Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Booth.
Hi Meg, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Meg Booth, President and CEO of Performing Arts Houston. After a fifteen-year career at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where I served as director of dance programming, I joined Performing Arts Houston in December of 2018 (back when we were still known as the Society for the Performing Arts).
I grew up surrounded by art, and although I wasn’t eager to get onstage myself, I knew I had to be involved. I hold a BFA with a concentration in photography from the University of Notre Dame and am an alumna of the Kennedy Center’s Arts Management Fellowship Program. I’ve fallen in love with all that Houston has to offer, and I’m honored to be part of an organization that presents high-caliber art that reflects the beauty of our city.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Resilience is one of Houston’s greatest strengths and resilience has certainly been on display the last 4 years. We were just starting to get out of the woods on Harvey when the pandemic hit. The pandemic disproportionately affected the performing arts. We could not hold live performances, artists largely stopped touring, audiences stopped gathering; this forced us to get creative. We were able to swiftly adapt our performances and education programs to fit the “new norm.” We launched a pilot program commissioning Houston artists to created new work for online streaming before finally returning to the live stage.
Our New/Now: The Houston Artist Commissioning Project is in it’s second year of live performances now and we are so proud to continue supporting and fostering growth of houston’s rich and diverse artists.
As you know, we’re big fans of Performing Arts Houston. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Performing Arts Houston (formerly Society for the Performing Arts), brings exceptional artists through diverse performances and learning experiences to Houston. Music, Dance, family programming comedians, from STOMP to Ragamala’s classical Indian Bharatanatyam, Neil deGrasse Tyson to Third Coast Percussion, we present a mixed tape of the most accomplished touring artists and entertainers. And, through the arts, we encourage our audiences to discover new understandings about ourselves, create community, inspire dialogue, and enrich our world.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t succumb to complacency. What we’ve learned over the past few years is that it’s no longer enough to put art on stage and call it a day.
The community is eager to learn and be inspired, and we’ve made it our mission to meet them where they are with programs that take live arts experiences beyond the theater. Listening and responding to the community’s needs is essential in presenting meaningful, relevant art.
Contact Info:
- Website: performingartshouston.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performingartshouston
Image Credits
Melissa Taylor, Claire McAdams, Johnny Than Photography, and Asaeda Badat
