News

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle has announced that H. Wayne Martin has been named executive director of the N.C. Arts Council.
 
Martin, who succeeds longtime director Mary B. Regan, has more than 25 years experience in arts management, with more than half of that time working in the arena of arts-driven economic development.
 
"During the past 15 years, Wayne has played a critical role in collaborating with other state agencies and regional and local governments to ensure that the arts are an essential component of community development," Carlisle says. "His experience in a wide range of arts council programs and his vision and love of North Carolina, combined with his leadership qualities, puts him in a unique position to guide the N.C. Arts Council into a new era."
 
Martin most recently served as senior program director for Community Arts Development, which included a staff of eight and management of the Grassroots Arts Program, a $2.3 million program that delivers support for arts development to all 100 counties in the state. During the past year, he has focused on planning the Arts Council's new SmART Initiative to spur arts-driven economic development across the state, and worked the last three years in developing a new arts council in Wilmington.
 
"Wayne's comprehensive knowledge and appreciation of our varied Arts Council programs and activities is impressive," says Bobby Kadis, chair of the Arts Council board. "Having worked with Wayne for many years, I am confident that he will make an excellent executive director, and I look forward to working with him."

For more information on the organization, visit www.ncarts.org.