Power Players in Arts & Culture

Ken Rockwood founded Rockwood Music Hall in 2005. A cultural touchstone of the independent live music scene, Rockwood has provided a launching pad for some of today’s most successful and critically acclaimed musicians. Along the way Rockwood produced over 75,000 shows and hosted hundreds of appearances by Grammy, Tony and American Music award winners and nominees.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Don’t think about breaking into the world of arts and culture. Just do what you love.

Klaudio Rodriguez is the executive director of The Bronx Museum where he has served since 2017. He is dedicated to the museum’s history of service to the community, BIPOC artists, and advancing the role of art and education in The Bronx. He directs the museum’s institutional priorities, artistic vision, educational initiatives, and programs. Rodriguez previously served as deputy director of the Bronx Museum and senior curator at the Frost Art Museum in Miami, Florida.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
The Bronx Museum is currently undergoing a major rebuild of the south building, slated to open in early 2026. This new facility will be transformational for both the museum and our visitors. The open and accessible design will add more exhibition spaces, provide an enhanced visitor experience with more gathering spaces for our communities and will allow us to amplify our ability to educate, engage and accommodate our visitors.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
While there have been some positive changes recently, the museum field continues to be a relatively difficult one to penetrate and an even harder one to advance in. Not to oversimplify it, but patience, perseverance and persistence are key. Be tenacious, jump on opportunities and maximize them. Find institutions that fit you. Experience and perspective matters.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
New York City’s cultural sector is why countless tourists flock to our city every year. Our cultural institutions drive economic revenue and employ thousands. We add to the quality of life of all New Yorkers, and we are a lifeline for youth, and low-income families that rely on these crucial institutions. But we need committed financial support and further investment to get to a place where we are no longer worrying about cuts to the arts.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
This is one of the many things that makes New York City unlike any other place in the world, because the options are endless! I would visit several of my preferred galleries to see new works by many of my favorite artists and to discover new talent. While I prefer to go during the day when it’s quiet, I also really enjoy open gallery nights where you may run into artists, friends, and colleagues.

Jordan Roth is the president of Jujamcyn Theaters, the Broadway production house responsible for some of “the Great White Way’s” most innovative and exciting contemporary shows. Jujamcyn is proud to champion shows that push the boundaries of Broadway and for creating uniquely welcoming experiences for audiences and artists. The theater’s upcoming shows are among the most buzzed productions of the 2024 season: “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” “Illinoise,” based on Sufjan Stevens’ album “Illinois,” and “Sunset Blvd.” starring Nicole Scherzinger. Roth graduated from Princeton University with degrees in philosophy and theatre and received his MBA from Columbia Business School. He serves on the board of trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Broadway League, Times Square Alliance and the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation. In 2016, Jordan and his husband Richie Jackson received the Trevor Project Hero Award, and in 2022 Jordan and Richie were honored at Family Equality’s annual Night at the Pier as trailblazers in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. Jordan and Richie live in New York City with their two sons.

Scott Rothkopf is the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Alice Pratt Brown director. In November, he will take over as the museum’s director. Educated at Harvard, Rothkopf earned degrees in the history of art and architecture. Rothkopf began his curatorial career at the Harvard University Art Museums and joined the Whitney in 2015. From 2004-08, Rothkopf served as senior editor of Artforum International, and frequently contributed feature reviews and essays.

As president of Pace Gallery, Samanthe Rubell is responsible for steering the gallery’s mission and envisioning how to consistently enhance its support for artists. Since her appointment to the role of president in early 2023, Rubell has taken the lead on business strategy at an international level, with oversight of Pace’s seven gallery spaces across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Beyond Pace’s permanent locations, she has fostered a collaborative model with a number of partner galleries across the globe. Rubell also works directly with high profile artists across the gallery’s program – with a particular focus on women artists – including Michal Rovner, Sonia Gomes, Jo Baer, Arlene Shechet and Marina Perez Simão. She also leads the gallery’s relationships with Adam Pendleton, Matthew Day Jackson, William Monk, Julian Schnabel, and Robert Nava. Rubell has been with the gallery for over 15 years. Hired as a gallery assistant in 2008, she has worked her way through the ranks of the organization, cultivating her relationships with artists and collectors while honing her expertise in the art market. In 2024, Rubell is spearheading the gallery’s expansion to Tokyo and Berlin. 

Taryn Sacramone has been executive director of Queens Theatre (QT) since 2013. QT presents performances and education programs that reflect its extraordinarily diverse community. In 2016, QT launched Theatre For All, an initiative to advance disability inclusion in the arts. Taryn served as chair of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) in 2021-2022 and serves on the NYC Tourism and Conventions Board. She founded/co-leads Culture@3, a call started in March 2020 for NYC cultural leaders.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
Queens Theatre was constructed as the Theaterama, part of the New York State Pavilion, for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. In April, we’ll launch a six-month series of events in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the fair, partnering with organizations like Queensboro Dance Festival, Louis Armstrong House Museum, and the Queens Chamber of Commerce. We’ll have film screenings, storytelling, arts installations, food, theater – all animated with the Fair’s spirit of innovation and joy.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
The best resource for cultural leaders is other cultural leaders. Build relationships and find mentors. During the pandemic, hundreds of leaders from cultural institutions of all disciplines, scales and locations came together to share information and support on the Culture@3 calls, and those calls continue because the individuals who participate are invested in the health of the ecosystem. There is extraordinary generosity in this community. Effective leaders focus on service, knowing we succeed together.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
The City should commit to making the benefits of culture available to all New Yorkers and visitors by ensuring that the sector is funded at a level reflecting its impact. Budget cuts should be restored and funding should be increased with the additional funds baselined. Longer term, the City should allocate 1% of its budget to culture. It’s a smart investment in the economy, public safety, and the well-being of people in New York.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
I love seeing new works of theater and I’m looking forward to seeing National Black Theatre’s public presentation of Oya Mae Dxtchxss-Davis’s play “Packages O’ The Things We Deliver” at Chelsea Factory. Looking ahead, I’ll be bringing my kids to see Tout à Trac’s beautiful production of “Pinocchio” at Queens Theatre in April. It’s a gorgeous time for families to come to Flushing Meadows Corona Park – we’ll make a day of it!

James S. Snyder has been the Helen Goldsmith Menschel director of The Jewish Museum since November 2023. From 2019 to 2023, he served as executive chairman of The Jerusalem Foundation, and from 1997 to 2018 as the Israel Museum’s Anne and Jerome Fisher director. Prior to his appointment at the Israel Museum, Snyder held a number of positions at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, culminating as deputy director from 1986 to 1996.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
In these challenging times, we are working to underscore the role museums should play through education and engagement with our audiences and opportunities to show artists responding to social and political turmoil today and the past. We are also using our collection to build a new narrative about how specific cultures migrating throughout the global diaspora resonate with the cultures around them, so as to promote connectedness in these fractious times.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
To understand and embrace the unique role that art and culture can play as a counterpoint to the polarized divisiveness that seems to be overtaking our world today.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
The more that NYC policymakers can pay attention to the potential of arts and culture as pathways to harmony – and then fund initiatives to bring arts and culture to the foreground – both in institutional settings and across the city’s public arena, the stronger a role they can play in the city’s wellbeing.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
The Sonia Delaunay exhibition at Bard Graduate Center – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and understand the accomplishment of women like her, who, in the period between WWI and WWII, set the stage for creative making across a remarkable breadth of mediums that are so central to creative making today.

Jonathan Stafford is the artistic director of New York City Ballet (NYCB) and The School of American Ballet (SAB). He began dancing with NYCB in 1998 becoming a principal dancer in 2007. He retired from dancing in 2014, becoming a permanent faculty member at SAB and ballet master at NYCB. In 2019 he was appointed artistic director of both organizations. Stafford graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with a B.A. in organizational leadership.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Follow your heart, and don’t give up – we need people leading the way who are passionate about the arts, and about spreading them to as many people as possible.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
Arts and culture are what make New York City so unique, and it’s hard to overstate how valuable access to the arts from a young age is to the city. Funding for arts organizations and arts education needs to be a priority.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a TV writer, author, journalist and president of the Writers Guild of America East. She has developed drama pilots for Apple, Netflix, ABC, NBC, CBS, A&E, Universal TV and Warner Bros., and written and produced on staff for NBC’s “The Endgame” and “Law & Order: SVU”. Previously she worked as a foreign correspondent and staff writer for TIME magazine, and has published two books.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
The WGA East is working tirelessly to secure contract protections for workers from the threat of AI. The rapid implementation of this new and often unreliable technology by our corporate employers is having a profound impact on Guild members working in film, television, broadcast news, podcasts and online media. We need strong contracts and enforceable laws to stop AI from replacing workers, plagiarizing our members’ work and spreading misinformation.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
Join a union. Then, fight for workers’ rights. Become part of the labor movement. Artists need and deserve fair pay, safe workplaces and secure jobs just like steelworkers, nurses and teachers.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
New York must continue its investment in film and TV to boost the state’s economy and create tens of thousands of union jobs. Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, the state wisely expanded its film tax credit program to include writing services — a critical addition given the essential role writers play in the industry, and one that will attract more productions and thus more jobs to New York.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
“Merrily We Roll Along,” because my daughter is a super-fan of Jonathan Groff!

Sally Tallant is the president and executive director of the Queens Museum. She was previously the director of Liverpool Biennial from 2011-2019. From 2001-2011, she was head of programmes at the Serpentine Gallery, London where she was responsible for the development of an integrated programme of exhibitions, architecture, education and public programmes. She has curated exhibitions in a wide range of contexts including galleries, museums, public spaces, and non-arts contexts.

Is there anything you are working on that you wish more people knew about?
We are developing new collection galleries and a children’s museum at the Queens Museum, which will open in 2026.

What advice do you have for the next generation of people determined to break into the world of arts and culture?
It’s worth it! Keep trying and don’t give up – “no” is just the beginning of a conversation.

What can New York policymakers do to support the continued development of arts and culture in the city?
Invest more support in the people and the amazing organizations that make New York the most exciting cultural destination in the World.

If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?
“Joan Jonas: Good Morning, Good Night” at MoMA. This is a long overdue tribute to a legendary New York artist and icon.