Laura Linz, formerly of Greenville, S.C., has been hired as the major projects manager for the Association for Visual Arts (AVA), the biggest function of this job being director of the 4 Bridges Arts Festival™. Ms. Linz has a comprehensive background in non-profit arts management and in directing art festivals, officials said.
“Laura brings the highest level of enthusiasm, professionalism and experience to the table,” AVA’s executive director, Anne Willson, said. “We have the utmost confidence in her ability to make the 4 Bridges Arts Festival™ the best it can be.”
Ms. Linz is a graduate of Furman University with a degree in studio art and has worked in the arts community for nearly a decade. Not only has she been executive director for two non-profit art organizations, she has also served as festival director for three major arts and crafts festivals.
The jurying process for selecting artists to exhibit in the 4 Bridges Arts Festival™ occurred on the weekend of December 10 & 11, just two weeks after Linz began in this new position. There were about 700 applications for the three-person jury to review, and they selected approximately 175 artists from that pool. The jurors for 2012 are: Daniel Stetson, Sylvie Fortin and Amy Pleasant.
Daniel Stetson, director of the Hunter Museum of American Art, comes to the Hunter from the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida, where he served as executive director for nearly 15 years. Stetson is a native of Oneida, New York, and holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from SUNY Potsdam and a master of fine arts from Syracuse University.
Sylvie Fortin, editor-in-chief of Art Papers Magazine, is an independent curator, art historian, critic and editor who has worked internationally since 1991. Fortin studied Art History and Theory at the University of Toronto, Université Laval, and Duke University. She has received numerous significant grants and awards as a critic and curator, as well as for her academic research. Fortin was named Lexus Leader of the Arts in December 2007.
Amy Pleasant received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from The Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia.
She has held solo exhibitions at Jeff Bailey Gallery, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Rhodes College, Tandem Gallery, The Ruby Green Center for Contemporary Art, and The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“The expertise of this jury is at the highest level we have ever had,” Anne Willson commented. “We will undoubtedly have a standout festival this year.”