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Kristy Edmunds was a working artist who created and managed arts-related organizations. She brings those skills to her current position as executive director of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Reuben Roqueñi says that as he begins work as executive director of the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), "my job initially is to come in, and be a good listener, to invite the community into our space and let us know what kind of space is going to work for them.”
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PICA announced last week that it has hired a new executive director to replace the outgoing Victoria Frey. Only the third executive in the experimental arts organization's 28 years, Reuben Roqueñi possesses an impressive background in arts admin and has worked with PICA since 2012. Mercury culture editor Suzette Smith spoke with both Frey and Roqueñi about the upcoming transition, what drew Roqueñi to PICA in the first place, and why it's such a special arts institution.
Mercury Culture Editor Suzette Smith spoke with Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's outgoing and incoming executive directors about the transition and what makes PICA is such a special arts institution.