WELCOME

Welcome to the Quick’s new Advisory Board members

In 2018, the Quick Center for the Arts created an Advisory Board made up of members of the Quick community who believe in our mission and values. This dedicated group of volunteers provide input and guidance to enable the Quick Center for the Arts to serve the shifting needs of our entire community and encourage collaboration and thoughtful partnerships. Current members include: Robyn Drucker, Orin Grossman, Patricia Hammalian, Gail M. Harris, Michael Loeb, Suzanne Nemec, and Anne-Marie Ziegler.

We are excited to announce the addition of four new members who will help us engage with new audiences, grow our Arts for All education programs, and launch an exciting campaign to celebrate 35 years of the Quick. New members include:

Deborah Murtaugh has been an arts advocate in Fairfield County for over 20 years, including serving two terms as President for the MoCA Westport Board. She also studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a conservatory in New York City before going on to perform in Off Broadway theater.

Sherri Bartley Rivera is co-founder of Fairfield County Lifestyle, a local social media platform for promoting local businesses. As a 27-year resident of Fairfield, she and her husband have raised three children in Fairfield and are regularly seen around town supporting local businesses and non-profit organizations.

Andrea Kern is a long-time Quick Center supporter and volunteer, and has performed on the Quick stage including being a part of last fall’s presentation of Broken Chord with members of the Connecticut Chamber Choir. She previously did extensive work in the Bridgeport school system to encourage powerful mentoring and learning in K-12 schools.

Cathy Edwards is a cultural strategist with extensive experience as a nonprofit arts and business leader, philanthropist, and curator. She has previously worked at New England institutions including serving as Executive Director for the New England Foundation for the Arts and at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven.

NEW STAFF

Welcome to our new Events Coordinator, Dustin Luangkhot

As arts and culture continue to shine at Fairfield University, the Quick is excited to add a new position to ensure our patrons have a great experience! Dustin Luangkhot brings years of experience in theatre and hospitality to his new role as our Events Coordinator.

After graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a degree in Media Studies and Theatre, he spent time working in the hotel industry before beginning his career in the arts as Assistant Director of CCSU’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird. He later served as the Production Coordinator and Assistant Stage Manager for New Zenith Theatre & Film during their productions of Tuck Everlasting and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2022, he workshopped his own play titled Tale of Hoffman while participating in the Hartford Fringe Festival. That same year, he joined the external relations office of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as the Development Associate. During his tenure, he performed a variety of duties including fundraising, box office, and bartending. He not only organized receptions for both members and artists, but the annual golf tournament held on Fishers Island. He assisted in the coordination of the O’Neill’s Monte Cristo Award Gala and annual summer Beech Party.

Dustin is a Connecticut native born and raised in Middletown, before moving to New Haven where he currently resides. Please help us welcome Dustin in his new position as we’re certain you’ll see him at future events.

IN THE NEWS

Keep up with the Quick in your favorite local publications and stations.

The Quick Center for the Arts has enjoyed a busy fall, including several features in recent local news. If you missed out, you can still read and listen now.

Lori Jones, our director of programming and operations, was welcomed onto WPKN 89.5FM’s monthly GM Report to share what’s to come at the Quick. Listen now.

In addition, the Quick will be featured in Fairfield Lifestyle magazine sharing some highlights of what’s to come and all the great work we do through our Arts for All programs to provide high-caliber, hands-on arts education to K-12th grade local youth. Read more.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Ensuring the arts are accessible for all.

The Quick Center for the Arts is committed to ensuring that world-class arts experiences are available to all through our Arts for All program. With a particular focus on K-12th grade students in under-resourced schools and community organizations, the Quick works with programs to provide free tickets to performances, hands-on learning through workshops, and career development through internships.

The Quick’s Arts for All program is supported through generous donors and foundations that understand the power of arts education and access. In the last three months we have served more than 1,500 young people through recent workshops and experiences due to Arts for All including: two performances by Cirque Kikasse for students at Fairchild Wheeler school; one school-time performance of Machine de Cirque; and multiple workshops with different schools working with Cirque Kikasse, Machine de Cirque, and the National Bunraku Theater, including two workshops with circus artists with the Bridgeport Juvenile Residential Center.

We are especially appreciative of the Howard and Katherine Aibel Foundation for their support of our presentation of Owls on Sunday, November 3. In addition to having this acclaimed chamber music quartet on our stage, the Aibel Foundation supports our ability to have these musicians and educators working with local 9th-12th grade students in two different schools who will have the opportunity to perform what they are currently working on for the artists and gain insightful feedback as well as having time for questions about what inspires the musicians and composers in an art form that is as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago.

Click the link below to learn more about our Arts Education and Outreach Fund or to reach out and discuss opportunities with Quick staff to engage with our Arts for All programs.

LEARN MORE

ELECTION 2024

Where culture and politics collide.

The Quick Center for the Arts serves as a platform to not only immerse our community in meaningful conversations but engage audiences in new perspectives and differing opinions. With the 2024 election approaching swiftly, we have felt the immense responsibility to serve as a hub for thoughtful dialogue and respectful disagreement.

Over the last few weeks, our Open VISIONS Forum and OVF: Espresso series has offered Fairfield University students and the larger community access to experts and opinion-makers including, Harvard poling expert John Della Volpe, the National Lafayette Symposium, an enlightening conversation between Alyssa Farah Griffin and Molly Jong-Fast, and this week’s thought-provoking community forum with Bari Weiss.

We still have one remaining event this Friday, November 1 at 3 p.m. with Douglas Brinkley, dubbed by The Chicago Times as “America’s New Past Master.” Brinkley will deep dive into the highs and lows of American presidencies, past and present.

Knowledge is a powerful tool in today’s political climate. By offering different perspectives and acknowledging the many stratums of Americans, we hope you took advantage of the opportunity to engage and feel more informed.

For those of you that are residents and vote in the town of Fairfield, we are also excited to share that Fairfield University serves as an Early Voting site until November 3. Learn more.

TICKETS FOR DOUGLAS BRINKLEY