The West Windsor Arts Council (WWAC) has announced executive director Arin Black, pictured at right, will depart in June, and the private nonprofit will be searching for a new director to lead a long awaited expansion into the vehicle bays of the old Princeton Junction Firehouse.
“I grew up in a community like West Windsor, it’s a real stressful place, a high-achievement community, and I want to say I’ve brought a sense of lightness and fun to the community,” Black says. “Coming from New Orleans, people celebrate the everyday joys of life, and I hope I took some of that and brought some of it here.”
Black succeeded Eduardo Garcia in 2013 (The News, January 4, 2013), and the private nonprofit has grown significantly during her two-year tenure. The WWAC budget last year was $400,000, up from $289,000 when Black first started. Black is also proud to have doubled WWAC’s income from donations to $120,000, making a note of appreciation to an anonymous West Windsor resident who has pledged $10,000 in matching donations this year and last.
“I think for all nonprofits, the challenge is always making sure you have the funding to be able to continue to do the good work that you do. That’s always a constant challenge,” Black says.
She thanked the two other WWAC staff members, director of education Corinna Bisgaier and office manager Kaveri Kalawar.
“They certainly are as much a part of the organization’s success as myself,” Black says. “They are both West Windsor residents and they give heart and soul to the organization.”
Black lives in Philadelphia and will be returning to the city to pursue different projects, though she declined to specify. She will be working at the WWAC up until her marriage on June 27 to Kevin Cohen, a speech pathologist.
Black says she will miss the residents the most.
“West Windsor is such a diverse place, and seeing them express themselves in very different ways, they all have different stories and the stories are reflected in their work,” Black says. “Six people come every Friday and learn about poetry, there’s capoeira classes, theater classes. We have a surface design for fabrics class, a combination of printing and dying work, and the women bring interesting life stories, for example they might stencil a picture from childhood.”
WWAC hosts seven exhibits a year as well as four free summer concerts at the Nassau Park Pavilion and an arts festival in September.
“There’s always something going on. Our scheduling calendar is like a giant puzzle,” Black says.
WWAC has also expanded partnerships with other organizations. The Arts Center gallery is currently exhibiting artwork by the A-Team, a self-directed collective of artists supported by the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Proceeds from the corporate-sponsored gallery go to the artists.
WWAC has also established an annual fundraising event, beginning with a Mardi Gras gala last year and featuring a Brazilian Carnaval gala earlier this month that raised $27,000.
“I’m really proud of starting a signature fundraising event for the center. A lot people don’t realize we are a private nonprofit,” says Black, who has served in a three-quarter-time capacity. The new director will hold a full-time position.
Black jokingly advised the next executive director should get a lot of sleep before starting the job.
“There’s really space to put your own passion and personality into the job. People are hungry for authenticity, I would just say to the next director, go for it.”
The next executive director will have a big agenda item: WWAC’s expansion into adjacent vehicle bays currently occupied by township EMS vehicles.
Speaking before Council on February 9, Black said the Arts Council was operating at full capacity and limited by its existing space. Black noted the Art Council’s memorandum of understanding with the township, and Business Administrator Marlena Schmid confirmed funds have been allocated to hire an architect to evaluate converting the bay garages into usable space.
“I’m really glad to be developing and working with the township on the bays of the building, developing a good relationship with the mayor and all members of town council, making sure the legacy moves forward,” says Black. “In the future, WWAC is launching a capital campaign for the expansion of the arts center. I’d be interested from afar to see how the expansion manifests.”
