The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs has announced that longtime Executive Director John Bracey will retire from the agency on December 28, 2018. MCACA Programs Manager Alison Watson will take over as executive director.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to be steward for the arts and cultural field in Michigan,” Bracey said. “I have been so very proud to be their civil servant. I also feel extremely comfortable with the team here at MCACA – the best in all of state government in my opinion – and I’m truly proud that the next leader of MCACA is Alison Watson. It will be exciting to watch what heights the field in Michigan will reach under her leadership.”

Bracey, 61, joined the agency in 1998 as the director of programs and became executive director in 2006. Beyond keeping the agency afloat, his accomplishments included the creation of a “gap management” strategy to arts council statewide funding, the formation of the New Leaders Arts Council of Michigan, promoting the professional development of young people, and embedding the idea of access to arts and culture for all Michigan citizens into the fabric of MCACA. 

Watson, 43, comes to the executive director position after seven years of serving as programs manager for MCACA. She brings more than 20 years of expertise within Michigan’s arts and cultural sector. 

“I am absolutely honored and thrilled to become the new executive director of MCACA,” Watson said. “I really can’t express the level of admiration and respect I have for the state’s arts and cultural organizations small, medium and large. The work they do for all the citizens of Michigan, in every corner of the state, from Calumet to Coldwater, is nothing short of amazing. The same is true of the staff and Council of MCACA. They are passionate and skilled and that is what makes us the best state arts agency in the nation.”

To read the full announcement, visit here.