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The Bronzeville Center for the Arts’ star keeps climbing. Coming off their partnership with Sculpture Milwaukee, which saw them collaborate with celebrated new media artist Martine Syms, the arts nonprofit just appointed Ra Joy as executive director.
Joy comes to Milwaukee with extensive experience in the arts and public policy, most recently serving as chief of staff and senior advisor of the National Endowment for the Arts under President Joe Biden.
In his new role, Joy will lead planning, design and continued community engagement efforts for Bronzeville’s future African American arts museum, which is slated to be built at Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and West North Avenue. He will also oversee the continued activation of Gallery 507, the organization’s headquarters and home to exhibitions, makerspace opportunities, and artist engagement located at 507 W. North Ave.
“The arts are everywhere in Milwaukee,” Joy said in a statement. “You can see it in the architectural beauty of the Milwaukee Art Museum. You can hear it at SummerFest, one of the largest music festivals in the world. You can taste it in the city’s brewing traditions and diverse culinary arts scene. And you can certainly feel it in the momentum that’s building for culture and the arts in Bronzeville.”
Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Joy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and studied in the executive development program at the Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
In his role with the NEA in the Biden-Harris Administration, Joy worked at the nexus of federal arts policy, national cultural leadership and community-centered investment. Prior to his NEA role, he led Arts Alliance Illinois, a Chicago-based arts advocacy and service organization, for eight years. He also served as executive director of CHANGE Illinois, a nonpartisan, statewide coalition focused on systemic political and government reform.
“In Ra Joy, we have found a creative and collaborative leader who is deeply committed to our vision and mission,” Michael Morgan, chairman of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts board of directors, said in a statement. “With extensive experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, a strong commitment to the arts, and an engaging leadership style that emphasizes partnerships and collaboration, Ra is the ideal leader for a mission-driven organization with grassroots sensibilities and global aspirations.”
Since its founding in 2020, Bronzeville Center for the Arts has accelerated ongoing efforts to revitalize Bronzeville, operating with a mission to highlight, celebrate and empower African American art and artists and to build a welcoming, accessible cultural hub in Milwaukee’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood, whose borders are West Garfield Avenue on the south, West Center Street on the north, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to the east and North Seventh Street to the west.
The center’s milestones also include the the enlistment of a team of architects for the planned African American arts museum, including Michael Ford of Madison-based BrandNu Design Studio and self-proclaimed “Hip Hop Architect,” and Peter Cook of HGA, a national architectural firm with offices in Milwaukee, who was a lead design collaborator on the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
