BOSTON, October 19, 2020—MASSCreative announces today that it has named Tri Vi Quach as its new Director of Engagement and Organizing, where he will advance MASSCreative’s arts community organizing and coalition building efforts among arts leaders and advocates across the state. Quach brings over 20 years of experience in community organizing, student development, and education to this work.
“Tri is a skilled organizer and leader who knows how to build partnerships across diverse communities,” said Emily Ruddock, MASSCreative’s executive director. “As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on the creative sector, Tri’s experience in building community and finding innovative ways to connect will be of great value to the state’s arts, culture, and creative communities.”
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Tri to the MASSCreative team,” added MASSCreative Board of Directors Chair Steve Immerman. “Political support for art, culture, and creativity requires on-going organizing and advocacy. Tri has the background and experience to build strong partnerships among artists, creative and culture workers, and arts and cultural organizations. He will be vital to our work building a stronger and more inclusive creative sector in Massachusetts.”
Quach was, most recently, a program coordinator, artist-in-residence, and adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the Asian American Studies Program. There he focused on inclusive pedagogies and models of activism and organizing within the context of social movements. He integrated art and culture as a tool of empowerment into all aspects of his work, from installations across campus to assignments in the classroom. A visual artist, Quach uses a variety of mediums to share complex, sometimes contradictory, narratives of marginalization, trauma, diaspora and liberation. Quach is also the former director of the Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth, a youth-directed organization focused on empowering youth to be leaders in their communities and schools, and advocates for the changes they wanted to see.
“Art and activism are synonymous to me, and I’m excited to build on MASSCreative’s strong foundation of grassroots organization,” Quach said. “Art and culture are foundational elements to every community’s health and vibrancy but have often been positioned as a luxury good. Art plays a core role in strengthening communities by lifting voices through song, paintings, or dance. Art builds critical thinkers and broadens perspective of what is possible. In this way art is essential and I look forward to working with our creative sector to ensuring that everyone in the Commonwealth has access to it.”
Quach holds an MS in Transnational, Cultural, and Community Studies and a BA in Art from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
About MASSCreative
MASSCreative works with artists, cultural councils, arts organizations and the broader creative community to build a Commonwealth where arts and creativity are an expected, recognized, and valued part of everyday life. Working with our coalition of 400 arts and cultural organizations and artists from across the Commonwealth, MASSCreative uses public education and awareness, grassroots organizing, advocacy campaigns, and other civic and political engagement to ensure that arts, culture, and creativity are considered when important policy and political decisions get made at the state and local level.
