A smiling man in glasses wearing a navy suit jacket and white shirt standing against a purple background.

Strategic counsel for arts organizations, universities, and foundations

I work with arts organizations and universities on institutional strategy and board governance, and I advise funders and artists on the direction of their work. Engagements range from a single board retreat to a year alongside an organization and its leadership.

What I offer

  • Strategic planning for arts organizations and university arts programs

  • Board retreats, governance reviews, and board development

  • Counsel for executive directors, artistic directors, and board chairs

  • Interim and acting executive roles

  • Program evaluation and grantmaking advice for funders

  • Talks and workshops on arts leadership, governance, and philanthropy

Selected clients, current and past

Georgia Tech Arts, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Dramatists Guild Foundation, Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, VIA Art Fund, Emerson College, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

I spent five years directing arts and culture grantmaking at the Mellon Foundation and fourteen years founding and leading Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that I was president of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. President Barack Obama appointed me to the National Council on the Arts in 2012, and I still serve.

The Reprise

Essays on cultural infrastructure, leadership, and institutional change, read by more than 2,000 subscribers. Recent essays include:

Read The Reprise on Substack

Discuss an engagement

If you are considering working together, tell me about the organization and your timing. I reply to every message myself.

Contact Emil

(Photo Courtesy The Mellon Foundation)

  • "Emil is the creative mind and quick brain that every artist wants in their corner- he believes in the sanctity, and the mission, of righteous art. I know that he has been a wonderful agent of change in my own artistic life."

    — Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad

  • Black and white portrait of a young man with short dark hair, wearing a sleeveless black shirt, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.

    "Emil has changed the trajectory of my career by teaching me how to manifest the possibility contained within me.”

    — Anthony Roth Costanzo, Opera Philadelphia

  • "Emil Kang is among the most influential and forward leaning mediators of culture in our country. His curatorial instincts, intellectual rigor, philanthropic vision, and academic compassion have all sharpened our collective creative lenses and institutional aspirations."

    — Marc Bamuthi Joseph

  • "Emil took on a much larger role in my life than just the invaluable assistance he afforded me, my institution and those whom we serve."

    — Arturo O’Farrill, Afro-Latin Jazz, Belongó

  • Professional woman with shoulder-length wavy hair smiling, wearing a black blazer and hoop earrings, in front of a brick wall.

    'From leading a major arts center to shaping national policy and philanthropy—Emil has been a generous collaborator and visionary peer. His ability to guide institutions through transformative change is unmatched."

    — Kamilah Forbes, APOLLO Theater

  • Portrait of a woman with curly hair and glasses, wearing a black top, sitting indoors with a background of large windows and blurred furniture.

    "I truly have never met someone as deeply committed to nonprofit arts organizations and the people behind them as Emil."

    — Jacqueline Woodson, Baldwin For The Arts

  • A close-up of a woman with medium brown skin, short hair, and pearl hoop earrings, standing in front of yellow curtains.

    "Emil consistently offered highly effective strategy and context analysis for plotting and materializing our most beautiful dreams."

    — esperanza spalding, PRISMID Sanctuary

  • (Emil's) expertise in navigating complex institutional systems, while also challenging those systems, is an inspiration."

    — Eric Gottesman, For Freedoms

  • A woman with short curly hair and earrings standing outdoors with trees and fall foliage in the background.

    "Working with Emil has changed my life. His visionary support for artists empowered my institutional and artistic work."

    — Tania El Khoury, Bard College

  • Older man with glasses and short gray hair wearing a black shirt, standing with arms crossed against a plain white background.

    "Emil Kang is a strategic thinker who draws upon his vast experience in the cultural, academic and philanthropic sectors."

    — Ping Chong, Ping Chong & Co.

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a green top and hoop earrings, smiling softly against a neutral background.

    "(Emil's) visionary leadership has not only elevated DTH and the many organizations that he has served but has also strengthened the broader ecosystem of the arts."

    — Anna Glass, Dance Theatre of Harlem

  • A woman with curly dark hair wearing a pink sleeveless top and hoop earrings, standing in front of a cream-colored stone wall.

    "(Emil's) instincts around adapting for a changing world, creating artist-centered approaches and building the leaders of tomorrow have been transformational."

    — Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts