Hank Knerr, executive director of the Lively Arts with
Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s College of Fine Arts, was recently elected
to the board of directors for the North American Performing Arts Managers and
Agents (NAPAMA).
NAPAMA works to promote the best interests of performing
arts agents and managers through leadership, professional development, and
alliances in the business of performing arts touring. Based in New York, the organization directly serves both the U.S. and Canada with extended international influence.
Activities of NAPAMA include adopting industrywide ethical guidelines, professional
development, communication standards, networking, and other activities.
The board consists of 12 members, including performing
artists and their agents and managers along with performing arts presenters and
other professionals in the field. Nominated by the board in late December,
Knerr was formally elected during the organization’s annual membership meeting
held January 11, 2015, in New York as part of the annual Association of
Performing Arts Presenters conference.
In addition, the Canadian Arts Presenters
Association/Canadienne Des Organismes Artistiques (CAPACOA) has invited Knerr
as a delegate to its annual conference through its Export Buyers Program. The program selects up to 15 delegates
from countries outside Canada to engage and build business relationships and
opportunities with Canadian performing arts program participants, including
presenters, artists, agents, and managers.
The conference will be held in mid-January in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, with all expenses for invited delegates covered by CAPACOA and its
business and government sponsors.
Knerr has directed the Lively Arts since coming to Indiana
in 1989. In his position, he oversees an operation involving presenting Ovations!,
the area’s premier touring performance series; heading the marketing for
upwards of 200 arts-in-education outreach
activities through the College of Fine Arts’ ArtsPath program, the IUP Community Music School, and management
of Fisher Auditorium and the IUP Performing Arts Center.
He currently serves as president of PA Presenters, a state
organization dedicated to professionals presenting and managing guest performing
artists. He is also on the board of the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance and
has served as a board member locally with the Indiana County Humane Society,
Indiana Arts Council, and Indiana County Tourist Bureau.