Member News and NASAA Resources

Kristin Pleasanton Is Acting Director in Delaware

Kristin Pleasanton has been named acting director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. She joined the agency in 1999 as the art & artist services coordinator and became the deputy director in 2013. Her experience has included grants administration, state gallery management, state partnerships, special events, training and development, community engagement, and visual arts initiatives. Pleasanton has a bachelor of arts degree in art history from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in art history and museum studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. She spent several years teaching art history as an adjunct professor at Delaware State University. Pleasanton succeeds Paul Weagraff, who stepped down at the end of July.

NASAA People of Color Affinity Group Meetings

NASAA’s People of Color Affinity Group leaders are developing a plan to convene participants for two meetings this fall and winter. The group is led by cochairs Abigail Gómez, chair of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and Encarnacion Teruel, deputy director of the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and by advisor and NASAA board member Carla DuPree. This members-led group is open to all state arts agency and regional arts organization staff and council members who identify as persons of color. The purpose of the group is to connect people of color within the state arts agency field to each other, and ensure a safe and brave space within the larger body of NASAA membership for members of color to support each other as well as provide counsel to NASAA on topics related to our diversity, equity and inclusion portfolio. If you would like to join the People of Color Affinity Group, please contact NASAA’s Marisa Summers.

New Paradigms for Artist Support

Join NASAA and a diverse group of experts on Thursday, August 26, from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Eastern for New Paradigms for Artist Support, a roundtable discussion of the hurdles and frustrations that artists—especially BIPOC artists—face when trying to access resources. The dialogue will center on the structures, skills and resources artists need to thrive and what this past year may have provided to guide new models of support. Register for New Paradigms for Artist Support today! This session, the fifth in the NASAA 2021 Learning Series, is free and open to the staff and council/board members of state arts agencies and regional arts organizations.

Shout Out to Our NASAA Champions

Our monthly donors—or NASAA Champions—are a special group. They share our commitment to building a sustainable future for state arts agencies and the arts, and we’re so grateful. Ongoing support from Champions provides stability that NASAA can count on to help carry out our mission and create long-lasting results for state arts agencies.

You, too, can be a NASAA Champion! When you spread your gift out throughout the year, even small, affordable donations end up making a real long-term impact.

Consider this: if 15 people from every state and territory made a monthly gift of just $10, NASAA would receive more than $100,000 to support our advocacy, research and networking services. That’s huge! That’s what we can do together. Please become a Champion today and donate monthly. Thank you!