Con Edison Immigrant Artist Program Newsletter, Issue No. 52
Introducing Judy Cai, NYFA Program Associate, Asian Affairs.
New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has the great pleasure of introducing Judy Cai, Program Associate, Asian Affairs. Judy joins NYFA to assist on upcoming programs involving the Chinese arts and cultural sector and to initiate outreach into local Asian communities.
For our Chinese audience, Judy has developed a NYFA Weibo site on the Chinese social media platform where artists in China or Chinese artists in the U.S. can learn more about NYFA and what we are doing to support artists. Ultimately, the platform will serve as a place where Chinese artists can share their ideas with with other artists. Judy’s charge will be to inform Chinese artists about NYFA’s services, resources and opportunities without language being a barrier.
Judy Cai first connected with NYFA through her work on the Shanghai International Arts Festival which is the only state-level International Arts Festival hosted by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, recently celebrating its 15th anniversary. Judy also worked as a co-coordinator and translator on NYFA’s program for Chinese Arts Administrators this past July. Through the organization China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), twenty-one leaders from arts organizations came to visit NYC and DC arts institutions, taking courses led by NYFA professional staff and consultants.
Originally from Shanghai, Judy was classically trained in the performing arts and through her Euphonium playing in school and college orchestras, Judy was able to travel internationally throughout Europe and Asia. Judy received her Master’s degree in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University and earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Cultural Administration and Law from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Judy is also the Chinese Outreach Coordinator at Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, where she manages the Chinese Cultural Committee, assists Chinese programming and outreaches to local Chinese community.
In order to widen her exposure to arts and cultures in diverse fields and in New York City, Judy has also worked at Christie’s and Dance/USA. Influenced by both east and west cultures and through experiences such as coordinator for CMU Summit on US-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Judy has become a strong advocate of global arts exchange, and her passion is in establishing international arts exchanges.
On being asked what would be her greatest advice as an immigrant in the US, Judy states; “Be open to everything. At least give yourself a chance to taste and try. Then you can choose like or dislike it. But simply holding yourself from something will let you miss opportunities that will never happen again.”
Contact Judy: [email protected]
