About PennyMaria Jackson
Chief Creative Officer
PennyMaria Jackson is a dedicated arts professional, enthusiast and advocate. With more nearly 20 years of experience on the New York arts scene, she is recognized as a leader by the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), and has been a guest speaker at Juilliard and New York University (NYU). Invested in change, PennyMaria was a Ford Foundation Theatre Futures Panelist at TCG's most recent conference, and has participated in various national conversations hosted by arts industry leaders including WolfBrown and Capacity Interactive. She is a proud member of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA).
Utilizing the power of the arts as a driving force, PennyMaria is dedicated to bridging the gap between cultures for decades to come.
Chief Creative Officer
PennyMaria Jackson is a dedicated arts professional, enthusiast and advocate. With more nearly 20 years of experience on the New York arts scene, she is recognized as a leader by the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), and has been a guest speaker at Juilliard and New York University (NYU). Invested in change, PennyMaria was a Ford Foundation Theatre Futures Panelist at TCG's most recent conference, and has participated in various national conversations hosted by arts industry leaders including WolfBrown and Capacity Interactive. She is a proud member of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA).
Utilizing the power of the arts as a driving force, PennyMaria is dedicated to bridging the gap between cultures for decades to come.
Steppenwolf Theater Company; Photos Courtesy of Joel Moorman
Tony Awards Gala; Photo courtesy of PennyMaria Jackson
Plenary Speech, Evaluating Artistic Systems; Photo courtesy of APAP
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Currently, PennyMaria serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, IL. The institution is firmly rooted in ensemble and intentionally working to expand its community through programming that includes the global majority. As Steppenwolf redefines what it means to be a cultural institution, PennyMaria is leading audience development planning, community engagement initiatives, and membership research.
PennyMaria was also the Director of Marketing at the world-famous Apollo Theater where she led successful campaigns for performances, events, and high-profile conversations for multiple years. During her tenure there, she worked diligently to move the iconic Apollo institution forward, and was instrumental in launching the theater’s Amateur Night at the Apollo live stream series. PennyMaria also elevated audience engagement as she curated the theater’s first augmented/virtual reality experience and commissioned a permanent digital activation for patrons. PennyMaria has worked closely with sponsors including Coca-Cola, Spotify, Citi, and Essence, and fostered performance partnerships with the National Black Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, AfroPunk, and the international Women of the World (WOW) Festival, among others. Previously, PennyMaria developed millennial audiences at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as part of a Wallace Foundation $1.4 million dollar grant and led a significant community engagement initiative at Harlem Stage. She offers a robust range of experience in marketing and communications, web and graphic design, community engagement, foundation relations, corporate partnership management, and more. PennyMaria has been an invaluable member of the Harlem arts community since 2009. She served as a public member of Community Board 9's Arts & Culture Committee for several years and is a founding member of the recently established Harlem Arts & Culture Initiative (HACI). Born and raised in Miami, Florida with Bahamian roots, PennyMaria was exposed to arts and culture in the colorful neighborhood of Liberty City. She holds an M.A. degree in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications. |
