Kristina Newman-Scott, an artist from Jamaica, has been named the new vice president for arts at the Miami-based Knight Foundation. According to a release on the Knight Foundation’s website, Newman-Scott will oversee the organization’s vast arts portfolio, which has invested more than US$466 million since 2005 to support artists and arts organizations in building more resilient and lively communities.
Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, Knight Foundation president and CEO remarked, “Kristina’s passionate belief in the power of the arts to build and strengthen community is inspiring. She deeply understands the positive effect of a thriving arts ecosystem on local economies.” Adding, “And she is an energetic champion of local artists and organizations building communities in which everyone can participate. I could not be more delighted to welcome Kristina to the Knight Foundation.”
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Newman-Scott described the Knight Foundation as, “an industry-leading funder within the arts, with a proven track record of meaningful and sustainable impact for the populations it serves.
She further explained, “I’ve worked across every corner of the art world, from practicing artist to curator to administrator, and I bring a multidisciplinary approach that meets arts organizations and artists where they’re at in their journey. I’m thrilled to join an organization with a clear devotion to this work and such a rich history of results. I look forward to building on Knight Foundation’s incredible legacy.”
The Knight Foundation was established in 1950 and has invested in journalism, the arts, and civic innovation for over 70 years in an effort to create informed communities.
The press announcement states that Newman-Scott will further Knight’s financing approach to expedite and magnify the arts’ change in Knight communities and throughout the United States. Local art projects in eight Knight cities—Akron, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit; Macon, Georgia; Miami; Philadelphia; San Jose, California; and St. Paul, Minnesota—are supported by the foundation’s programs, which include Knight New Work and Knight Art + Tech Expansion.
To help artists and arts organizations throughout the country use new technologies and methods to enhance experiences, engage new audiences, and inspire new works, the Knight Foundation has concentrated its arts and culture support on grants. According to the release, this includes funding that helps establish new installations, fosters the development of new practices and knowledge in the field through conferences, research, and fellowships, and boosts an organization’s overall capability by facilitating technical infrastructure personnel and planning.According to the statement, Newman-Scott most recently held the position of first executive director of New York Public Radio/WNYC’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Art Space. With more than 20 years of experience, she is a leader in the modern visual and performing arts and currently chairs the boards of National Arts Strategies, Brooklyn Arts Council, Americans for the Arts, and the Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission for the City of New York.
Before relocating to the United States in 2005, Newman-Scott spent almost thirty years as a professional artist in Jamaica, according to the Knight Foundation website.
