FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lewiston, Maine, August 1, 2022 – The Board of Directors of LA Arts is pleased to announce that Gerald Walsh has been selected as its new Arts Agency Manager.
Walsh, a visual artist, received his MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and has exhibited his work across the Northeast for the past two decades. He has taught at several art schools, as well as Central Maine Community College and has done curatorial work for private galleries; he currently works as an Art Preparator at the Bates College Museum of Art. He was also sole Proprietor and Baker at Knead Bakery and worked as a Lead Baker at Forage Market. Walsh who has served on the Boards of Museum L-A and LA Arts, brings extensive experience in visual and performing arts, art installation, entrepreneurship, and community engagement to this role. His love for supporting Maine artists, craftspeople, performing artists, and makers rounds out his expertise.
“I am more encouraged than ever by the LA Arts mission to engage and inspire a vibrant community through arts and culture. I see potential everywhere and look forward to advancing the organization’s strategic work in this exciting arts landscape,” says Walsh.
James Parakilas, Chair of the LA Arts Board, adds: “Gerald will bring a terrific combination of professionalism, vision, imagination, and arts advocacy to this role. We look forward to working with him to grow our programs in the coming years, particularly as we move into our new space at 168 Lisbon Street this fall.”
Walsh lives in Lewiston, with his wife Sherie Blumenthal and their two children.
Walsh succeeds Alison Gibbs, who joined LA Arts as Office and Communications Manager in 2019 and has played a pivotal role in extending the organization’s reach into the whole community, especially with its public art program, and in sustaining the organization’s initiatives through the COVID-19 pandemic. Gibbs will continue to play an important role at LA Arts as a Board member.
Since 1973, LA Arts, the arts agency for the cities of Lewiston and Auburn Maine, has pursued a mission to engage and inspire a vibrant community through arts and culture. The agency works with governments, businesses, schools and local arts and cultural organizations to create opportunities for community members across the generations to experience, learn, and participate in the arts. LA Arts organizes arts programs and initiatives, supports the work of local artists and arts organizations, and highlights the essential role the arts play in shaping an economically vital, socially integrated, and forward-looking future for its community. Learn more at www.laarts.org.