BCA Announces Kristi Keefe As New
Chief Executive Officer; Wishes Emily Foster Day Well In Her New Position;
Welcomes Zaquia Mahler Salinas As New Member of Senior Team
Kristi Keefe to become BCA Chief
Executive Officer as her fellow Co-Executive Director Emily Foster Day departs
to Massachusetts College of Art and Design. BCA also welcomes Zaquia Mahler
Salinas as its new Senior Director of Artist Programs & Residencies.
BOSTON, MA — Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) has
some important leadership news! Kristi Keefe, the current BCA Co-Executive
Director will become Chief Executive Officer of BCA. BCA Co-Executive Director
Emily Foster Day (she/her) is transitioning from BCA to Massachusetts College
of Art and Design to assume the role of Vice President of Advancement and
Executive Director of the MassArt Foundation. BCA is also thrilled to welcome
Zaquia Mahler Salinas (she/her) as its new Senior Director of Artist Programs
& Residencies.
Keefe
has been at BCA for over 20 years, serving as Interim Director in 2016, Chief
Operating Officer from 2016–2019, and Co-Executive Director since 2019. Keefe
will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer in mid-April, 2024. Since 2019,
both Keefe and Foster Day have led BCA through a series of challenges — most
profoundly the COVID-19 pandemic — and together subsequently shepherded the
safe and successful reopening of the organization in 2021. During Foster Day’s
nine-year tenure, BCA has also seen an expansion of its programming, including
the inception of the ACTivate Residency, the BCA Studio Residency, the highly
popular Boston Art Book Fair, and #HellaBlack. And under their joint
leadership, BCA has committed to a profound transformative re-alignment of its
service to Boston’s artists and audiences that is deeply rooted in racial
equity.
“I am
delighted to announce Kristi Keefe as Chief Executive Officer for BCA,” said
Jennifer Pinck, Chair of the BCA Board of Directors. “Kristi’s tenure at BCA
lends her the knowledge, experience, and commitment to the organization that
will be critical to our success in the coming years. As Co-Executive Director
since 2019 Kristi has navigated BCA through unchartered territory and has been
instrumental in positioning BCA for a promising future. I want to also thank
Emily for the leadership, creativity, and innovation she has shown this past
decade. Her contributions to BCA have been incredible and I wish her well in
her next position at MassArt.”
“It
has been an honor to work in partnership with Emily for the past nine years,
and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished as Co-Executive
Directors,” said Keefe. “Emily has helped create innovative ways to expand our
residencies for all artists and aligned our programming with our vision for
racial equity. I’m excited to work with such a strong senior leadership team,
staff, and board to deepen the work we have jointly undertaken over the past
five years. I look forward to more fully aligning our physical spaces with our
core residencies and expanding our partnerships so we can make Boston a vibrant
space for all artists.”
“Kristi
and I have always shared the unshakeable belief that BCA is a unique and
special place,” said Foster Day. “And that this organization has an essential
role to play in our vision to help make Boston a place where artists can live
and thrive. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Kristi and a dedicated and
passionate staff and board, all of whom show up each day with energy,
creativity, and care.”
BCA is
also thrilled to welcome Zaquia Mahler Salinas (she/her) as our Senior Director
of Artist Programs & Residencies. As a Senior Director, Mahler Salinas is
now also the fourth
member of the senior leadership team who are all supporting Keefe during this leadership
transition. Mahler Salinas will also play a key role on the senior leadership
team to ensure that BCA programs align with the strategic vision of the
organization and the professional needs of Boston-based performing and visual
artists at its center. Mahler Salinas will also provide leadership over several
signature initiatives, including core residency programs in visual arts, dance,
and theatre; short-duration lab residencies in dance and interdisciplinary
arts; signature community events like the Boston Art Book Fair and #HellaBlack;
and free year-round public programs and exhibitions.
“We
are very excited to welcome someone as accomplished and talented as Zaquia to
BCA,” said Keefe. “Her vision and deep experience building programs that create
access and equity in the arts will further strengthen our residencies and
programs. Her leadership in this role will make BCA even more effective in
helping Boston’s artists thrive.”
Mahler
Salinas is a Chicanx/Palestinian dance artist, educator, and arts administrator
hailing from San Diego. She believes that revolution is possible through a
collective awakening to mindful art practice, and that artists are critical for
building a better world. Her work is grounded in emergent strategy, community,
and the magic of collaboration.
"I
am grateful for this opportunity to join the BCA community, and develop a
meaningful relationship with the Boston arts scene,” said Mahler Salinas. “I am
looking forward to supporting the vision for artist programs at BCA,
particularly exploring the possibilities for transformative artist residency
experiences that instigate thoughtful engagement with the larger arts scene and
the greater Boston community."
Mahler
Salinas holds a BA in Dance from UC Santa Barbara, an MFA in Dance: Creative
Practice from Saint Mary’s College of California, and a certificate in
Nonprofit Management from the University of San Diego. In 2018, Zaquia
co-founded DISCO RIOT, a nonprofit movement-arts organization that works to
support independent dance artists while advancing the dance scene in San Diego
and beyond. She has been awarded various artistic residencies, including a 2019
residency in Bethlehem, Palestine where she focused on dance as a form of
cultural, embodied resistance.
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