PALM SPRINGS, CA.- Palm Springs Art Museum announced the appointment of Leonardo Bravo as Director of Education and Public Programs. In this position Bravo will provide leadership for the museum’s diverse and innovative education, community, and public programming. With an integrated approach he will lead the museum’s education programs in sync with broadening definitions of how artists today are reshaping art and culture.
Bravo most recently served the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as Community Arts Manager. In that position he coordinated and oversaw the work of arts organizations in district schools and managed funding streams available for arts partners. Prior to that (2008-2015), he was Director of School Programs for the Music Center: Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, where he designed and implemented long-term partnerships for the arts for school districts throughout Los Angeles County. From 2003 to 2006, he was Director of Arts Education of P.S. ARTS, working with multiple school districts in Los Angeles County to develop K-8 curriculum in alignment with the California Visual and Performing Arts Standards. He also worked for the Getty Museum in their family, college, and school programs, and as an artist-educator coach for The Galef Institute in schools in Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, Utah, and California.
As an active advocate for quality in arts education, Bravo has served as a consultant to many leading foundations and organizations working to support innovation in the arts in California, including the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Herb Alpert Foundation, and the California Alliance for Arts Education. He has notably been invited to participate in convening with the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education.
Bravo also founded Big City Forum, an interdisciplinary project highlighting creative practices across architecture, design, and contemporary art that is reshaping urban public space and social change; and Open Links, which guides and assists clients in organizational restructuring, strategic planning, program design, marketing strategies, fundraising and evaluation of projects. He has an MFA from University of Southern California and a BFA from Otis Institute of Art & Design in Los Angeles. He also currently serves as Board President for the Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts.
In addition to Bravo’s extensive professional background, he has taught in higher education, and in K through 12 grades since 1995. His teaching positions have included instruction at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California State University Northridge, UCLA Extension Visual Arts Department, and Stephen S. Wise Temple School in Los Angeles.
“Bravo’s wide range of experience with arts education in schools and community-based cultural programs makes him ideally suited to lead the museum’s strategic emphasis on creating an active dialogue with local audiences as well as with visitors from around the world,” said Elizabeth Armstrong, The JoAnn McGrath Executive Director for Palm Springs Art Museum. “He will be an integral member of our leadership staff and we look forward to having him manage important educational initiatives that will be woven through a cross disciplinary model that includes art, design, and architectural practices.”
