Tuesday (11/20) on the Los Angeles Times blog Culture Monster, Deborah Vankin writes, “National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman announced his retirement Tuesday effective at the end of the year—but not without a sense of humor. ‘The time has come for me to become a cliché: I turned 65, am going to retire, and cannot wait to spend more time in Miami Beach,’ Landesman said in a statement released by the NEA. Landesman—a Tony Award-winning producer of, among other hits, Mel Brooks’ ‘The Producers,’ looked back on his three-year term in the statement: ‘My intention has always been to serve one term, and we have been able to accomplish more than I had ever thought possible: sparking a national movement around creative placemaking, forging significant relationships with other federal agencies, creating an unprecedented healing arts partnership with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and increasing both the scope and impact of our research office. … We have continued to support and strengthen the entire spectrum of arts in this country, and we have been able to expand the national conversation through convenings, traditional media, and new technology.’ The NEA, a federal agency that supports and funds the arts, has appointed Joan Shigekawa, senior deputy chairman, to fill Landesman’s role until a permanent successor is found.”
Posted November 21, 2012
