BlackRock Center for the Arts is pleased to announce that
Krista Rimple Bradley joins the not-for-profit arts organization as its new Executive Director on August 6. She replaces
Charlotte Sommers, who leaves the Washington area after a
successful four-year stint at BlackRock. As Executive Director, Bradley
is responsible for developing, guiding and implementing the strategies,
programming and operations of the arts center,
as well as overseeing the day-to-day execution of BlackRock’s
fundraising, marketing, arts programming and operations. BlackRock Board
President,
Jean Casey, says that “Krista brings more than 20 years of
experience as a seasoned arts administrator, funder, consultant and
leader in the performing arts presenting field, having worked with a
variety of local, regional, and national arts organizations
and foundations. The Search Committee was impressed with Krista’s
intelligence, extensive experience in all aspects of arts
administration, and leadership in the performing arts field. She also
brings a wide network of relationships from the performing arts
and funding communities, which she will leverage in her work leading
BlackRock in its next phase of growth.”
Bradley states that she is “thrilled to be
joining BlackRock at this exciting time in its 10-year history and I
look forward to building on its past success. BlackRock is poised to be
a model multidisciplinary arts center, offering local
residents affordable and convenient opportunities to participate in,
learn about, and explore a wide range of performing, visual and creative
arts --be it through classes, workshops, or performances of high
quality regional, national and international artists.
I’m excited about broadening and diversifying our programming and
increasing opportunities for residents of all ages to explore and engage
with the arts more fully.”
Most recently, Bradley has been Program Officer
for Performing Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, where she managed
performing arts touring and funding programs for presenters and artists
in the Foundation’s nine states and jurisdictions
and curated annual rosters of regional, national and international
performing artists for touring across the mid-Atlantic region. She has
served as a consultant, funder and arts administrator with a variety of
performing arts and philanthropic organizations
to commission and develop new work, support artists, facilitate
presenting, producing, and touring collaborations and engage diverse
communities in meaningful ways.
Prior to joining Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation,
Bradley worked with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company,
Washington Performing Arts Society, the Walker Arts Center and Harlem
Stage on programming and audience and community engagement
initiatives. She has directed national and regional arts programs for
OPERA America and the Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund and held management
positions with both Houston Grand Opera and Virginia Opera. Bradley is a
frequent grants panelist and reviewer for
national and regional funders, including the National Endowment for the
Arts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, New England Foundation
for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. She holds a
B.A. degree in Literature and Society from
Brown University.
Bradley is delighted to take on this leadership
position at BlackRock and concludes: “I believe the arts are central to a
vibrant community life and help create an enriched sense of place. I
look forward to working with our board, staff
and community leaders to realize BlackRock’s potential to be that vital
hub and catalyst in Upper Montgomery County.“
offer possibilities for themselves, and for all of us, in this age of information. This is a small survey of work done by students who craft honest,
expressive responses to the world they observe and live in. Life trumps
art, but art insists, sometimes with bravado and sensuality, sometimes
with subversive humility and humor, on being considered for what it is:
one of the few great disciplines which merits a lifetime of study. 
