New Maryland State Arts Council Officers and Councilors Take Positions

A new slate of Maryland State Art Council (MSAC) officers – elected at the Council's annual June meeting—and three newly appointed council members have assumed leadership.

Baltimore (August 13, 2012)—A new slate of Maryland State Art Council (MSAC) officers – elected at the Council's annual June meeting—and three newly appointed council members have assumed leadership. The Council is an appointed body of 17 citizens. Thirteen are named by the Governor to three-year terms, which are renewable once. Two private citizens and two legislators are appointed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House.
“The newly appointed councilors represent broad arts expertise across a diversity of Maryland communities and professional backgrounds,” said Theresa Colvin, executive director of the MSAC. “Under the leadership of our new chair, Barbara Bershon, they will be a great asset to the arts in Maryland.”

Three new officers were elected by the Council in July:

Barbara Bershon (pictured), a Council member since 2008, is now chair of the Arts Council. Bershon is executive director of the Chesapeake Orchestra and has served as Arts Outreach Coordinator for the River Concert Series at St. Mary’s College.

Carol Trawick, who joined the Council in July 2011, was named vice chair. Trawick co-founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation, based in Bethesda. Since 2002, she has annually funded the TeamUP Award and the Trawick Prize, a regional contemporary art award.

Lora Bottinelli, a Council member since July 2011, is now secretary/treasurer. Bottinelli is executive director of Salisbury University's Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. She is also on the board of directors for both the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association and the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council.

Three new councilors were appointed to the Arts Council in July:

Kathy O’Dell, Ph.D. is Associate Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She also chairs the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance's Higher Education in the Arts Task Force, and is a member of The Maryland State Department of Education’s Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel. O’Dell is on the Exhibits Committee of Howard County Center for the Arts and has served on the boards of Maryland Art Place, Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and the Contemporary Museum.

Carla Du Pree has published several novel excerpts and short stories and received a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award for Fiction in 2008. She is the founder of Kitchen Table Workshops and has served as adjunct professor at The Johns Hopkins University graduate writing seminars. Du Pree holds a masters in creative writing from The Johns Hopkins University and is Creative Director of Howard County Poetry & Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo).

Sandy Oxx is executive director of the Carroll County Arts Council and serves as treasurer for the Community Arts Alliance of Maryland. She is also an advisory board member of Maryland Life Magazine and a former board member of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.

Pictured, from left to right: Carla Du Pree, Kathy O’Dell, Barbara Bershon, Sandy Oxx

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About the Maryland State Arts Council
The Maryland State Arts Council, an agency of the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, is dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. The mission of the council is to encourage and invest in the advancement of the arts for the people of Maryland. For more information about the Maryland State Arts Council, visit the MSAC web site at www.msac.org or call (410) 767-6555 or TTY 1-800-735-2258.