New Arts Fund
Executive Director

Nina L. Dunbar joins the Arts Fund as its new Executive Director. Most recently, Ms. Dunbar worked as a curator and project manager of public art for the San Francisco Arts Commission. “Nina Dunbar brings a wealth of experience, practical capabilities, and creative enthusiasm to the position,” Arts Fund Board President Claudia Chapman said. “She shares our excitement for The Arts Fund’s presence in Santa Barbara and sees great potential to expand the organization’s role in the community.”

Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Nina Dunbar has been an arts advocate, planner and project manager in the public and private sectors for more than 20 years. She has a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and a Masters Degree in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. After teaching art and working for the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans in the 1980s, she joined the staff of the Phoenix Arts Commission’s award-winning public art program, where she oversaw public art projects related to street and transportation improvements. As a principal in the public art consulting group, Art Management for Public Spaces (AMPS), she developed art plans and implemented public art projects in Arizona and Vancouver, B.C.

She joined the staff of the San Francisco Arts Commission in 1998, where she commissioned sculpture for sites throughout the city, including major works for Union Square and the Moscone Convention Center. Ms. Dunbar moved to Santa Barbara last December with her husband, John Mecklin, and their two children, Hali and Dunbar Mecklin.