2004 Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT:
Barbara Webb
(415) 453-9678

Mario Garcia Durham, Executive Director of San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Appointed to the NEA as Director of Presenting and Multidisciplinary Programs

San Francisco, CA. March 31, 2004. Natalie Berg, Board Chair of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, today announced that Mario Garcia Durham has accepted a position as Director of Presenting and Multidisciplinary Programs with the National Endowment for the Arts. Durham's appointment will be effective June 1, 2004.

"We are indeed fortunate to have someone of Mario Garcia Durham's experience and expertise to lead our presenting and multidisciplinary programs," said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia. "His tenure at Yerba Buena Gardens and his history of curating and producing events will be valuable assets for the Arts Endowment in its ongoing commitment to artistic excellence and access to the arts for all Americans."

Durham, a widely respected and innovative arts director with years of extensive experience in arts and events programming and management, leaves the Yerba Buena project after 12 years. Durham has successfully established the ambitious Gardens Festival as a unique and internationally recognized annual event that last year drew a diverse audience of over 100,000. The Festival, which takes place from May through October annually, features over 150 free presentations per year, including the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, music, theater and dance series, and children's and family programming.

Durham has maintained excellent relations with City officials, community leaders and funders, and has directed the Festival to actively engage the local community in its commitment to represent diversity of programs and audience. "My definition of success is seeing huge audiences enjoying world-class events for free in the spectacular Yerba Buena Gardens," said Durham. "My primary goal was to create a Festival for the people of San Franciso and our many visitors and establish a sound foundation for its future success. With that accomplished, I am proud to pass my directorship on to a new leader who can take the Festival to its next level of service to the community. I am grateful for the assistance of my board, the staff, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, our many funders and sponsors, and the community."

"I know I speak for the entire Board when I say we accept Mario's resignation with sadness," said Festival Board Chair, Natalie Berg. "Under his leadership, attendance has grown steadily making the event one of the most popular summer Festivals in San Francisco. Its success is due entirely to his artistic vision. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude and wish him great success in his future career. As the Festival continues to evolve, we will seek him out for guidance and counsel."
Helen Sause, retired S.F. Redevelopment Agency's Project Director for Yerba Buena Gardens, said "Mario is a consummate professional and a terrific colleague. I am very sorry to see him go but I'm sure he'll succeed brilliantly at the N.E.A."

During Durham's tenure, the Festival has attracted local, national, and internationally acclaimed artists to its stages, all the time keeping these performances free of charge. A recent San Francisco Chronicle editorial said, "If the best things in life are free, free things that feed our souls are fabulous indeed. Count the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival as a good example of that principle."

All performances and events are free and open to the public, drawing an audience of San Francisco and Bay Area residents, tourists, and convention attendees that numbers more than 80,000 each year.
Free artistic and cultural programming in Yerba Buena Gardens is made possible through the generous support of The San Francisco, Arts Commission, The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, KTB Management Group, The San Francisco Foundation, the W.A. Gerbode Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Fleishhacker Foundation, Bernard Osher Foundation, and other sponsors.

Media sponsors for Festival 2004 are KDFC, San Francisco Downtown Magazine, WB20, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Yerba Buena Arts & Events, organizer of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is located at 760 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Phone (415) 543-1718; Fax (415) 543-1755; e-mail: ybgf@ybgf.org
http://ybgf.org

Mario Garcia Durham Background:

Prior to his appointment as Director of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Durham was a founding staff member of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts where he served as Assistant Artistic Director from 1992 to 1996, Performing Arts Manager from 1996 to 1997, and Performing Arts Curator from 1997 to 2000. He has worked under the leadership of a number of nationally recognized performing arts leaders including Ms. Baraka Sele and Mr. John R. Killacky. Durham has curated, presented and produced many types of events including multi-disciplinary projects, residencies, visual art exhibits, poetry, theater and spoken word events, dance and performance art, events for children, community rallies and festivals, large outdoor concerts, and commercial events.

Durham is very active in the presenting and multi-disciplinary field serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and on the board of the American Arts Alliance. In San Francisco he serves on the boards of Galeria de la Raza, Dance Art, Inc., and People In Plazas Concerts.
He has been an active panelist serving for the National Endowment for the Arts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Wallace Foundation, Arts International, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, Headlands Center for the Arts, City of Oakland Arts Commission and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

He has been active in an advisory capacity for numerous projects including the Arts Presenters' Board Lead for the national Outdoor Summer Festival Presenter's Initiative, Executive Committee of National Dance Week - San Francisco, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau Membership Committee, Yerba Buena Gardens Project Advisory Committee, San Francisco Arts Education Project Advisory Member, Yerba Buena Youth Committee Advisory Member, Martin Luther King, Jr., Youth and Family Day, Producer and Advisory Committee Member.
Utilizing his arts experience as a Public Parks Program Director, he has advised the City of San Francisco on the redesigns of Civic Center Plaza and Union Square. He has also advised the City of San Jose in the redesign of the historic St. James Park.





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