We envision a community that values and supports the collective exploration of liberatory ideas across creative disciplines.
Amplify Arts provides resources for artists, organizers, and cultural workers to incubate liberatory ideas that challenge dominant systems and move our community forward.
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Melissa Wurth | Operations
Melissa is a fierce advocate of arts and culture as a human right. She has championed Omaha’s creative community in her previous roles as Executive Director of Omaha Girls Rock and an educator in Westside Community Schools. She believes creative organizing that begins at the grassroots level opens pathways to collaboration and meaningful change. Her dedication to continually examining the ways in which asymmetries of power, belonging, and justice shape nonprofit operations fully informs her approach to implementing organizational policy that cultivates a human-centered work environment at Amplify. Contact Melissa: melissa@amplifyarts.org
Lauren Martin | Partnerships
Lauren has devoted her career to building, developing, and activating organizations that enhance our region. Most recently, in her role as Executive Director of Maha Festival, Lauren worked to support dynamic programming that meaningfully connected people from near and far with Omaha’s creative communities. Her role at Maha – as well as previous roles at the Omaha Community Foundation, Omaha Performing Arts, Hear Nebraska, Saddle Creek Records, and more – helped her understand the systems and structures that support our community’s cultural resources and Omaha’s potential as a place where artists can live, work, and find meaningful support. Contact Lauren: lauren@amplifyarts.org
Peter Fankhauser | Programs
Peter is an artist and educator who believes in wild futures. Before joining the Amplify team, he held posts at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel in Los Angeles, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, and The City University of New York, where he also received an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Practice. In addition to working as a Co-Director at Amplify, Peter teaches courses in Photography and Visual Literacy at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His own creative research probes conditions of impermanence and loss by queering dominant historical narratives, popular culture, and interspecies kinships. Contact Peter: peter@amplifyarts.org
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Community Advisory Group
Corson Androski
Artist and ResearcherAng Bennett
Artist, Communications Manager, Inclusive CommunitiesKarin Campbell
Phil Willson Curator of Contemporary Art, Joslyn Art MuseumJoAnna LeFlore-Ejike
Executive Director, Malcolm X Memorial FoundationTess Houser
Program Manager, Front Porch InvestmentsAspen Monet Laboy
Artist, Visitor Services Coordinator, The Union for Contemporary ArtAlex O’Hanlon
Engagement Coordinator, One OmahaKieth Rodger
Audio Engineer, Bemis Center for Contemporary ArtAmeen Wahba
Artist, Therapist, Omaha Integrative CareBoard
Alexandra M Cardon
Chief Curator, Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning CenterJeffrey Collins, Jr
CPD Representatitive at U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAmanda Kephart
Program Manager, Kiewit LuminariumDiana Martinez
Program Associate, Weitz Family FoundationLauren Simpson
Choreographer -
Public Art Partnerships
Artist Survey
