Steve Hoffman joins me to discuss his journey from inspired audience member to influential story broker at the Norton Center for the Arts. We explore the power of storytelling to heal, build community, and spark connection. Steve shares how he curates seasons, fosters collaboration, and makes the arts more relevant and accessible. From community engagement to the impact of productions like Last Out, this episode is a tribute to the transformative role of the arts in our lives.
You can listen on the Substack App, and all episodes are also available on Apple or Spotify.
Or, if you want to put faces with voices, you can watch the video version of this podcast over on YouTube.
Steve’s Links
LinkedIn — Essential Engagement: Connecting Communities Through Cultural Programming
Steve’s personal Instagram page featuring his photography from his farm and its animals
Steve’s Bio
Steve Hoffman has curated, produced and presented arts and humanities programs, events, exhibitions, festivals and seasons for over 30 years. Since 2010, he has served as Executive Director of Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts. Highlights include receiving the 2023 Arts Organization of the Year by the Arts Commission of Danville-County; a 2017 Kentucky Governor’s Award in the Arts; curating numerous arts and humanities-based exhibitions; creating and implementing community engagement activities with professional artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Ben Vereen, and Sphinx Virtuosi; and his involvement with the 2012 U.S. Vice Presidential Debate and Debate Festival.
Since 2011, Steve has also served on the faculty of the University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration graduate program and has mentored international, professional, classical musicians since 2013 through the national Young Professionals Career Advancement program. Previously, Steve was President and CEO of the National Steinbeck Center, in Monterey, California, and was the founding CEO of the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Steve currently is chair of the Kentucky Presenters Network, immediate past board president of The Gladys Project, and a board member of the Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce. Since living in Kentucky, Steve has also served on boards and/or committees for the Heart of Danville, Leadership Boyle County, The Art Center of the Bluegrass, United Way of the Bluegrass, Clayton Center for the Arts at Maryville College (Maryville, TN), Folk Alliance International, and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals.
Steve is also currently in the process of publishing a handbook to serve the professional and academic arts, humanities and cultural administration industries.
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A quick shout out to Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay for the musical underscoring!
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