JAVA Dec '18 issue

“The Sex Pistols were just as important to me as Stravinsky,” Gerd Wuestemann
clarifies with easy confidence as we talk inside his second-story office. “I love
Giotto just as much as I love Gerhard Richter.” Wuestemann’s taste in art and
music is expansive. However, when it comes to his vision, he is laser-focused.
Wuestemann was named President and CEO of Scottsdale Arts earlier this year.
The nonprofit arts organization oversees the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary
Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Performing Arts, Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale
Arts Education and Outreach, as well as the Scottsdale Arts Festival and Canal
Convergence. The last couple of years have seen the organization go through a
myriad of changes within the leadership positions, causing some uncertainty.
Wuestemann brings stability and, most importantly, an exciting new outlook.
Most CEOs of large organizations are usually unseen, only to come out during
board meetings or lavish galas. Wuestemann is distinctly different. His is
approachable and very much a man of the people. Since his appointment,
Wuestemann has been traveling all over the Phoenix metro area meeting with
stakeholders within the arts and culture community. “I think a big part of my job
is to be a connector to the community,” he said. “I made it a very conscientious
choice and a very strategic point to go out and meet with as many people as
quickly as I can, and have significant conversations with them and really try to
build and sometimes rebuild relationships.”
“Also, I’m a newcomer to this community,” Wuestermann said. “I need to learn
who the people are, who I want to work with, and so it is in our best interest to
connect with as many people as possible. That includes donors and sponsors, but
it certainly includes the artists and the art scene, my peers and so forth.”
Wuestemann grew up in the small German town of Eschwege. He comes from
a working-class family that’s lived in the same area for generations. No one in
his family had finished high school, let alone attended college. Despite these
circumstances, he was exposed to a wide array of cultural experiences early on.
His town was only 35 miles from Kassel, where the world’s biggest contemporary
art exhibit, Documenta, is held every five years. This would have a lasting
impression on how he views the arts.
JAVA 13
MAGAZINE