Lauren Snelling Appointed Senior Director of Alumni Programs at the National YoungArts Foundation

The National YoungArts Foundation recently appointed Lauren Snelling as senior director for alumni programming. The Miami-based charity seeks to help nurture the next generation of artists by providing education and professional development to launch and support their careers. Snelling arrives at YoungArts from the arts performance center, OZ Arts Nashville, having served as its founding artistic director since its inception in 2013. She led OZ Arts to critical acclaim and is credited with helping to revitalize the cultural landscape of the city, gaining local and regional recognition for her exemplary work. With a career firmly dedicated to the arts, Snelling worked for nearly two years as an art associate at Music + Art Management, Inc. in North Carolina as well as for the Park Avenue Armory in New York. She has also amassed significant management and supervisory experience in the art world, having served the Melbourne International Arts Festival as an administrative assistant to the artistic director and as a special project coordinator.

Not afraid to take risks, this was not the first time Snelling had taken a position on the other side of the planet. It was just three years before this that she finished another long-term position in Australia where she was the producer, roadshow tour manager and venues manager for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Between these jobs, Snelling had returned to the states and worked for about a year at the New York arts nonprofit, WestBeth Entertainment. While always dedicated to the arts, her varied and international career within the sector allows her to bring a global and experienced perspective to YoungArts. In her new position, Snelling will work with the president and CEO, Carolina García Jayaram, and vice president of artistic programs, Lisa Leone, to oversee a planned expansion of programming for YoungArts Alumni. This includes the establishment of new public programs as well as local, regional, and national partnerships that will support alumni while bringing in more upcoming artists under the wing of the organization. “I am tremendously excited to join an organization whose leadership recognizes the investment in its mission and doubles down in support of the continued creativity and ingenuity of fiercely talented, emerging artists,” said Snelling in a YoungArts press release about her appointment. Lauren Snelling assumes the responsibilities of her post immediately.