Lisa Cadigan has been promoted to Executive Director of the The Adams County Arts Council (ACAC). Cadigan most recently held the position of Director of Outreach and Community Resources for the organization.
Cadigan has been with the Arts Council in various capacities since 2013, serving as a board member and a marketing and event planning volunteer.
Before joining the staff full time in November 2021, Cadigan had been teaching Let’s Make Music! camps and Music Together classes since 2017.
In her most recent capacity as Director of Outreach and Community Resources, Cadigan was responsible for developing and coordinating programs throughout Adams County’s school districts and senior centers, as well as serving as the primary grant writer for the organization.
Cadigan is the creator and instrumental driving force behind ACAC’s The People Project. Started in 2017, her goals for this project have been to get as many community members as possible involved as creators and storytellers. The People Project 2022: My Place at the Table, coming this fall, will be a collaborative arts project and performance event designed to connect and uplift the Adams County community.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, and growing up in New Jersey, Cadigan is a James Madison University alumna. She received her M.A. in Theater from Indiana University, Bloomington. Prior to joining the ACAC staff full time, Cadigan spent almost 20 years as a free-lance graphic designer, writer and marketing professional, serving largely non-profit clients. Cadigan and her husband John and two children have called the Gettysburg area home since 2007.
Cadigan replaces Leona Rega who served in the position since November 2020. Cadigan said she was heartbroken to see Rega leave, and was looking forward to carrying on the programs she started. “We definitely had a shared vision; she did a lot in the short time she was here,” she said.
Cadigan said she was looking forward to continuing and expanding ACACs mission of “discovering the arts as tangible parts of lives. There is power in connecting through the creative process with the people around you,” she said.
Cadigan said engaging the community in the arts is not just about encouraging appreciation of our most gifted artists and their work (although this is a very important component) but also includes engaging all people in creation and active participation in the arts.
“I want to encourage creative interactions that are inter-cultural and inter-generational. It doesn’t matter if you are ‘good’ at it or not,” she said.
For more information about The People Project 2022 and all other Adams County Arts Council programs and events, visit www.adamsarts.org.