Arts Build Communities Coordinator
Melissa Moody joined the Tennessee Arts Commission in August of 2019 as the Arts Build Communities Coordinator. Working with the Director of Community Arts Development, Melissa administers the ABC Grant Program, which annually funds arts and cultural projects across the state in partnership with 13 designated agencies. She also contributes to the Commission’s efforts to support and develop local arts agencies as well as foster creative placemaking initiatives in Tennessee communities.
Before joining the Commission, Melissa served as the Grant Coordinator for the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, a regional arts council in the Greater Rochester, NY area. She administered the Genesee Valley Arts Grant Program, a Decentralization Regrant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. Melissa has a diverse background in the arts; Artist in Residence and Adjunct Faculty with the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL, Gallery Guide at the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, NY, and Preparator at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
Melissa holds a Master’s of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Ceramic Sculpture from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s of Science in Studio Art from Roberts Wesleyan College.
