In a report from the Knight Foundation, the Miami-based organization announced that Kristina Newman-Scott, a legendary Jamaican artist, will oversee the organization’s vast arts portfolio.
The new vice president, Newman-Scott, will oversee a new portfolio of US$466M to support artists and arts organizations in building more resilient and lively communities through their skills. In addition, it will help enable artists throughout the country to use new and innovative technologies and methods to enhance experiences, engage new audiences, and inspire new works.
Maribel Perez Wadsworth, Knight’s Foundation President and CEO, commented on Kristina Newman-Scott’s achievement. She said, “Newman-Scott understands the power of the arts to build and strengthen the community and its inspiring effect.
“She deeply understands the positive effects of a thriving arts ecosystem on local economics. She is an energetic champion of local artists and organizations, building communities where everyone can participate. I could not be more delighted to welcome Kristina to the Knight Foundation.”
For her part, Newman-Scott described the Knight Foundation as an industry-leading funder within the arts, with a proven track record of meaningful and sustainable impact for the populations it serves.
She further explained, “I have worked across every corner of the art world, from practicing artists to curators to administrators. I bring a multidisciplinary approach that meets arts organizations and artists where they are in their professional journey. I am thrilled to join an organization with a clear devotion to this work and such a rich history of results.
I look forward to building on Knight’s Foundation’s incredible legacy.”
Kristina Newman-Scott graduated from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica, with a bachelor’s in fine arts.
For over 20 years of leadership in the arts in New York City, she was named one of the 2020’s Observer in NYCity Arts Power 50 and 2021 City and State NY Power 50, helping shape New York’s digital future.
Newman-Scott has also worked extensively in a vast network in the New York City cultural world. Her experience has also taken her to function as the Director of Culture for the State of Connecticut, where she oversaw all arts, preservation, and cultural initiatives in the state.
The Knight Foundation was established in 1950 and has invested in journalism, the arts, and civic innovation for over 70 years to help create, inform, and reform communities through various cultural spheres.
