ArtsEmerson Announces Ronee Penoi as Director of Artistic Programming

ArtsEmerson, Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theater and film and the professional presenting and producing organization housed at Emerson College, has announced Ronee Penoi as Director of Artistic Programming. Penoi (Laguna Pueblo/Cherokee) is a well-respected leader and producer in the American Theater and will begin her work with ArtsEmerson starting August 02, 2021.

Penoi is no stranger to ArtsEmerson's aesthetic and values. ArtsEmerson has collaborated with her for years through her most recent role as Producer at Octopus Theatricals, with whom ArtsEmerson has collaborated to bring many boundary-pushing artists to its audiences. As Director of Artistic Programming, she will oversee the strategies, programs, activities, and outcomes of ArtsEmerson's signature work in artistic and civic engagement and she will lead the Artistic Engagement and Guest Experience teams in their continued effort to build meaningful collaborations, relationships and opportunities.

"After an extensive search process that attracted national and international candidates, I am excited to welcome Ronee Penoi to ArtsEmerson, to Emerson College, and to the City of Boston," says David C. Howse, ArtsEmerson's Executive Director. "Ronee is an accomplished and well-respected producer in the American Theater. Her track record of centering artists, her artistic curiosity, and her commitment to racial justice and climate justice are just a few ways that she exemplifies our shared values here at ArtsEmerson. I am energized by the idea of what will come of Ronee's collaboration with the team and our community!"

As Producer with Octopus Theatricals, Penoi advanced the work of Cherokee artist DeLanna Studi (And So We Walked), Phantom Limb Company (Falling Out), Ripe Time (Sleep), Homer's Coat (An Iliad by Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson), Theatre for One, and more. She is a two-time ISPA (International Society of Performing Arts) Global Fellow, and has been an APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) Leadership Fellow and TCG (Theatre Communications Group) Rising Leader of Color. Ronee is a Founding Member of The Industry Standard Group (TISG), a commercial investment and producing organization with an intentional focus on increasing the presence of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) investors and producers in the commercial producing field.

Penoi's artistic practice and advocacy draws from her Indigenous background. Her father was enrolled with both the Cherokee Nation and Pueblo of Laguna (her mother is white, of Polish ethnicity). Her great-grandfather, Mark Penoi, attended Carlisle Indian School, and Penoi is passionate about sharing how the legacy of that traumatic boarding school experience has shaped her and other descendants' lives.

"ArtsEmerson is known internationally for its ambitious artistic work, culture of care, and integrity," shares Ronee Penoi. "I couldn't be more excited to work with David Howse and the incomparable ArtsEmerson staff to continue this work while pressing ahead to address the next set of challenges - how does our arts practice and impact re-story our past and decolonize our future? I'm indebted to Rob Orchard and David Dower's extraordinary artistic leadership that has paved the way."

ArtsEmerson recently announced its 2021/22 Season.

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