YoungArts, a Miami-based nonprofit known for supporting promising teenage artists throughout their careers, has found its new president.
Clive Chang, an accomplished pianist, composer and arts leader, will begin as YoungArts president early January, the nonprofit announced Wednesday morning. Chang most recently served as executive vice president, Chief Advancement & Innovation Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, home to several internationally renowned performing arts organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School in New York City.
Chang’s appointment concluded a months-long national search after YoungArts executive director Jewel Malone stepped down from her role earlier this year. As president, Chang will report to YoungArts’ Board of Trustees and oversee the organization’s strategy, programs, fundraising, communications and operations.
Sarah Arison, the board chair, said Chang is the “arts administration version of a triple threat” who has valuable experience in the non-profit and for-profit sectors.
“Clive brings to this role exceptional leadership, fundraising skills and the special perspective of a lifelong musician who deeply understands the needs and aspirations of the artists we serve,” Arison said.
YoungArts was founded in 1981 by philanthropists Ted and Lin Arison, Sarah Arison’s grandparents. The organization accepts applications from thousands of young artists, ages 15 to 18, who excel in visual arts, dance, writing, music, design and performance. National competition winners receive cash prizes up to $10,000 and access to creative and professional support. YoungArts alumni include Billy Porter, Viola Davis, Timothée Chalamet, Nicki Minaj and several Miami-based artists, like Cornelius Tulloch and Mark Fleuridor.
“YoungArts is a jewel in the arts community, and has done so much amazing work for four decades now,” Chang said. “Through my own relationships with artists through my work at Lincoln Center — we have a wonderful partnership at Lincoln Center with YoungArts — I really got to know and appreciate the amazing and impactful work that YoungArts does. When this opportunity came up, it was just a calling.”
Chang brings a stacked resume of artistic, educational and leadership experience to YoungArts.
He earned his diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music, dual bachelor’s degrees from McGill University in music and finance, a Master of Fine Arts in musical theater writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.
From 2014 to 2019, Chang worked as the Director, Strategy & Business Development for Disney Theatrical Group, where he established Disney’s stage-to-screen business. In 2020, he returned to Lincoln Center, where he previously worked in different positions. As executive vice president, he commissioned set designer Mimi Lien’s “The GREEN,” an installation that turned the center’s plaza into a grassy-looking oasis; established Lincoln Center Leadership Fellows board pipeline program; and launched the center’s research and development lab for art, technology and social impact.
Chang said he will approach the YoungArts presidency the same way he always has, as a collaborative artist. Leading an organization is like playing with a musical ensemble, he said. Each member takes turns bringing their voice to the forefront.
“What I love about that kind of setting is that there are these unspoken rules, right? You read each other’s breaths, you read each other’s facial expressions,” Chang said. “You rely on that synchronicity in harmony to come together to become a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
As an artist, Chang said he appreciates YoungArts’ impact on the lives of young people who want to pursue a career in the arts. He can relate to that journey personally.
Chang’s music career began as a 3-year-old boy in Hong Kong banging on a piano with his twin sister. (His parents immediately tried enrolling them in piano classes, but were turned away because they were too young.) His family later immigrated to Canada where he began taking lessons. At age 8, Chang wrote his first composition with the encouragement of a music teacher.
But when it was time to apply to college, Chang faced a moment many young artists experience, he said. His parents weren’t thrilled about him studying music instead of something like engineering or law.
“I think back to those moments, and I didn’t have a YoungArts in my life,” he said. “I think it would have been a really, really wonderful thing.”
Still, Chang said, he stuck to his guns while being the “obedient son” that he is. While attending McGill, Chang rushed back and forth from his music and finance classes and got his degrees in both. Interestingly, his dual education in arts and business made him the perfect fit for positions like YoungArts president.
When he takes on the role, he said he wants to help YoungArts fulfill its mission in supporting young people who are at that pivotal moment in life: deciding to become an artist.
“In that moment, they really reaffirm, they really encourage,” Chang said of YoungArts. “They really validate to these young people that, ‘Yes, absolutely, you can be an artist. And in fact, artists are vital to our humanity. Here are all the ways in which you may pursue a life in the arts.’ I think having that moment of magic is just so important.”
This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 6:00 AM.