Art Center Names New Executive Director

Summit, NJ: The Board of Trustees of the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has voted to name Melanie Franklin Cohn as new Executive Director.

As former executive director of Staten Island Arts, Cohn was actively involved in helping artists get reestablished after Hurricane Sandy. Her other accomplishments include leading a five-year strategic plan, an organizational rebrand and expanding programs in education and professional development. She led Staten Island Arts in receiving a 2009 Rockefeller Foundation Cultural Innovation Fund Grant and a 2010 and 2013 NEA Grant. In 2013, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce awarded her the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome Melanie Cohn to the Art Center,” says Board Chair, Millie Cooper. “Her outstanding background in the art world in both New York and New Jersey is an incredible asset to the Art Center and will help us move forward in our mission of bringing art and people together. She will also be a great benefit to the growing arts community of Summit and I look forward to introducing her to our students, members and fellow art lovers.”

Cohn holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and a BFA in painting from Missouri State University. She began her career with the American Federation of the Arts in New York and spent seven years in the curatorial department of the New Museum of Contemporary Art overseeing several traveling exhibitions as well as publications. Prior to her position at Staten Island Arts, Cohn was the Director of Public Relations for the Everson Art Museum in Syracuse. She has also served on the Advisory Committee for the Urban Art Program for the NYC DOT, as a juror for the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative, and on art panels for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NJ State Council on the Arts, and the MTA.

Melanie takes over from Interim Executive Director, Cynthia McChesney, who will resume her position as Director of Communications and Development.

About the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
For more than 80 years, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has been exclusively dedicated to viewing, making and learning about contemporary art. Recognized as a leading non-profit arts organization, the Art Center’s renowned studio school, acclaimed exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives serve thousands of youth, families, seniors and people with special needs every year.