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Carnegie Gallery Director Bill Seitz to Retire
(COVINGTON) January 22, 2013 – Bill Seitz, Gallery Director at The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, has announced that he will retire on March 4, 2013. Seitz has been with The Carnegie since 1995.
A working artist for more than 26 years, Seitz’s post-Carnegie plans are to return to life as a full-time artist. He will stay on with The Carnegie in a part-time role after March 4, assisting with the remainder of the 2012-2013 Gallery Season and helping with the on-boarding of his successor.
“Bill is so much more than the Gallery Director at The Carnegie,” said Katie Brass, The Carnegie’s Executive Director. “He is a part of who we are as an organization – he is the keeper of The Carnegie’s institutional history, our story collector, our go-to person for creative ideas. While we are excited for him and this next stage of his arts career, we are of course selfishly sad to see him step down.”
Under Seitz’s direction The Carnegie Galleries have flourished, providing a venue for thousands of artists to show their work. Curating more than 500 exhibitions during his seventeen-plus years as Gallery Director, Seitz not only provided a venue for local and regional artists, but also brought national exhibitions to the region such as those of The Colored Pencil Society and The Brewster Kaleidoscope Society. He was also the driving force behind signature exhibitions like The Art of Food and The Art of Hair.
“I’ve loved every minute of working for The Carnegie,” said Seitz. “It’s been a wonderful journey and a privilege to work with so many great artists, and of course The Carnegie team and all of our wonderful patrons.”
While Seitz is sad to leave the role of Gallery Director of The Carnegie, he is excited to embark on the next phase of his arts career –focusing on his artwork. “Because I’ve worked as a gallery director for so long – both in corporate and private capacities, as well as at The Carnegie – a lot of people don’t realize that I have my Master’s in Fine Art and that I am myself, an artist,” said Seitz. “My plans are to still lend myself out to curating shows from time to time, but what I’m really looking forward to is getting back into my studio and just letting the creativity flow.”
Seitz’ last exhibition as The Carnegie’s Gallery Director will be The Art of Food, which opens March 1, running through March 21, 2013.
About The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center
The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center is a multidisciplinary arts venue serving the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. Over the course of the past 10 years The Carnegie has “morphed” from a grassroots gallery with an education component into an all-inclusive arts organization offering professional theatre, art exhibitions showcasing the best of local and regional artists, and a comprehensive arts education program.
The Carnegie is home to the Carnegie Galleries, comprised of more than 6,000 square feet of gallery space where emerging and established artists exhibit in multiple shows throughout the year; the Eva G. Farris Education Center, which provides arts education to thousands of children, many of whom are at or below the poverty level; and the newly renovated 465-seat Otto M. Budig Theatre, which offers an affordable theatre space for local, up-and coming and established production companies and is home to The Carnegie’s Theatre and Concert Series. The Carnegie is the largest arts venue in Northern Kentucky. For more information, visit www.thecarnegie.com or call (859) 491-2030.
The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center receives ongoing operating support from ArtsWave, Kenton County Fiscal Courts, the Kentucky Arts Council and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. / US Bank Foundation.