WHO WE ARE

History

The Madison Arts Commission is a municipal arts agency managed by a citizen commission composed of ten residents and one Alderperson who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. The eleven member commission is staffed with a full-time arts administrator. The Commission was created by ordinance in 1974 to advise the Mayor and thee Common Council on public policy matters relating to the arts. It originally began as a unit in the Parks Division of the City of Madison. Since then, it has moved to the Neighborhood Planning, Urban Design & Historic Preservation section of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development.

Commissioners & Staff

Click the name for the bios of the commission.

Anthony L. Brown II
Patty Elson, Vice-Chair
Tom Farley
Briony Jean Foy
Celia Klehr, Chair
Jose Madera
Leslee Nelson

John Nicholas Schweitzer
Norma Sober
Satya Rhodes-Conway, Common Council Representative

Staff

Karin Wolf, Arts Program Administrator

Anthony L. Brown II

Singer and songwriter are just two of the many artistic "hats" that Anthony L. Brown II, a.k.a. Anthony Lamarr, has donned over the course of his performance career. The Madison, WI, native is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he received fine arts training in both Theater and Music. Before establishing himself as a solo artist in recent years, Anthony split time between the playhouses of Madison (starring in such productions as Grease, Ragtime, and The Music Man) and the road, touring with Mike Droho & The Compass Rose. Lamarr is a cross-disciplinary musical talent, who has a gift for both vocal percussion (or "beat-boxing") and rapping, which compilment a singing voice that has anchored choral and A cappella performances along with stage productions. The late 2011 release of his second album, Intermission: The Learning Never Stops, capped off an explosive year for Anthony and his music, as his Wisconsin Badgers-inspired anthem We're Smelling Roses, became an overnight sensation in the weeks preceding the 2011 Rose Bowl. His music is available on iTunes, or at www.AnthonyLamarr.com.

Patty Elson, Vice-Chair

Patty Elson has been serving on the Madison Arts Commission since 2006. She is the Chair of the Public Arts Committee and the Co-Chair of the Culltural Plan Committee. Patty has lived in Madison most of her life and is a Realtor with Restaino & Associates. Starting with her appointment to the Urban Design Commission in 1994, Patty has served proudly on the Overture Project Advisory Committee, the State Street Design Project Oversight Committee and in many other capacities guiding the growth and maturation of the city she loves.

Tom Farley

Tom Farley is the Director of Marketing for the Greater Madison Convention & Visitor Bureau. A native of Madison, Tom attended Edgewood High School and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Business Administration/Marketing. For over fifteen years he held various marketing positions within the financial services industry in the New York City area. In 2001, Tom began work creating The Chris Farley Foundation, a substance abuse prevention organization named after his younger brother. In 2004 Tom moved back to his hometown, along with his wife, Laura and their three teenage children – Mary Kate, Emma, and Tommy. Tom is active with Downtown Madison, Inc., and is also a board member of the Dane County Human Services Board and Turn Around Teen, Inc.

Briony Jean Foy

Briony Jean Foy teaches and works with textiles and ceramics in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work includes one-of-a-kind scarves, shawls, bird & animal sculptures, wall pieces and installations. She has shown her work nationally and internationally.

Celia A. Klehr, Chair

Due to her firm belief that artists are an important part of their community, Celia A. Klehr was proud to make the Madison Repertory Theatre her artistic home for over 15 years. Starting as a member of the original acting company, she gained her Equity status and was the company manager for several years. Celia has also appeared in three feature films, several documentaries, voice-overs, and other commercial work. This is Celia’s third year as a commission member and she is one of the Madison Arts Commission representatives on the Madison 150 Sesquicentennial Commission.

José J. Madera

José J. Madera, born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, developed his musical abilities while performing with groups specializing in Afro-Caribbean rhythms in a variety of cultural and classical events throughout the island. In Madison, also an accomplished percussionist and recording artist, José is one of the founding members of the band Bentetú (Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms), TROVA VIVA (new song, nueva trova), and MadiSalsa (a 10 member ensemble devoted to the musical traditions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and The Dominican Republic). José also collaborates with a variety of musical groups in town, including Call for Peace Drum and Dance Company. Professionally, José currently serves as an Assistant Dean with the College of Letters and Science at UW-Madison where he has greatly contributed in designing, coordinating and conducting educational activities throughout the campus. He has also served as the Director of the Diversity Education Program in the Office of the Dean of Students. José holds a B.S. (Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey), M.S. (Water Resources Management/Water Chemistry - UW-Madison) and has completed most Ph.D. requirements in Soil Science.

Leslee Nelson

Leslee Nelson is a professor in the Departments of Art and Liberal Studies & the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches classes on grant-writing,
spirituality, textiles and professional practices. She is the director of Wisconsin Regional Art Program. She believes that creativity is inherent in each individual
and encourages everyone to find their art form.

Professor Nelson exhibits her memory cloths, installations, dolls and quilts throughout the USA, Europe and Asia. In Wisconsin her work can be seen at High Street Gallery, Mineral Point.

Websites of her artwork:
http://www.highstreetartists.com/Artists/Leslee/LesleeNelson.html
http://www.portalwisconsin.org/online_gallery_artist.cfm?artist=3&sort=name

John Nicholas Schweitzer

Nick, a playwright, has been involved for many years in Madison theatre, especially the Madison Theatre Guild and the Madison Savoyards, groups which have provided opportunities for onstage and backstage participation for him, his wife March, and their two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine. His locally-produced plays include Fighting Bob: A Love Story; Gadzooks, Cinderella; The Saga of Sergeant Bates; and Madison's sesquicentennial play, Surrounded by Reality. He has organized the Hill Farms Fourth of July parade and picnic for over a decade, and he is an Adjunct Professor in Professional Ethics at the U.W. Law School. In September of 2007, around the same time he joined the Madison Arts Commission, he installed a temporary children's art and science exhibit illustrating geological time in Rennebohm Park, and this past spring he placed a similar representation of the solar system in the park, which he hopes to reproduce along a bike path in 2009 with the help of the U.W. Space Place

Norma Sober

Norma Sober, a 35-year resident of Madison, serves on MAC's Public Art and Grants subcommittees and is co-chair of the Cultural Planning adhoc committee. From 1985-1990, she was Director of Outreach at the Madison Civic Center. While at the Civic Center, she produced the city’s first large-scale gospel music festival and implemented school and community-based residencies with internationally renowned performers. From 1990-2002, she contributed to the significant growth of Madison Repertory Theatre by heading, in succession, its marketing, development, and education departments. As a consultant, she works in the fields of arts fundraising and cultural planning.

Karin Wolf, Arts Program Administrator

Ms. Wolf came to the City of Madison in fall of 2006 with a background in arts project management, research, writing, and educational programs. She is the Arts Program Administrator for the Madison Arts Commission in the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. She manages the City's arts grants, runs the gallery spaces, stewards the City’s permanent collection of art, and handles the administration of new public art projects.

Prior to this position, she served as the Special Programs Coordinator in the Community Outreach Department at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she created award-winning programs for educators and K-16 students in art, design and technology. She has worked as an educational assistant at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, teaching, docenting, and assisting the Curator of Education.

She has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and undergraduate degrees in History, History of Cultures, and Afro-American History.

She is a long time supporter of the arts and arts education, and has been involved with many community organizations in establishing exhibitions, educational programs, film festivals, temporary art, and permanent public sculpture projects.


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Cultural Plan 2009 Arts & Culture Projects Poet Laureate Program Bus Lines Program Conservation Arts & Culture in the City of Madison Dept. of Planning & Community & Economic Development	WHO WE ARE History Commissioners & Staff- Mission Statement and Membership Current Agenda History The Madison Arts Commission is a municipal arts agency managed by a citizen commission composed of ten residents and one Alderperson who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. The eleven member commission is staffed with a full-time arts administrator. The Commission was created by ordinance in 1974 to advise the Mayor and thee Common Council on public policy matters relating to the arts. It originally began as a unit in the Parks Division of the City of Madison. Since then, it has moved to the Neighborhood Planning, Urban Design & Historic Preservation section of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. Commissioners & Staff Click the name for the bios of the commission. Anthony L. Brown II Patty Elson, Vice-Chair Tom Farley Briony Jean Foy Celia Klehr, Chair Jose Madera Leslee Nelson John Nicholas Schweitzer Norma Sober Satya Rhodes-Conway, Common Council Representative Staff Karin Wolf, Arts Program Administrator Anthony L. Brown II Singer and songwriter are just two of the many artistic "hats" that Anthony L. Brown II, a.k.a. Anthony Lamarr, has donned over the course of his performance career. The Madison, WI, native is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he received fine arts training in both Theater and Music. Before establishing himself as a solo artist in recent years, Anthony split time between the playhouses of Madison (starring in such productions as Grease, Ragtime, and The Music Man) and the road, touring with Mike Droho & The Compass Rose. Lamarr is a cross-disciplinary musical talent, who has a gift for both vocal percussion (or "beat-boxing") and rapping, which compilment a singing voice that has anchored choral and A cappella performances along with stage productions. The late 2011 release of his second album, Intermission: The Learning Never Stops, capped off an explosive year for Anthony and his music, as his Wisconsin Badgers-inspired anthem We're Smelling Roses, became an overnight sensation in the weeks preceding the 2011 Rose Bowl. His music is available on iTunes, or at www.AnthonyLamarr.com. Patty Elson, Vice-Chair Patty Elson has been serving on the Madison Arts Commission since 2006. She is the Chair of the Public Arts Committee and the Co-Chair of the Culltural Plan Committee. Patty has lived in Madison most of her life and is a Realtor with Restaino & Associates. Starting with her appointment to the Urban Design Commission in 1994, Patty has served proudly on the Overture Project Advisory Committee, the State Street Design Project Oversight Committee and in many other capacities guiding the growth and maturation of the city she loves. Tom Farley Tom Farley is the Director of Marketing for the Greater Madison Convention & Visitor Bureau. A native of Madison, Tom attended Edgewood High School and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Business Administration/Marketing. For over fifteen years he held various marketing positions within the financial services industry in the New York City area. In 2001, Tom began work creating The Chris Farley Foundation, a substance abuse prevention organization named after his younger brother. In 2004 Tom moved back to his hometown, along with his wife, Laura and their three teenage children – Mary Kate, Emma, and Tommy. Tom is active with Downtown Madison, Inc., and is also a board member of the Dane County Human Services Board and Turn Around Teen, Inc. Briony Jean Foy Briony Jean Foy teaches and works with textiles and ceramics in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work includes one-of-a-kind scarves, shawls, bird & animal sculptures, wall pieces and installations. She has shown her work nationally and internationally. Celia A. Klehr, Chair Due to her firm belief that artists are an important part of their community, Celia A. Klehr was proud to make the Madison Repertory Theatre her artistic home for over 15 years. Starting as a member of the original acting company, she gained her Equity status and was the company manager for several years. Celia has also appeared in three feature films, several documentaries, voice-overs, and other commercial work. This is Celia’s third year as a commission member and she is one of the Madison Arts Commission representatives on the Madison 150 Sesquicentennial Commission. José J. Madera José J. Madera, born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, developed his musical abilities while performing with groups specializing in Afro-Caribbean rhythms in a variety of cultural and classical events throughout the island. In Madison, also an accomplished percussionist and recording artist, José is one of the founding members of the band Bentetú (Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms), TROVA VIVA (new song, nueva trova), and MadiSalsa (a 10 member ensemble devoted to the musical traditions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and The Dominican Republic). José also collaborates with a variety of musical groups in town, including Call for Peace Drum and Dance Company. Professionally, José currently serves as an Assistant Dean with the College of Letters and Science at UW-Madison where he has greatly contributed in designing, coordinating and conducting educational activities throughout the campus. He has also served as the Director of the Diversity Education Program in the Office of the Dean of Students. José holds a B.S. (Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey), M.S. (Water Resources Management/Water Chemistry - UW-Madison) and has completed most Ph.D. requirements in Soil Science. Leslee Nelson Leslee Nelson is a professor in the Departments of Art and Liberal Studies & the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches classes on grant-writing, spirituality, textiles and professional practices. She is the director of Wisconsin Regional Art Program. She believes that creativity is inherent in each individual and encourages everyone to find their art form. Professor Nelson exhibits her memory cloths, installations, dolls and quilts throughout the USA, Europe and Asia. In Wisconsin her work can be seen at High Street Gallery, Mineral Point. Websites of her artwork: http://www.highstreetartists.com/Artists/Leslee/LesleeNelson.html http://www.portalwisconsin.org/online_gallery_artist.cfm?artist=3&sort=name John Nicholas Schweitzer Nick, a playwright, has been involved for many years in Madison theatre, especially the Madison Theatre Guild and the Madison Savoyards, groups which have provided opportunities for onstage and backstage participation for him, his wife March, and their two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine. His locally-produced plays include Fighting Bob: A Love Story; Gadzooks, Cinderella; The Saga of Sergeant Bates; and Madison's sesquicentennial play, Surrounded by Reality. He has organized the Hill Farms Fourth of July parade and picnic for over a decade, and he is an Adjunct Professor in Professional Ethics at the U.W. Law School. In September of 2007, around the same time he joined the Madison Arts Commission, he installed a temporary children's art and science exhibit illustrating geological time in Rennebohm Park, and this past spring he placed a similar representation of the solar system in the park, which he hopes to reproduce along a bike path in 2009 with the help of the U.W. Space Place Norma Sober Norma Sober, a 35-year resident of Madison, serves on MAC's Public Art and Grants subcommittees and is co-chair of the Cultural Planning adhoc committee. From 1985-1990, she was Director of Outreach at the Madison Civic Center. While at the Civic Center, she produced the city’s first large-scale gospel music festival and implemented school and community-based residencies with internationally renowned performers. From 1990-2002, she contributed to the significant growth of Madison Repertory Theatre by heading, in succession, its marketing, development, and education departments. As a consultant, she works in the fields of arts fundraising and cultural planning. Karin Wolf, Arts Program Administrator Ms. Wolf came to the City of Madison in fall of 2006 with a background in arts project management, research, writing, and educational programs. She is the Arts Program Administrator for the Madison Arts Commission in the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. She manages the City's arts grants, runs the gallery spaces, stewards the City’s permanent collection of art, and handles the administration of new public art projects. Prior to this position, she served as the Special Programs Coordinator in the Community Outreach Department at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she created award-winning programs for educators and K-16 students in art, design and technology. She has worked as an educational assistant at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, teaching, docenting, and assisting the Curator of Education. She has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and undergraduate degrees in History, History of Cultures, and Afro-American History. She is a long time supporter of the arts and arts education, and has been involved with many community organizations in establishing exhibitions, educational programs, film festivals, temporary art, and permanent public sculpture projects.