Kumani Gantt

Artist, Connector, Parent, Performer, Single, Writer/Editor

I joined the CD Forum in July 2009 as Executive Director. The mission of the CD Forum is to present and produce Black cultural programs that encourage thought and debate for the greater Seattle area. I was also ED of a great community arts center in Philadelphia, the Village of Arts and Humanities. Founded as a series of interlocking art parks, the Village is a multidisciplinary arts center that executes its mission through the stewardship of 12 art parks and the arts training and leadership development of teens between the ages 13-19. I have also run education programs at two regional theaters on the East Coast: Center Stage and Arena Stage. Some of the most important work I have done has been using the arts to create change within communities -- I've worked with incarcerated men and women and those recovering from drug addiction. I'm also a poet, writer and singer, slowly making work again after a creative hiatus.

Using art making to change the world and to illuminate the human spirit.

I am very interested in figuring out ways to support artists who have been affected by natural and human-made disasters -- artists are our contemporary, shapeshifters, shamans and healers.

Arts & culture, Arts Education, Leadership Transition, Nonprofit management

Knowing too many songs from too many musicals.