Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher has named Mitch Menchaca executive director of the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture, overseeing an over $4.7 million budget that provides grant funding and other support to numerous arts and culture organizations, designs and builds public art throughout the city, and provides technical support to artists Mitch Menchaca, pictured, is named Executive Director of Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture.and arts organizations.
Menchaca’s appointment marks a return to Phoenix. In 2009, he relocated from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. to lead the Local Arts Advancement Department at Americans for the Arts, where he guided a team of professionals serving and advancing the nation’s 5,000 local arts agencies by delivering programs and services in the areas of public art, arts education, cultural planning, leadership development, and civic engagement. Prior to 2009, he served as the senior director of grants and programs at the Arizona Commission on the Arts, with a focus on grant making, program budgeting and constituent relations. Menchaca garnered executive leadership by most recently serving as executive director for the Association of California Symphony Orchestras and previously serving as the first chief operating officer for Chorus America.
“Mitch brings a wide breadth of arts leadership to this new role, ranging from grants management to program evaluation and audience development, all areas key to the support and growth of our creative community,” Zuercher noted.
Menchaca is the past chairman of The Association of American Cultures (TAAC); president of the Robert E. Gard Foundation; is on the advisory board for SMU DataArts (formally the Cultural Data Project); and has served on many statewide, regional, and national grant panels including the National Endowment for the Arts.
“It is an honor to be able to serve the arts community of Phoenix, the place I call home. The city’s vibrant artists and innovative community organizations are truly what makes Phoenix a great place to live,” said Menchaca. “Learning about the needs of our community and how arts and culture can serve them is a top priority, as I embark on this new adventure."
