“In every place he’s been, Johann Zietsman has lived up to a reputation for bridging racial, ethnic and cultural divides through the arts while running a tight administrative ship,” writes Andres Viglucci in last Tuesday’s (11/13) Miami Herald. In February, “Zietsman is taking over as president and CEO of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts…. Zietsman said his focus at the Arsht will be to make it an unstuffy, inclusive center of city life, and not just for devotees of its Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony mainstays, whose audiences he also hopes to expand. ‘I will try really hard to make it more open,” he said…. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez [said], ‘I am particularly impressed with his track record for making the arts accessible … and with his ability to balance exciting and diverse programming with fiscally sound operations.’ ” Zietsman, a native of South Africa, currently heads the Arts Commons, a performing arts center in Calgary, Canada, and was previously CEO of the International Society for the Performing Arts in New York and director of the Mesa Arts Center in Arizona. He has headed music schools, youth orchestras, and community initiatives in South Africa.
Posted November 21, 2018
