Chenango Arts Council names new executive director

NORWICH – The Chenango Arts Council, Norwich, announces that Diane Batson-Smith will join the Council as Executive Director effective July 1st.
With the planned departure of long-time Executive Director Victoria Calvert Kappel announced last January, the Board of Directors embarked upon a 5 month local and national search for her replacement.
Diane Batson-Smith has enjoyed a varied career in the arts starting with her formation of a repertory company in Roanoke, Virginia, to receiving a variety of Emmys and Academy Awards for Hollywood motion picture studios, and as an independent film producer. She was the Senior Producer and Project Supervisor for Dreamworks SKG, a Project Director and Producer for Home Box Office, a studio executive for Walt Disney Productions, and a Co-Producer for Paramount Pictures.
Prior to joining the Chenango Arts Council, Diane held many positions at arts organizations in New York City. As the Executive Director for Kennedy Center Honoree Martina Arroyo’s foundation, she managed strategic planning, fundraising, and accelerated the foundation’s financial capacity to twice its original size. As the manager of season sales and patron giving for Carnegie Hall, American Ballet Theatre, NY Philharmonic, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, she increased overall donations by more than twenty percent annually.
During her time as the Executive Director of the Arts and Heritage Development Council (AHDC) in Tennessee, Diane revived the council’s financial and strategic operations while working as the designated agent for The Tennessee Arts Commission’s: Underserved Communities and Arts Builds Communities initiatives. Her work with the AHDC encompassed her facilitation of streamlined grant procedures, oversight of state regulatory funding procedures, and interfacing as the regional director for fair arts use opportunities, and public arts programs throughout Middle Tennessee. In tandem with the Customs House Museum, she curated student exhibits and was responsible for five annual programs for the Parks and Recreation Department of Middle Tennessee. She developed the overall strategy for the organization and defined its priorities with a staff of three, a 12 member executive board, consultants, and state and city-wide partners.
Before joining The Arts and Heritage Foundation of Tennessee in 2004, Diane served in several capacities on the staffs of regional colleges where she taught courses on the creative culture of business, filmmaking, finance, and arts management.
Diane has been an exhibiting artist for over fifteen years, a producer and a steering committee member for The Nashville Film Festival, The Nashville Jewish Film Festival, The LA Directors Guild Student Film Competition Awards, The New York Digital Film Festival, and an originating producer of Visualizations Gallery in Manhattan which designed the first instillation of video artists-- including Nam June Pike. She has created literary programs and coalitions for emerging female writers in poetry and playwriting. Diane has a BA in graphic design and illustration, a BA in Theater and English from Hollins Women’s College, a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Division, and is certified in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from New York University Law School.
The Chenango Arts Council is entering its 40th year of operations, with performance, exhibition, and funding programs that service Chenango, Otsego, and Broome Counties. Additional information on the Council can be found on its website at www.chenangoarts.org.

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