gave a heartfelt farewell to Regina Nixon, who served as Chair for seven years, and former Vice Chair Rachel Johnson, who has been a part of the commission since 2014.
Back in September’s meeting, the executive director for City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, Mitch Menchaca, said Nixon and Johnson were amazing leaders and their incoming replacements, Oleskow and Waddell, said they will rely on the outgoing board members for their advice in coming weeks.
“This commission has been active and the staff has been amazing,” Nixon said. “Having had the opportunity to work with other commissions this year, I have to say we are a hard-working commission.”
While she led the commission, Nixon also recently led the taskforce dedicated to developing the Phoenix Herstories project. This project included an online photography exhibit, video testimonials, storytelling and curricular guides for phoenix schools aimed at celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which legally guaranteed women the right to vote.
Nixon was proud to announce the project which was displayed on the southeast-facing exterior wall of the FOUND:RE Hotel through the entire month of September. While the public display is no longer available, the stories of 31 local female honorees and educational information can still be found on the official website.
The Arts and Culture Commission had also dealt with the effects COVID-19 has had on the Phoenix art community as a whole. So far,the commission has played a key role in assisting the artists most affected, especially after the Phoenix City council approved funding to be allocated to the commission for redistribution through grants.
“We have had an absolutely incredible year in terms of the funding city council has awarded for grants purposes,” former vice-chair Johnson said.
The commission has been able to assist nearly 300 artists in the community with the first round of funding and, according to Johnson, are seeking to help another group of art professionals who applied before September 18.
Those with an art profession who have been struggling due to the pandemic could apply for up to an $800 grant. Johnson said it was important to get as much of the money available into the hands of artists because any remaining money would be put back into a general pandemic relief fund.
Another way the Phoenix Arts and Culture commission is aiming to help local artists during the pandemic is through their free online workshops. The commission began posting lessons every week starting back in August, in a series called Public Art 101.
The initiative continued in September with lessons led by Artist Bill Dambrova on the basics of digital software for public artists. October’s workshop is “Public Art Behind the Curtain” and will feature artists and curators who will go behind the scenes of their upcoming projects. The free workshops are posted every Thursday at 10 a.m. and can be rewatched on the commission’s YouTube channel.
“Our job as commissioners is to spread the word and be super ambassadors and advocates for the work that we’re doing here,” Nixon said.
Information can be found regarding upcoming events, projects, public art initiatives, grants, and workshops on the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture website.The commission usually meets each month on a Tuesday and all meetings are open to the public.
Contact the reporter at acwoods@asu.edu.
