Diane (pictured left) and Ella (right), the newest additions to the High 5 team!

Hey everyone!

I’ve got two important announcements for you as we approach September and get ready for an amazing fall, full of art, writing and adventure at High 5. (Don’t worry, you’ve still got a few days of summer left!)

After seven action packed years at the helm of the Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC) program, I’m going to be stepping down from my post and heading back to school to pursue a Master’s Degree at Hunter College. (Any alumni who are there now, I’ll see you in the library!)  I’ve loved this job, this role, this entire experience. It’s been an incredible seven-year arts odyssey filled with an brilliant cast of characters:  students, artists, educators, critics, teachers and friends. I’d like to thank everyone who’s been a participant in TRaC or the Freelancers Corps, a regular at Pizza and a Movie Night, and all the additional people out there who supported our mission and helped make this whole thing possible. I’m gonna miss ya. Of course, as I always say, High 5 is just the beginning. This is not even a goodbye, but more like a “see you around.”

So, a new chapter is opening up at High 5, and I’m thrilled to announce that the Teen Reviewers and Critics program, now entering it’s 10th year (say what!), is going to be in excellent hands for the foreseeable future. Please join me in welcoming Diane Exavier and Ella Metuki to the High 5 Team!

Diane is a playwright and educator from Brooklyn who has presented work at PS122’s 9th Space, Space on White, Independent Curators International, and more. She has studied theater at Amherst and Smith Colleges. Diane joins the Arts Connection / High 5 Tickets for the Arts team as the new Teen Reviewers and Critics Program Manager after spending two years assisting in the coordination of Youth Insights at the Whitney Museum, a teen program she participated in as a high school student in 2004. Having been familiar with High 5 as an arts-loving teen, Diane is excited to now be taking over the direction of the TRaC program!

Originally from Israel, Ella is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch’s Drama Department, where she minored in Applied Theatre and became involved in the work of non-profit organizations such as Apple Arts and Daytime Moon Creations. Ella is currently working on a career as a theatre actor, and is very excited to be joining the ArtsConnection staff as the new High 5 Program Assistant!

Drop Diane (diane@high5tix.org) and Ella (MetukiE@high5tix.org) a line if you have questions about either program, or just to introduce yourself and say hello!

See ya’ll out there. At the shows, galleries and exploring the streets of New York City.  🙂

peace n’ always art,

Eric