Co-Executive Director Chad Herzog To Depart International Festival Of Arts & Ideas

Gordon Geballe, Board Chair of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, today announced that Co-Executive Director Chad Herzog, who joined the International Festival in 2015, will step down from his position later this summer, after the completion of Festival 2019, to become the Executive Director of UA Presents, the performing arts presenting organization in residence at the University of Arizona.

"In less than five years, Chad's visionary leadership, infectious enthusiasm for the performing arts, and his keen sense of global citizenship have enriched the lives of tens of thousands of Festival lovers from New Haven, across the region, and around the world," Geballe noted. "While we are sad to see Chad go, we are grateful for the opportunity to enjoy with him the programming he planned for this year's Festival before he leaves. He'll be greatly missed, but his new appointment is great news for the performing arts in our country."

"I'm so proud of the work I've had the opportunity to do with Liz Fisher and Tom Griggs, with whom I have had the pleasure of leading the Festival, our year-round staff, and the hundreds more employees and volunteers who join us year after year for the month of June," said Chad Herzog. "This year's Festival will be bittersweet for me, but I'm already looking forward to coming back next year as an audience member."

A search committee will be convened in the coming months. In the interim, Chad Herzog will provide consultation to Festival Co-Directors Liz Fisher and Tom Griggs on artistic programming for Festival 2020, the 25thAnniversary of Arts & Ideas, which is already underway.

The International Festival of Arts & Ideasis a year-round organization that culminates with an annual celebration of performing arts, lectures, and conversations each June in New Haven, Connecticut. The Festival convenes leading artists, thought leaders, and innovators from around the world for 15 days of dynamic public programs to engage, entertain, and inspire a diversity of communities. More than 80% of Festival programs are free to the public, including events that feature some of the most influential jazz, classical, dance, and theater artists of our time.

The Festival takes place in venues and open spaces in downtown New Haven, in the heart of the northeast corridor, two and a half hours south of Boston and ninety minutes north of New York City.

The Festival's programs have an impact throughout the year and include additional performances, educational opportunities, and the annual Visionary Leadership Award. The Festival was established in 1996, by Anne Calabresi, Jean M. Handley, and Roslyn Meyer. They envisioned an annual celebration in New Haven-a city steeped in a rich array of cultural and educational traditions-distinguished from other arts festivals by its fusion of the arts with events centered on sharing ideas.

The Festival is presented with major support from KeyBank, Comcast/NBC Connecticut, Yale University, The City of New Haven, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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