OAKLAND, CA.- The Board of Directors of Creative Growth Art Center announced the appointment of Sunny A. Smith, Executive Director and CEO. They begin the role on August 18, 2025. A nationally recognized artist, educator, and cultural leader, who believes in art as a force for change, connection, and creative agency in the 21st century, Smith most recently served as Dean of Fine Arts at California College of the Arts (CCA), where they have shaped progressive arts pedagogy, stewarded major institutional gifts, and championed equity and access to the arts for all people. Smith succeeds Interim Executive Director Kathleen McLean.

“Sunny brings not only a deep knowledge of contemporary art, but a leadership style rooted in care, accountability, and community transformation,” said Michael Breland, President of the Board of Directors. “Creative Growth is a pioneering force in the arts and disabilities field, and I am confident Sunny will both champion art as the path for people with disabilities to express themselves and realize a bold and sustainable future for the organization.”

“I’m honored to join Creative Growth—an organization I’ve admired and followed for more than two decades for its visionary work, its artists, and the vibrant community it has built,” said Smith, an equity driven arts advocate who brings more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of contemporary art, higher education, and community engagement to the role. “I’m excited to steward its next chapter—building on recent milestones while focusing on long-term financial sustainability, coalition building, national advocacy in contemporary art and disability justice, and deepening support for Creative Growth’s extraordinary artists and staff.”

Founded in 1974 by Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz on the vision that art would be the path forward for people with disabilities to express themselves and a professional gallery that would exhibit their work, Creative Growth is now the oldest and largest nonprofit studio and gallery for artists with developmental disabilities. Over the past five decades, the organization has catalyzed a global movement by expanding the visibility and influence of artists working outside traditional art world structures. Its artists have exhibited at major institutions including MoMA, SFMOMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Venice Biennale. Creative Growth’s legacy was recently celebrated through major exhibitions at the Oakland Museum of California (Into the Brightness, 2023) and SFMOMA (The House That Art Built, 2024). The organization also hosts the annual Creating Community Symposium, which convenes artists and leaders from progressive art studios across the U.S. and beyond to explore best practices, advocacy, and the evolving landscape of art and disability.