After a nationwide search for a new director, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) has chosen Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Bay Area performing artist, activist and educator.
Since 1999, Joseph has been the founding program director and artistic director of Youth Speaks, Inc. in San Francisco, the leading nonprofit presenter of spoken-word education and youth development programs in the country.
Joseph also developed the Living Word Project, Youth Speaks’ a renowned resident theater program that centers on cutting-edge, verse-based work. In addition, he is the co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals designed to activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life through hip-hop arts and focused environmental action.
A nationally acclaimed educator and essayist, Joseph has lectured at more than 200 colleges and universities. He has served as the artistic director of Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices, a seven-part documentary for HBO and is a popular speaker on National Public Radio. His numerous accolades include being named one of Smithsonian magazine’s America’s Top Young Innovators in the Arts, being the inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, which annually recognizes 50 of the country’s “greatest living artists”, and receiving the 2011 Alpert Award in Theater.
“Marc has a particularly unique perspective on performing arts that will be very invigorating for us,” said Kenneth Foster, YBCA’s executive director. “YBCA has a huge commitment to diverse points of view, and Marc’s outlook will create a vital and vibrant mix of thoughts, opinions and ideas about the artistic trajectory of the organization.”
“Another one of Marc’s strengths is his deep relationship with the community,” continued Foster. “He’s absolutely committed to the Bay Area and has developed his national and international reputation as a Bay Area artist. He is an extraordinary individual and we’re thrilled to have him join us.”
Joseph, who is currently performing with his production of Word Becomes Flesh at The Public Theater in New York, will start at YBCA in February. He replaces Angela Mattox, who recently joined the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) as their artistic director.
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