When it was announced that fund-raising powerhouse Bill Lively was leaving the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts to head up the Super Bowl effort for the Cowboys Death Star, those in know wondered who’d replace him. Now we know. Mark Nerenhausen comes to us from the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Full release after the jump. You heard it here first.
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Names Mark Nerenhausen as CEO
Broward Center for the Performing Arts CEO Appointed To Lead New Arts Center, Opening October 12, 2009
DALLAS (December 4, 2008) – The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts announced today that performing arts center veteran Mark Nerenhausen has been appointed the new chief executive officer of the Center. An innovative leader in the industry, Nerenhausen has served as President and CEO of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the past 10 years. Nerenhausen, who will begin in his new role in March 2009, comes to North Texas in time to oversee the October 2009 opening and ongoing operation of the $354 million Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.
Known for his signature collaborative approach to arts management, Nerenhausen has pioneered a new national model for cultural organizations, with the Broward Center now recognized as one of the top venues in the world and a catalyst for tourism, economic development, education, industry leadership and cross cultural exchange.
“We are fortunate to have secured someone of Mark Nerenhausen’s experience, talent, dedication and vision to lead the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts,” said Howard Hallam, chair of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. “Our capital campaign has been enormously successful in raising the funds to build a world-class performing arts center. With Mark at the helm, we are now well-prepared to transition from a fundraising enterprise to a performing arts center that plays a vital role in our community and the region.”
With multiple signature venues designed by world-renowned architects surrounded by a 10-acre urban park, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts completes the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. Featuring hundreds of diverse performances each year, the Center is expected to draw up to 800,000 visitors in its opening year.
The most significant new performing arts center to be created since New York City’s Lincoln Center opened 50 years ago, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will provide state-of-the-art performance spaces for resident companies The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center, Texas Ballet Theater, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. TITAS, the Dallas presenter of highly acclaimed touring music and dance companies, will also present its season at the Center. In addition, the Center will present a full range of programs, including Lexus Broadway at the Center, the Brinker International Forum, a concert series, family programs and more.
The selection of Mark Nerenhausen completes the extensive national search for the Center’s chief executive officer. Led by a committee of the Center’s Board members under the direction of Board chair Howard Hallam, the Center interviewed candidates from around the country.
During Nerenhausen’s tenure, the Broward Center has seen annual attendance of more than 700,000 and more than 650 performances and events each year. Its main concert hall, the Au-Rene Theater, has consistently ranked in the top 10 venues in the world when judged by ticket sales, according to leading industry publications Pollstar and Venues Today.
Among his many accomplishments, Nerenhausen initiated an alliance with local merchants and cultural attractions that would become the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District which now draws approximately one million ticketed visitors each year. He has taken a visionary role of forging community and international partnerships, promoting economic development through multi-cultural activities and events that embrace the diversity of the region.
Under Nerenhausen’s direction, the Broward Center has built on successful education initiatives established in partnership with the School Board of Broward County to develop the largest free arts in education program in the country. Having served more than two million students to date, these initiatives include the award-winning SEAS (Student Exchange in the Arts) program that reaches 150,000 students and teachers annually.
“What attracted me to this project is the incredible support and careful planning that have gone into the Center from the outset. Dallas is now uniquely positioned to have an unprecedented cultural impact and a lasting legacy that will benefit generations,” said Mark Nerenhausen. “A performing arts center can have a transformational effect on a community, from education to economic and urban development, and I am looking forward to helping shape the impact the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will have on the North Texas region.”
Bill Lively, the current president and CEO of the Center, will transition into a new role as president of the Center’s Endowment Trust beginning January 1, 2009. Lively will continue to lead the Center’s capital campaign, which has raised more than $334 million to date, while simultaneously raising funds for programming and operations, and launching the Center’s endowment campaign. The campaign for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is the largest capital campaign for cultural facilities in the history of Dallas.
The campaign to build the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will continue through the end of 2009 during which time the Center and its volunteers and staff will continue to raise the remaining funds required to design, construct and equip the Center and all of its venues and endowment to ensure the integrity of the Center’s long-term operation.
About Mark Nerenhausen
Mark Nerenhausen has more than 25 years of experience as an arts administrator. He is currently the President and CEO of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Center, including operations, planning, programming and financial affairs. The Broward Center provides performance spaces for Broadway, opera, ballet, family programs, theater, world music, contemporary dance, pop artists and more and is home to renowned companies including Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, Symphony of the Americas, Concert Association of South Florida, and Gold Coast Jazz Society.
Prior to the Broward Center, Mr. Nerenhausen served as executive director of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Hawaii for five years, where he developed and guided business and operations plans for a visual and performing arts complex. He has also served as the executive director of the Oshkosh Grand Opera House in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the Bijou Theater Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Mr. Nerenhausen received an MA in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Business in Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Nerenhausen serves as an adjunct professor in the Nova Southeastern University Graduate School of Business in Florida in the arts management program. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2008 Leader of the Year from the Leadership Broward Foundation Inc. and the Diamond Award from the South Florida Business Journal.
About the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts:
The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theatre and dance will open in 2009, completing the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. The $354 million Center will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than ten acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that will be unparalleled in the world. The Center will feature the following:
· The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed in a modern horseshoe configuration, will seat 2,200 (with capacity up to 2,300), designed by Foster + Partners.
· The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre will serve as a gateway to the Dallas Arts District from the downtown Dallas business center and will seat 600, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
· The completely new Annette Strauss Artist Square will be the Center’s outdoor entertainment venue, which can accommodate audiences of up to 5,000, designed by Foster + Partners.
· The City Performance Hall will provide main stage production space for many of Dallas’ smaller performing arts organizations, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
· The Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park will unify the venues and will create a dynamic cultural destination in downtown Dallas.
· Two underground parking structures will accommodate more than 850 vehicles.
More information on the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is available at www.dallasperformingarts.org .
