The Commission welcomes new Arts Access Director
By Hal Partlow, Associate Director of Grants –
The Tennessee Arts Commission is extremely pleased to announce Kim Johnson as the new director for Arts Access. She brings to the Commission over twenty-five (25) years of nonprofit experience in program development & implementation, collaborative partnership building, outcome-based evaluation systems, grant reviewing & writing, project management and leadership development.
Previously, Kim served in Nashville as the former Director of Programs for the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM), where she created and implemented some of the first programs offered to the public for children and adults. Kim is also a former Vice President of Programs and Community Relations at the Scarritt-Bennett Center. Here she worked in areas of diversity, inclusion and interfaith issues while cultivating relationships within several multicultural groups. Additionally, she built the framework for two (2) new program areas: the “Women’s Table,” which examines the challenges of women globally and the “Wisdom House,” where people of different faiths come together and learn from each other. During that time, Kim also assisted in starting the Harambee Institute, which provides a place for people to start unlearning racism from an individual and institutional perspective.
Kim is known for her work as Co-Producer of the Celebration of Cultures festival (now known as Celebrate Nashville), Tennessee’s largest multicultural festival from 2005-2010. Since its creation, the festival has brought together over 50,000 Nashvillians from 40 different cultures to celebrate the rich diversity and cultural traditions embraced in the region. Kim serves on a variety of community volunteer boards and committees, including Leadership Donelson Hermitage and as a Mayor-appointed Commissioner for Metro Social Services.
The Arts Access program will benefit greatly from Kim’s broad experience and her commitment to community. Please join us in welcoming Kim.
