The marketing manager at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph is being honored as a ‘Rising Leader’ in the Michigan arts and culture community. Matthew Bizoe is one of sixteen individuals that have been chosen by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council for their 2022-23 cohort of Rising Leaders.
MACC created the Rising Leaders program in 2018 with a focus on the advancement and development of Michigan’s arts leaders. Over a six-month period, participants engage in a series of activities that includes three intensives focusing on self-awareness and self-management; mutual influence; and gaining tools to create communities and a state where everyone can experience and express creativity in their daily lives.
Matthew Bizoe brings his background in public relations, event planning, and graphic design to his position as Marketing Manager for Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph. His love of arts institutions began with volunteer internships at the DeVos Museum, The Marquette Area Blues Society, and the Marquette Arts and Culture Center, all based in Marquette, Michigan. It was there that he earned two bachelor’s degrees in Graphic Design and Public Relations from Northern Michigan University.
He brings his experience and skills from positions like a design intern for Truscott Rossman Public Relations Firm in Detroit, coordinating weddings for Merry Me Events of Edwardsburg, IN, and managing Art FX Signs & Graphics in Bridgman, to his work at Krasl Art Center, where he strives to share the organization’s mission to inspire and strengthen community through visual art. When not advancing the arts, he spends his time crocheting and traveling with his husband and their beloved Samoyed.
Applicants were chosen from across Michigan and join the 42 alumni from MACC’s first three cohorts in what the Council hopes will continue to grow into a strong and meaningful network of individuals and organizations that believe in the power of the arts to transform Michigan. Program participants from across the state of Michigan gain tools and perspective needed to strengthen their leadership skills and develop relationships with an extraordinary cohort of peers dedicated to advancing the arts and culture field.
Rising Leaders is a program designed and facilitated by MACC and Partners in Performance (PIP), the nation’s preeminent designer and facilitator of leadership development initiatives for the arts and culture sector. Partners in Performance have been developing leaders across the entire country for decades.
MACC Program Manager Chad Swan-Badgero speaks about the powerful impact of the Rising Leaders program. “I was fortunate to have gone through this leadership development program, led by Partners in Performance, and it was truly transformational in the way I view myself and my role in moving arts and culture forward. To be partnering with PIP to guide our next generation of arts and culture leaders here in Michigan is not only an honor, but a little bit like working with your idols! PIP is THE industry leader for this work, and the results after just three years have been tremendous”.
The 16 individuals accepted into the 2022-23 cohort are: Katie Bancorft (Sloan Museum), Matthew Bizoe (Krasl Art Center), Michelle Bolofer (InsideOut Literary Arts), Allison Buck (The Guild of Artists and Artisans), Malcolm Cottle (Frankenmuth Historical Association), Jamie Eymer (Sturges-Young Center for the Arts), Charlie Johnson (Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute), Megan Lavell (Thornapple Arts Council), Lauren Mudry (Lansing Community College Dance Dept), Lauren Nelson (Port Huron Museums), Chelsie Niemi (Dennos Museum Center), Sara Nishikawa (CultureSource), Jainelle Robinson (ArtOps), David Schroeder (Macomb Center for the Performing Arts/Lorenzo Cultural Center), Julie Strating (Greater Bridgman Area Chamber & Growth Alliance), and Breanna Williams (FreeMajesty Studios).
