Interlochen announces new Director of Visual Arts

INTERLOCHEN, Michigan - Interlochen Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of Kaz McCue to the position of Director of the Visual Arts Department. McCue will join the faculty at an important time, with construction of a new $7.5 million visual arts building expected to begin in 2007.

Most recently, McCue worked as Director of the University Art Gallery at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, where he also taught classes for the department of art. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from Parson's School of Design in New York City and a Master of Fine Arts degree in mixed media from Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus in Brookville, New York. McCue has taught at C.W. Post, Nassau Community College and the University of Bridgeport.

For the past 13 years, he also has worked as a professional artist, showing his work in numerous museums and galleries in New York City, the northeast and around the country. His work has been included in exhibitions as far away as Hawaii, England and Sweden.

McCue served as Program Director at the Music and Arts Center for Humanity, a non-for-profit community-based arts school in Bridgeport, Conn., dedicated to providing an arts curriculum to youth-at-risk and children with special needs. In Terre Haute, McCue worked alongside city leaders to play a key role in the establishment of an arts corridor, and served as President and founding member of the Cultural Alliance of Terre Haute, an organization devoted to the development of a vibrant cultural community within the city.

In addition to managing the University Art Gallery at Indiana State University, McCue served as curator for the University Gallery at the University of Bridgeport. In both institutions, he attracted artists from around the world through energetic visiting artist programs, developed premiere exhibition spaces and focused on delivering quality programming to the galleries’ audiences.

In his new role, McCue will lead the visual arts program at Interlochen Center for the Arts, one of the world’s most vibrant and inspiring arts communities. Tim Wade, Vice President of Education Programs and Services, explained that McCue’s strong background in arts administration will be essential as the department and the building project move forward. “His track record of success in both teaching and managing will be an asset as we develop the visual arts curriculum for our high school academy and summer arts camp.”

McCue will lead the department during one of the most significant changes in its history – the move to a new 40,000-square-foot facility, which will house all classroom, studio and exhibition space for the Visual Arts Department. The $7.5 million project was supported with a $3 million dollar gift from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. Construction is planned to begin in spring of 2007 and be completed in one year.

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The visual arts program at Interlochen Center for the Arts attracts students from all over the world for its two programs: the Interlochen Arts Academy boarding high school, and the summer Interlochen Arts Camp. The high school Academy program, with more than 40 students, stresses a balance between rigorous academics and visual arts studio courses. More than 200 campers ages 8-18 study visual arts during the summer Interlochen Arts Camp.

Interlochen Center for the Arts is the only community in the world that brings together:
- a 2200-student summer camp program
- a 500-student fine arts boarding high school with college-prep academics
- a 155-student independent pre-K through 8th-grade day school and summer day camp
- two 24-hour listener-supported public radio services (classical music and news)
- year-round opportunities for hundreds of adults to engage in fulfilling artistic and creative programs
- 600 arts presentations annually by students, faculty and world-renowned guest artists
- and a global alumni base spanning eight decades, including a galaxy of arts luminaries