The word is out!

At our 30th Anniversary Cabaret this past Saturday, we officially announced two major changes happening at AS220.

1. Our founder and (until recently) Artistic Director, Umberto Crenca, has stepped out of his leadership role in the organization and has passed that baton (literally) to our NEW Artistic Director, Sheyla Rivera, who has been with AS220 for over 5 years now, most recently serving as Director of Programs.

Crenca has since assumed the title of “Founder Plenipotentiary” (look it up) and will be focusing on growing AS220’s non-profit arts consultancy, Practice//Practice, and will also be engaged in matters around real estate and development at AS220. In between THOSE things, he’ll also be drawing and making art in the window of our Main Stage at 115 Empire Street. Stop by and catch him sometime!

2. Our Managing Director, Aaron Peterman, who has been with AS220 since 2011, will be taking a well-deserved leave of us to explore other opportunities! We love him and cannot thank him enough for his hard and tireless work in service to AS220.

Stepping into the Managing Director’s chair is oh-so-talented Shauna Duffy! Shauna brings over 8 years of professional accounting experience to this job and has also served as a member and Treasurer of AS220’s Board of Directors.

Rivera and Duffy will be leading AS220 as a newly-formed Co-Directorship, with both positions directly accountable to AS220’s Board of Directors, transitioning away from AS220’s historical founder-led model.

There has been significant media attention about this, and AS220’s 30th, over the past week! You can read about it at the Providence Journal, listen to Shey and Bert’s interview with Rhode Island Public Radio, and watch us on the Rhode Show and Dan Yorke State of Mind!