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Center for the Arts at Kayenta

Center for the Arts at Kayenta Announces Its Exciting 2023 Season with New Executive Director, Miranda Wright

The future of the Center for the Arts at Kayenta (CFAK) is brighter than ever and so is the spring season of performances. The upcoming 2023 season features thoughtful and exciting music, storytelling, theater, the immensely popular Voyager Lecture Series, and a unique immersive and interactive installation produced by professional artists from across the country. Also returning this spring are the Street Painting Festival and Festival of the Americas. CFAK looks forward to bringing these and other incredible and unique performances to the community.

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In the fall of 2022, CFAK and the Kayenta Arts Foundation (KAF) announced the appointment of new executive director Miranda Wright, who will introduce her programming to Kayenta audiences in March 2023. Her appointment concludes a search of applicants from across the United States. “Miranda has a very strong vision for the next stage of the Center’s growth,” said Rob Goodman, KAF board chair. “We are all very excited to see what new artistic heights CFAK will reach under her leadership.”

Miranda Wright

As executive director, Wright will handle both the artistic and strategic aspects of CFAK, which include building and expanding the CFAK legacy through long-term planning and visioning, increasing visibility, expanding and diversifying the talent used at CFAK, and increasing the capacity to reach a broader audience.

Wright grew up in St. George, Utah, and attended Southern Utah University before moving to Los Angeles in 2006. Over the past decade, she has worked closely with remarkable theater and dance artists in Los Angeles and New York to produce boundarypushing and engaging performances that have toured worldwide. Many of these internationally renowned artists will visit southern Utah for the first time as part of the new artistic direction of the Center, which will feature virtuosic dance performances, awardwinning professional theater, and immersive installations.

Wright has an extensive background in performing arts. She founded Los Angeles Performance Practice in 2010 and the Live Arts Exchange [LAX] Festival in 2013. In Los Angeles, she worked with Center Theatre Group, Center for the Art of Performance (CAP) UCLA, and CalArts Center for New Performance. She was the recipient of Center Theatre Group’s Richard E. Sherwood Award in 2014 and awarded a Cultural Exchange International Fellowship to work with Arts Admin in London in 2015 by the City of Los Angeles and the British Council. She is a founding member of the Creative & Independent Producers Alliance (CIPA) and the International Presenting Commons (IPC). Wright holds a certificate from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University, an MFA in producing from California Institute of the Arts, and an executive MBA from Hult International Business School.

“Life is full of surprises, and while I honestly did not imagine my career taking me back to my hometown, I am nothing but enthusiastic about this incredible opportunity to return to the St. George area,” said Wright. “Since leaving in 2006, I have traveled the world, formed amazing relationships with award-winning artists, and actively participated in national and global networks of professionals who are dedicated to the art of performance. I truly can’t wait to introduce artists and global colleagues to the natural landscapes and welcoming culture of Kayenta and Washington County. I look forward to meeting the audiences and artists living in southern Utah and to bringing dynamic and electrifying programming to our communities.” Miranda Wright

About Kayenta Arts Foundation and The Center For the Arts at Kayenta:

Kayenta Arts Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and create an environment where diverse artistic endeavors can flourish. The Center for the Arts at Kayenta (CFAK) is our beautiful black box theater that brings our mission to the community. Southern Utahns come to CFAK to learn, express, appreciate, and celebrate art in all its forms. The Kayenta Arts Foundation is supported in part by funding from Washington County and Ivins City RAP funds. KAF is also supported in part by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Come, be a part of the art at Kayenta.

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