POWarts x Color BLOC Leaders Panel
Tuesday, December 14, 6:30PM EST
Join POWarts for a panel of four extraordinary bosses from the art world, as they discuss their experiences as leaders in their respective cities. We will be joined by Deidre McPherson, independent arts consultant, Whitney Hardy, Founder of 3RDSPACE, and Jessica Solomon, CEO of Art in Praxis. Facilitated by Dr. Fari Nzinga, Founder of The Color BLOC, the speakers will touch on what makes their city's art scenes unique, the challenges they have faced, and what their city's need more of to nurture more and better artists, audiences, and patrons.
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Deidre McPherson was born and raised in Cleveland, OH. McPherson is a classically trained violinist and attended Miami University on a full scholarship for violin performance, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing; she went on to receive an MBA in marketing from the University of Maryland. McPherson is a cultural convener, brand experience expert, and community advocate who has held leadership roles at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland. At present, McPherson serves as Director of Artistic + Community Initiatives for FRONT International Triennial for Contemporary Art (@frontart) and works on projects with the West 117 Foundation (@west117foundation), Karamu House (@karamuhouseinc), and the Cleveland International Film Festival (@clefilmfest).
Whitney Hardy is a serial entrepreneur known for her work as Founder of 3RDSPACE and Co-Founder of Hardy Beverages. She is recognized as an award-winning cultural architect specializing in interdisciplinary research and program development placing entrepreneurship + arts + culture as the heart of equitable economic prosperity. By founding 3RDSPACE, Hardy's leadership has launched several leading art focused summits including Young Collectors Contemporary and Memphis Art and Design Week, the first art conference in Memphis focused on the collective impact of art, design, and innovation. In 2021, Hardy co-founded Hardy Beverages where she has developed beverage brands in the health and wellness category. Born and raised in Memphis, TN, she graduated from University of Tennessee with a MA in Accounting.
Jessica Solomon believes cultural practices/perspectives often hold radical insights for reimagining the organizations and systems that impact us the most. She is a master facilitator, cultural steward and CEO of Art in Praxis, a consulting firm creating conditions for more impactful, vibrant and equitable organizations. Jessica holds an MS in Organization Development from American University and BA's in Communication Studies and African American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a former National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellow, Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators Fellow, and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellow. Jessica is an emerging collector of Black contemporary art by women and gender-nonconforming artists and is writing a dark comedy inspired by her collection.
Fari Nzinga is a writer, curator and also the teacher-scholar in residence at the Bell Hooks Center at Berea College in Kentucky. She graduated with a BA from Oberlin College in 2005 and went on to earn both her MA and PhD in cultural anthropology from Duke University. Nzinga uses object-based learning to engage in conversations about contemporary culture and politics and to hone observation and critical analysis. Her research on Black cultural production, visual and expressive culture, and sexual politics relies on hooks’s analysis of power and forms of domination. hooks’s emphasis on love, care, and the construction of home-places are values that animate Nzinga’s pedagogy, research, and curation.