With over two decades of experience leading bold cultural initiatives and organizations, Newman-Scott will spearhead Knight’s arts program nationally and across Knight cities

Miami – (Jan. 14, 2025) – Knight Foundation today announced that arts and culture leader Kristina Newman-Scott will join the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as its new vice president for arts. In the role, Newman-Scott will oversee Knight Foundation’s expansive arts portfolio, which has invested over $466 million since 2005 to help artists and arts organizations create stronger and more vibrant communities. 

“Kristina’s passionate belief in the power of the arts to build and strengthen community is inspiring. She deeply understands the positive effect of a thriving arts ecosystem on local economies,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, Knight Foundation president and CEO. “And she is an energetic champion of local artists and organizations building communities in which everyone can participate. I could not be more delighted to welcome Kristina to Knight Foundation.”

“Knight Foundation is an industry-leading funder within the arts, with a proven track record of meaningful and sustainable impact for the populations it serves,” said Kristina Newman-Scott, Knight Foundation’s new vice president for arts. “I’ve worked across every corner of the art world, from practicing artist to curator to administrator, and I bring a multidisciplinary approach that meets arts organizations and artists where they’re at in their journey. I’m thrilled to join an organization with a clear devotion to this work and such a rich history of results. I look forward to building on Knight Foundation’s incredible legacy.”

Newman-Scott will advance Knight’s funding strategy to amplify and accelerate the transformation of arts in Knight cities and across the United States. The foundation’s programs, including Knight New Work and Knight Art + Tech Expansion, fund local art initiatives across eight Knight cities: Akron, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit; Macon, Georgia; Miami; Philadelphia; San Jose, California; and St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Knight Foundation has focused its arts and culture funding on grants that enable artists and arts institutions nationwide to introduce new technologies and ways to deepen experiences, engage new audiences, and inspire new works. This includes financing that supports new installations, develops emerging practices and understanding of the sector through fellowships, forums, and research, and increases organizations’ overall capacity by enabling planning and staffing for technical infrastructure.

Newman-Scott most recently served as the inaugural executive director of the Jerome L. Greene Performance Art Space at New York Public Radio/WNYC. A leader in contemporary visual and performing arts with over 20 years of experience, she currently serves on the boards of Americans for the Arts, the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission for the City of New York and National Arts Strategies, the latter two as chair. Her past leadership positions include serving as president of BRIC, an arts and media organization in Brooklyn; director of culture for the State of Connecticut; director of programs at the Boston Center for the Arts; and director of visual arts at Real Art Ways. She has been named one of City and State New York‘s Telecommunications Power 50 individuals shaping New York’s digital future, an Observer’s NYC Arts Power 50 and a Next City Urban Vanguard. Newman-Scott worked as a practicing artist in Jamaica, her home country, for a decade before moving to the U.S. in 2005.

Kristina Newman-Scott