Arts & Entertainment
Bench Dedication for Executive Director Will K. Wilkins
Real Art Ways invites the general public to attend a dedication of a bench to recognize the work of Executive Director Will K. Wilkins.
HARTFORD - Real Art Ways invites the general public to attend a dedication of a bench to recognize the work of Executive Director Will K. Wilkins on Friday, August 19 at 4pm in George Day Park, across from 56 Arbor Street in Hartford.
In February 2020, Will K. Wilkins' marked his 30th year as the Executive Director of Real Art Ways. Board and staff members recognized his dedication to Real Art Ways and the community by arranging for a commemorative bench to be placed in George Day Park across the street from Real Art Ways with the intention to dedicate the bench during the Spring of 2020. COVID-19, however, intervened. Now, in the Summer of 2022, Real Art Ways will dedicate the bench.
"For over 30 years, Will Wilkins has built Real Art Ways into a contemporary arts organization of national significance that serves also as a convening place for the Hartford community and a cultural cornerstone of the Parkville neighborhood. Will's leadership of Real Art Ways has made a lasting contribution to the Parkville neighborhood, the city of Hartford, and the state of Connecticut." - Luke Bronin, Mayor of the city Hartford
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Will K. Wilkins has served as Real Art Ways’ Executive Director, overseeing artistic and operational activities, since 1990. Under his leadership, Real Art Ways has built a dynamic and diverse audience, has grown area support to 3,000 paying members, and has grown attendance dramatically. Real Art Ways is a supporter of artists, artistic innovation, community engagement and expression, and economic development.
In addition to the Real Art Ways space, which offers movies, concerts, performing arts, education and social events, Real Art Ways has commissioned and produced more than 40 public art projects in Hartford neighborhoods, including Parkville. Under Mr. Wilkins’ direction, the organization has received support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the MacArthur Foundation, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Jone Mitchell Foundation, Arts International, the Wallace Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Will is now leading the charge for our significant expansion project at 56 Arbor St in Hartford.
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Real Art Ways’ artistic profile is significant. One example: Real Art Ways has presented 40 MacArthur “Genius” Grant awardees (18 of them artists of color), in Visual Arts, Cinema, Music, Theater and Literature. Another example: artist Kehinde Wiley, widely known for his portrait of President Obama, had the first solo exhibition of his career at Real Art Ways in 2002.
Will has served on review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts (8 times), the Wallace Foundation, Arts International, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berkshire Taconic Foundation’s Artist Resource Trust, and the McKnight Foundation; he has served as Board President of the National Alliance of Media Arts and Culture, on the board of the National Performance Network, and locally served on advisory boards of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Hartford Art School, as well as 516 ARTS in Albuquerque, and Aurora Picture Show in Houston. He has been active in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford for more than 25 years, serving on the Parkville NRZ and the Parkville Business Association. Will holds a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts.
