'Delighted to have her': United Arts Council now has a Naples native at the helm
A woman who has worked alongside masterpieces will return to Naples for a job with a mop and bucket.
Elysia Dawn, a former employee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Frick Collection, joins the United Arts Council of Collier County as executive director Nov. 1. First among her tasks will be helping clean out the UAC offices on Fourth Avenue North, which were flooded, like the businesses around it, during Hurricane Ian.
"I can't wait to get back to Naples and roll up my sleeves," said Dawn, who arrives from New York, where she is working on a fundraiser for GALLIM, an arts organization that integrates dance, theater, film and the visual arts.
It's a chance for the Naples native to finally work in her hometown after more than 20 years on the East Coast. The COVID-19 pandemic actually turned her toward finding a Naples niche, she said.
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"I was missing my family so much, and especially during the pandemic that enforced separation was difficult," she said. Dawn said she was seeing her brother's family and watching her nephew grow up iin Gainesville via Zoom. Her parents, Jeffrey D. and Lucy Fridkin, still live in Naples.
Dawn left Naples during her high school years to attend a professional ballet school for her career. She has been a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and a performer with Boston Ballet, The Washington Ballet and Les Grands Ballet Canadiens. But after an injury sidelined her, she began looking at dance administration and, later, arts administration.
The Great Recession was another major impetus for change. Dawn was working for the Met "when we suddenly went down from a staff of 18 to 5, and everyone had to keep a hat rack near their desks and do a lot of different things," she said. She found herself gravitating toward development.
Once the mops are put away at the UAC, Dawn says, she's eager to reach out.
"Right now I'm at the point of gathering information and getting to meet with others in the community to ensure we're defining and achieving our mission with everything that we're doing," she said.
"I really hope to build bridges and be a catalyst for collaborations that are of benefit to all involved."
Dawn has a master of science in nonprofit management from Columbia University. As well as at the above three organizations, she has worked in programming and development for the Florence Dance Festival at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Italy.
“Elysia has an extraordinary passion for the arts, a life-long connection to the local community, and tremendous arts management and advocacy experience. She is ideally suited to lead an arts agency anywhere in the world. We are delighted to have her here,” said a statement from UAC President Gregg Zavodny announcing her appointment.
United Arts Council of Collier County is designated by the State of Florida as the official local arts agency for Collier County. UAC provides arts education to at-risk students and outreach arts services to those who might not otherwise have access. It also states as its mission connecting arts organizations, galleries, artist, and arts educators with one another, local audiences and tourism-related businesses.
Dawn replaces Laura Burns, who recently moved to the job of executive director at Opera Naples.
Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for the Naples Daily News/naplesnews.com. Reach her at 239-253-8936.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples native returns from New York to steer United Arts Council
