MAPP International Welcomes New Executive Director

The Board of Directors of MAPP International Productions (MAPP) has announced Brian Tate as its new Executive Director. His appointment begins on October 6, 2014. MAPP is a nonprofit producer of challenging new work by contemporary performing artists who raise critical consciousness and motivate social change. It is a singular organization that supports all phases of an artist's creative process, from concept and production to premiere and touring, while also engaging audiences in the issues behind the art. Through this heightened focus, MAPP supports an evolving and elite cadre of creators whose work ignites communities worldwide.

Mr. Tate succeeds two decades of outstanding contributions to the field by Ann Rosenthal, MAPP's founder and former executive director. He is a seasoned marketing strategist with thirty years of experience in creating career platforms for artists, introducing new audiences to the discussion of arts and ideas, brokering major partnership deals, and helping nonprofit organizations sharpen their competitive edge. He arrives at MAPP poised to build upon its commitment to artistic excellence and social justice.

"We are delighted to have Brian at our helm," said Lisa Yancey, Co-Chair of MAPP's Board. "He shares our dedication to art that strengthens communities and changes lives, and he is passionate about achieving an expanded vision for the organization. We're confident that Brian's leadership, strategic thinking, and business expertise will lead us to the next level of creating impact and taking smart risks. We also believe that he will complement the amazing curatorial sensibilities of our chief producer, Cathy Zimmerman, and MAPP's stellar staff."

"I am honored to lead this visionary organization," Mr. Tate said. "MAPP has consistently produced projects of artistic daring and social consequence, and today the boldest creators on the scene seek its involvement. Its team is dedicated and expert, and its work to spark culturally rich dialogue is increasingly urgent to people around the globe. I look forward to building on that momentum and advancing MAPP's role at the nexus of arts, activism, and innovation."

MAPP founder Ann Rosenthal retired in June 2014. Board Secretary Candace Jackson, who served as interim executive director, said, "We're thankful to Ann for her exemplary leadership and the rare opportunity she provided to reimagine the organization at a seminal moment in its existence. We think Brian will usher a new era at MAPP and we're excited to have recruited him as her successor."

In the course of this transition, Cathy Zimmerman, a long-term leader at MAPP, formerly serving as its Co-Director and Producer, has taken the role of Executive Producer. Ms. Zimmerman said, "Brian's ideas are the kind of transformational thinking that we prize. He knows several of the artists we champion, including those who operate outside the mainstream, and he brings a wealth of new relationships. I am thrilled to work with him to envision MAPP's new future."

In 2001, Mr. Tate established The Tate Group, a strategic marketing firm, to help organizations leverage arts and identity to build community and drive economic growth. Clients have included 651 Arts, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Tourism, Creative Capital, The Guggenheim Museum, the Jamaica Center BID, The L Magazine, Queens Council on the Arts, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, Symphony Space, Theatre Development Fund, and WNYC Radio, among others. In 2014, he launched a national webinar series for Creative Capital on marketing for artists, titled The Seven Elements of Strategic Marketing: Tools for Artists to Advance Their Careers and Communities, after his article on the subject.

Mr. Tate is former executive director of the DC Committee to Promote Washington, a nonprofit group that marketed the Nation's Capital around the world and generated an estimated $93 million per year in visitor revenues. A skilled negotiator, he has raised millions in cash and media through deals with AOL, AT&T, Bloomberg, Con Edison, Coca-Cola, Deutsche Bank, NBC4, Target, Visa, and others.

Mr. Tate has developed official marketing strategies for Brooklyn, NY, Washington, DC, and numerous cultural initiatives. He created the Brooklyn New Music Festival, the Dark Harvest Film Festival, and the Taste of DC Festival, which drew 1 million people per year under his leadership. He created Queens Royalty, a destination project that marketed an arts-rich image of Jamaica, Queens, and the Brooklyn Icons, that promoted a culturally vibrant identity for Bedford-Stuyvesant. He led development of the NYC Underground Railroad Heritage Project; co-created the Full Spectrum panel discussion series that explores complex social issues through the lens of arts and culture; co-created Curate NYC that exposes scores of local visual artists to prestigious curators around the world; and co-developed Queens Arts Express 2012 that imagined a world where artists decide public policy.

Mr. Tate is singer/co-songwriter of the band, Shrine for the Black Madonna. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his family.

Photo by Kevin Irby

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