Jason Weeks

Lecturer

Jason Weeks is the executive director of the Cambridge Arts, a city department and public nonprofit agency that engages residents and visitors through programming designed to stimulate awareness, participation, and support for the arts. Jason works with an advisory board, trustees of the nonprofit, Cambridge Public Art Commission, elected officials, city administration, and agency staff to oversee an award-winning Public Art Program, agency grantmaking, and a variety of produced programs and events that positively impact the lives and work of local and regional artists, creatives, arts organizations, and residents and visitors to Cambridge.

In addition to his role at Cambridge Arts, Jason is an adjunct lecturer in Arts Administration at Boston University and a founding board member for MASSCreative, a statewide arts advocacy organization supporting individual artists and communities throughout the Commonwealth. Under Jason’s leadership, Cambridge Arts was recognized with the MA Commonwealth Award, the state’s highest award recognizing successful leadership, community engagement, and arts advocacy within the sector. Jason is a regular lecturer at area schools and universities and participates in regional and national conferences to discuss effective strategies in arts administration and organizational success within the creative economy.

Jason’s artistic training and areas of practice include music, theater, and photography. He holds undergraduate degrees in both music and English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a graduate degree in Arts Administration from Boston University.

“Artists and arts and culture sector organizations operate in a complex environment and carry out mission-driven work that requires a deep level of understanding, interaction, and engagement with the surrounding community. These communities include individual artists, arts service organizations, neighborhood groups, local cultural councils, government, universities, advocacy organizations, local business districts, foundations, corporate partners, and the diverse audiences that these organizations serve. Boston University’s program in Arts Administration promotes curiosity and immersive learning opportunities for students that examine this ecosystem and demonstrate how artists and administrators can serve as powerful catalysts and connectors to bring these various groups together around common goals, achieve successful outcomes, and build stronger and more vibrant arts communities.”