5 People to Watch in the Arts
- David Emitt Adams, Photographer
Adams is an award-winning Tempe-based photographer and Arizona native who was recently named a 2016 Contemporary Forum artist grant winner by the Phoenix Art Museum. He has also received the Lens Culture International Exposure Award in 2011, the Freestyle Crystal Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Black and White Photography in 2012 and the Fish/Pearce Award in 2014. This year, he has had solo exhibitions in Roswell, New Orleans and Phoenix.
- Jaime Dempsey, Executive Director of Arizona Commission on the Arts
Dempsey is set to take over as executive director of Arizona Commission on the Arts this month, replacing Robert Booker, who held the position for over a decade. Previously, Dempsey had served as the deputy director since 2006. She has also held the position of program manager for Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, taught courses in art leadership and nonprofit management at ASU and managed programs for Idaho’s nexStage theatre and the multidisciplinary Sun Valley Center for the Arts. She currently serves on the board of Grantmakers in the Arts and DataArts.
- Kathy Wills, Board Chair for Scottsdale Arts Board of Trustees
Wills was recently appointed the chair of the Scottsdale Arts Board of Trustees, a board she has served on since 2013. She has previously served on its executive committee and chaired the development committee and Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Advisory Board. Willis is a Scottsdale native and currently serves as a senior vice president and private banker at MidFirst Bank.
- Theresa Dwyer, Board Chair for the Herberger Theater Center
Dwyer was recently elected chair of the board for Herberger Theater Center. She was nominated for her first term in 2016, and began serving as vice chair in 2016. She is currently a director with Fennermore Craig, where she has worked since 1994. She has previously served as a board and executive committee member of Florence Crittenton of Arizona and currently volunteers at Perryville State Women’s Prison.
- Amy Nesbitt, Director of Performing Arts for Scottsdale Arts
Nesbitt will join Scottsdale Arts this month as the Director of Performing Arts, overseeing the implementation of music, dance, theater, film and family events. Nesbitt previously served as the artistic director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in Michigan where she helped expand the festival’s programming to include 175 events, with an attendance of over 80,000.
