Emil J. Kang
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab, Yale University; Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts at Brown University
Panelist
Emil J. Kang is a cultural strategist, leader, and educator, working at the intersection of arts, philanthropy, and public policy. Most recently, Kang served as Program Director for Arts and Culture at The Mellon Foundation—the nation’s largest arts funder—where he led a $125 million annual portfolio and conceived Creatives Rebuild New York, the largest guaranteed income program for artists in U.S. history. Previously, he founded and led Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill, leading it into one of the country’s premier university-based performing arts programs while commissioning over 60 new works from internationally renowned artists. While at UNC, he also served as Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for the Arts.
Kang currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab at Yale University and as the Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts at Brown University. He continues to serve on the National Council on the Arts, having been appointed in 2012 by President Barack Obama as the first Korean-American to be named to the Council. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He also has an active consulting practice working with arts leaders and organizations driving change.
Earlier in his career, Kang served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, becoming the youngest and first Asian-American CEO of a major American symphony orchestra.
Kang currently serves on the boards of directors of a number of arts organizations including Silkroad, GYOPO, Mutual Mentorship for Musicians, and National Sawdust, and on committees for Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Council of Korean Americans. A sought-after speaker on cultural leadership and institutional transformation, he writes provocatively about the future of arts institutions and philanthropic practice.
Emil J. Kang
Entrepreneur-in-Residence,
Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab,
Yale University; Agnes Gund Visiting Professor
of the Practice of Arts at Brown University
Emil J. Kang is a cultural strategist, leader, and educator, working at the intersection of arts, philanthropy, and public policy. Most recently, Kang served as Program Director for Arts and Culture at The Mellon Foundation—the nation’s largest arts funder—where he led a $125 million annual portfolio and conceived Creatives Rebuild New York, the largest guaranteed income program for artists in U.S. history. Previously, he founded and led Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill, leading it into one of the country’s premier university-based performing arts programs while commissioning over 60 new works from internationally renowned artists. While at UNC, he also served as Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for the Arts.
Kang currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab at Yale University and as the Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts at Brown University. He continues to serve on the National Council on the Arts, having been appointed in 2012 by President Barack Obama as the first Korean-American to be named to the Council. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He also has an active consulting practice working with arts leaders and organizations driving change.
Earlier in his career, Kang served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, becoming the youngest and first Asian-American CEO of a major American symphony orchestra.
Kang currently serves on the boards of directors of a number of arts organizations including Silkroad, GYOPO, Mutual Mentorship for Musicians, and National Sawdust, and on committees for Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Council of Korean Americans. A sought-after speaker on cultural leadership and institutional transformation, he writes provocatively about the future of arts institutions and philanthropic practice.