I am happy to announce that Dena Beard, M.A., has been named the new Executive Director of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).

Recognized for her distinguished perspective and approach in the experimental media and performing arts fields, Dena joins RPI from Brooklyn College, where she was Director of the iconic Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of The Lab, the cultural landmark in San Francisco for experimental and avant-garde music.

Dena will guide and deliver on the mission of EMPAC as a world-class, unique performance and research center where the arts, science, and technology intersect, creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for faculty, staff, students, and the community.

Her extensive experience in the arts, and entrepreneurial thinking, combined with her passion for innovation and community engagement, make her the ideal person to lead EMPAC into the future. Under her directorship, EMPAC will continue to support the realization of pioneering artwork and research, and we will expand our reach, deepen community partnerships, and solidify the center’s position as a global leader.

A seasoned arts leader and curator, Dena has a long history of working with artists to create groundbreaking and socially relevant projects. Many of these explore the nexus of art, performance, and social justice. Artists she has worked with include: Lutz Bacher, Sadie Barnette, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Ellen Fullman, Dora García, Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork, Anna Halprin, Asher Hartman, Annea Lockwood, Barry McGee, Silke Otto-Knapp, Brontez Purnell, Wadada Leo Smith, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Dena received her M.A. in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture/Studio Art from Scripps College.

I’d like to thank May Lee, J.D., Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Institutional Impact, and Rebecca Doerge, Ph.D., Provost, for leading the search committee.

This international executive search was guided by the Arts Consulting Group, and Dena will officially begin her role as Executive Director of EMPAC on October 31, 2024. 

Please join me in welcoming Dena Beard to RPI.