Who I am

A man in a suit and glasses speaking at a podium with a UNC Global sign, in front of a wooden panel background.

Photo Courtesy UNC-Chapel Hill

I’ve always believed that the arts are a form of public service. My work has been about building systems where artists can imagine freely, institutions serve justly, and communities feel seen.

— Emil J. Kang

I started my independent practice in 2025, after five years at the Mellon Foundation and two decades leading performing arts organizations. I work with organizations facing decisions about their purpose and how they operate.

From 2019 to 2024 I was Program Director for Arts and Culture at the Mellon Foundation, the largest funder of the arts and humanities in the United States, where I directed a $120 million annual grantmaking portfolio, launched Creatives Rebuild New York, and worked to center equity across the field.

Before that I spent fourteen years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I founded Carolina Performing Arts and launched Arts Everywhere. Earlier I was President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and, before that, Orchestra Manager of the Seattle Symphony.

President Barack Obama appointed me to the National Council on the Arts in 2012, and I still serve. Since 2021 I have been Vice Chair of New York City’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission. I serve on the boards of Silkroad, National Sawdust, GYOPO, and Mutual Mentorship for Musicians, and I am a member of the Council of Korean Americans.

Key Credentials

  • National Council on the Arts, presidential appointee (2012 to present)

  • Vice Chair, Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, City of New York (2021 to present)

  • Senior Advisor to the President and Acting Vice President, Community Arts and Media, Emerson College (2025 to 2026)

  • Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Yale Ventures Cultural Innovation Lab, Yale University

  • Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts, Brown University (2024 to 2025)

  • Program Director, Arts and Culture, Mellon Foundation (2019 to 2024)

  • Executive and Artistic Director, Carolina Performing Arts (2005 to 2019)

  • President and Executive Director, Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2000 to 2003)

  • Boards: Silkroad, National Sawdust, GYOPO, Mutual Mentorship for Musicians

Group of 12 diverse professionally dressed people standing in a formal room with ornate decor, including a chandelier, paintings, and decorated walls.

President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, and members of the National Council on the Arts including Emil Kang, during a ceremony at the White House, 2023. (Photo credit: White House)

Contact Emil