Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 18, 2022) – Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeanette Heinz to the Center’s board of directors for a two-year term. 

“I am honored to welcome Jeanette to our board,” says Barry Ellis, chairman of the MACC’s board of directors. “The MACC has greatly expanded its community engagement and artistic operations over the past couple of years, and Jeanette has already played a vital role in helping us carry out our mission. She will now be a leader in the MACC’s efforts to expand its campus and its charitable reach.”

A resident of Gallatin, Tennessee, Heinz is one of the MACC’s founding members. As such, she has already established a close working relationship with the MACC and its Executive Director Cheryl Strichik. Heinz served as chair of Moonlight and Magnolias, the MACC’s flagship annual fundraising gala, in both 2020 and 2022. (The former event was postponed due to the pandemic.) In 2021, Heinz was the presenting sponsor of Royal Elegance, which featured some of the late Princess Diana’s most spectacular evening gowns. Royal Elegance has been one of the MACC’s most successful and highest profile exhibitions to date.

“Jeanette’s contributions to the MACC have really made a difference,” says Strichik. “She is deeply committed to the MACC’s mission of enhancing our community through arts education and engagement. I am excited to work with her in transforming Sumner County into one of the country’s leading creative communities.”

Heinz brings significant business experience and acumen to her new role. Indeed, one might say that business is in her DNA. Her fraternal great-grandfather, Henry J. Heinz, founded the Heinz Food Company in 1869. Her maternal grandfather, John-Olaf Engstrom of Stockholm, 

Sweden was president of the Saab Automobile Company in Trollhätten. Heinz, for her part, holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She is an investor in Heinz Marketing, Inc., a B2B sales and marketing firm located in Redmond, WA, serving businesses throughout North America and overseas. 

Heinz’s election follows closely behind two other important appointments to the MACC’s board of directors. Hendersonville resident René Fields was elected to the MACC board in May. Fields and her husband Stan, a partner in Hendersonville’s Tenn Properties, are long-time MACC supporters. Gallatin resident John Block was appointed to the MACC board in July. Also a MACC founding member, Block is executive vice president of Park West Gallery, which is the world’s largest art dealer. In his position, Block plays a leading role in Park West’s sales and operations management, strategic planning, training and development, and more.  

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) is a jewel-box art museum and education facility housed in one of Tennessee’s most spectacular antebellum mansions. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the MACC has staged exhibitions featuring everything from the ceramic art of Pablo Picasso to the evening gowns of Princess Diana. The artwork of local artists and military veterans are also on frequent display. As an art school, the MACC offers classes to more than 600 children and adults each year. The MACC also provides free arts outreach and healing arts to underserved children, families and military veterans. For more information, visit www.monthavenartsandculturalcenter.com or call (615) 822-0789.

Kaylin Warden

External Affairs Coordinator

Kaylin Warden joined the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center staff in 2024 as External Affairs Coordinator. In this post, she organizes special off-site events and manages the organization’s external communications. She also works with the development department by updating the MACC’s customer relations database, and she assists the executive director in setting up exhibitions. Above all else, Kaylin is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018.