CNU hires executive director of new fine arts center

Holly Koons has been named the inaugural executive director of the Christopher Newport University Fine Arts Center, which is scheduled to open next year, the Newport News-based university announced Wednesday. Koons was most recently executive director of the Arlington Arts Center and will start her new position Oct. 15.

“I am honored to join Christopher Newport University and this marvelous new chapter in the cultural life of the campus and the Hampton Roads community,” Koons said in a statement. “Christopher Newport’s commitment to the Fine Arts Center elevates the importance of the visual arts within the tradition of a liberal arts education and acknowledges the powerful role the visual arts play in building community by fostering critical thinking, cultural engagement and lifelong creativity.”

Before joining the Arlington Arts Center four years ago, Koons held leadership positions with the Greater Reston Arts Center and the Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia. A graduate of the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame, Koons will lead programming and exhibits at the nearly $60 million facility adjoining the Ferguson Center for the Arts. The center will start offering programs and classes in summer 2021 and plans an inaugural exhibit in the fall semester.

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