The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
New executive director named at Fairmount
Jeannie Fleming-Gifford has been named executive director of Fairmount Center for the Arts.
Fleming-Gifford most recently served as director of education and lead director at The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby.
“I am extremely thrilled to make this crucial announcement,” said Matthew Figgie, chairman of the Fairmount Center for the Arts, which is based in Russell Township. “Jeannie’s extraordinary accomplishments, commitment to multidiscipline arts education, recognition of Fairmount’s historic and iconic legacy, and longstanding impact make her uniquely and perfectly
qualified to lead our treasured organization into the future. This is a grand slam. We’re dually focused. There are no egos.
“I am greatly looking forward to working with her and all members of our beloved Fairmount family to continue to help Fairmount flourish, to expand its role as a regional crown jewel of performing arts, and to become even more relevant and important in our community.”
Fleming-Gifford was one of 30 candidates to apply, with only 12 interviewed by Fairmount’s board.
At the end of the process, Figgie said there was no applicant who was even a close second.
“Jeannie and I will be in close collaboration on all strategic, operational and financial goals,” he added. “Her fit and our chemistry are great. She uses both sides of her brain. She’s sharp financially and in business, and she’s down with the arts, too. She can do it all. We’re going to be a great one-two punch.”
As a nonprofit arts administrator,
Fleming-Gifford, who resides in Willoughby and grew up in Brewster, Ohio, brings more than 20 years of arts management experience.
She has developed creative arts-based programs, supported core academic goals, increased earned and contributed revenues, and overseen hundreds of
programs that now engage more than 1,400 people, from infants to senior citizens, in the arts each week.
“For me, the transition to Fairmount is very exciting and continues to allow me to be a good advocate for the arts,” she said. “We’re going to make sure the arts remain a core part of the community here. It’s
not about teaching skills that are outside the box, it’s about introducing and teaching the arts to new students and providing the skills to make those students better people.”
Fleming-Gifford also has worked with the Center for Arts Inspired Learning, formerly Young Audiences; the Columbus Symphony
Orchestra; and COSI Columbus, among others. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Akron and credits her own artistic path as a testament to the overall benefit of the arts.
“I’m so proud to come from a two-light stop town and to have been able to hold multiple artistic and professional positions,” she said. “The outcome has been super exciting because I’ve had the opportunity as a musician (French horn) and artist, and administrator, to make an impact in the arts world. I am thrilled to death to live this life. If you find your passion, you will find a way to make a living out of it.
“I will miss Fine Arts so much, it’s all bittersweet, and I am absolutely filled with gratitude for my time working with the faculty, staff and students there. Fine Arts will continue to move forward to make sure arts are a core part of the community.”
Figgie noted that the first priority for FlemingGifford is to build on Fairmount’s most recent and notable success — in November, Fairmount’s finest performers danced on the nationally acclaimed stage at Connor Palace theater in
Playhouse Square.
“We’ll put $100,000 into the facilities that won’t have to come from fundraising or grants,” he said. “I want Jeannie to hit the ground running, and I know she will. She’s going to go on the offense. She’s got a number of fabulous ideas and we’re going to keep the firepower behind her. When the center grows up, we want it to be like The Fine Arts Association, and we couldn’t have asked for a better person to help us do it.”
Fairmount Center for the Arts was established in 1971 by Ron and Jan Kumin, who wanted to turn their vision of a community arts center into a reality by providing a variety of artistic programming, including visual arts, dance, music and theater.
The center offers lessons, classes and camps for all skill levels and ages.
Fairmount Dance Theatre, one of its signature programs, offers a progressive, curriculum-based program of ballet, pointe, tap, jazz and contemporary, with an introduction to acrobatics.
Fairmount Center for the Arts is located at 8400 Fairmount Road. For more information, visit www.fairmountcenter.org or call 440-338-3171.