Faron Manuel assitant editor for BAIA speaks with Juanita Hardy, collector and recently retiring Director of Cultural D.C.
CulturalDC makes space for art. Each year CulturalDC serves over 1,000 artists and arts groups and 30,000 audience members through the activation of art space and presentation of contemporary visual and performing arts at our two spaces, Flashpoint and Source, and in nontraditional venues across the city. Through our programs and services we work with artists, arts organizations and real estate developers to build the creative infrastructure that fuels the arts and builds community in Washington, DC.
www.blackartinamerica.com is for artists and art lovers, join today.
Juanita Hardy has a passion for forging cross-cultural connections in art and business. She has 38 years of business experience, including 31 years with IBM, where she retired in 2005, and 30 years in the arts, dating back to the early 80s. As Executive Director for CulturalDC, Hardy leads a team of 9 and manages a budget of $1.2M to facilitate cultural and economic vibrancy in the Washington area through CulturalDC’s programs and services, which includes offering free space and mentoring for artists to create and present innovative new work, providing affordable office and presentation space for art organizations at its two locations, and creating new art spaces, working with developers, property owners and government agencies to foster economic development in communities throughout the Washington Metropolitan area.
Prior to this role, Hardy led Tiger Management Consulting Group, LLC, a global business consulting and training firm, which she founded in 2006 after retiring from IBM. For IBM, she led many business transformation and training initiatives in its Marketing and Global Services Divisions. Hardy is a published author and global speaker. Selected speaking engagements include Peking University Business Review Roundtable (2009), the Global Conference of the World Future Society (2012), the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce Women Executive Leadership Conference (2013) and the Rotary Club of DC (2014). Hardy’s papers have been featured in The Roadmap to 2020 published by Quantum Leaps and sponsored by IBM, Enterprising Women magazine, and The Peking University Business Review published by Peking University, Beijing. Hardy was featured among 13 women in a book, Montgomery County Women Making It (2011) and is a 2010 recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s Minority Business Leaders Award.
Hardy has served on many non-profit art boards dating back to the 1980s including ArTrain USA, the UMUC Art Advisory Board and Brandywine Workshop. She currently serves on the GMU Art Advisory Board, as well as Mentor Foundation USA, Maryland China Business Council, and Millennium Arts Salon, an art education initiative, which she co-founded in 2000. Hardy has collected fine art since 1985.
Find out more about Juanita in her Staff Member Spotlight Q&A.
