A new Executive Director and more..

Please welcome David Lynx

We're happy to announce that KAC has a new Executive Director: David Lynx.

David is originally from the Puget Sound region, growing up on Mercer Island and having lived in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Seattle. He received his B.A. from the University of Washington in theatre, and Masters from the University of Oklahoma in Museum Studies. He has been the Director of the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College, Associate Director of the Yakima Valley Museum, and most recently the director of the Larson Gallery at Yakima Valley College. For 26 years, he has also taught Art Appreciation, Asian Art History, and Art of Yoga at Yakima Valley College and wrote the weekly art scene column for the Yakima Herald-Republic. He is excited to finally be “home” again and looks forward to working at the Kirkland Arts Center and being part of the community.

David works out of the Executive Director's office in the Turret Room on the second floor of the Peter Kirk building if you'd like to stop by and introduce yourself. His email is [email protected].

A fond farewell

It is with mixed emotions that we share the news that our Director of Education and interim Executive Director for the past year Star Rush will be moving on from KAC. Star's last day will be Friday January 12th.

In her time at KAC Star demonstrated her skills and commitment as an educator and advocate for the arts. When called upon to support KAC in an administrative role as our interim Executive Director she did not hesitate and has had a lasting positive impact on our organization. Some of her most notable achievements include acquiring valuable funding via the Building for the Arts grant. her support of the 2023 Gala, and the Re-Animators gallery show. She will be missed.

We asked Star to share her thoughts on her time at KAC and what's next for her:

I had the opportunity to serve Kirkland Arts Center as Director of Education at Kirkland Arts Center from September 2022, and concurrently, Interim Executive Director since March 2023. I'm proud of the work I and the entire KAC staff took on and accomplished during the year. It's with a heavy heart that I say farewell to them. While it's been a challenging year, I am grateful for the opportunity to invent, learn and build relationships--applying my expertise from 25 years of executive higher education administration. I think I am leaving the arts center poised to seize opportunities during this transition. I'm excited to continue my service to the arts, artists, and arts education in Washington state and the Puget Sound region through my role on the Board of Commissioners of Washington State Arts Commission as well as my new company, MixMuse Media, and my portrait & fine art photography at starrushphoto.com.

Now Hiring: Education Director

With Star's departure we are now hiring for a new Education Director. This is an incredibly important role for KAC and we would love it if the community can get the word out to as many qualified candidates as possible. The listing with instructions can be found on our Careers page.

View Job Description

We are 100% Fired Up

We're thrilled to report that thanks to your generous donations to the FIRED UP End-of-Year appeal we reached our goal of $19,000!

This money will be used to replace critical equipment in the ceramics studio - 3 electric kilns and our water heater. This is a great start to 2024 for KAC and we appreciate the generous support of the KAC community.

Thank you again to everyone who supported this campaign

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