A tale of two festivals
As Bayou City Art Festival hits 40, Kim Stoilis seeks bigger challenges as iFestdirector
iFest has been a Houston institution since 1971Photo via Houston International Festival/Facebook
Kim Stoilis is the new president and CEO of iFestPhoto by Anthony Rathbun
The theme for iFest 2011 was "The Silk Road: Journey Across Asia"Photo by Shelby Hodge
When Kim Stoilis resigned as executive director of the Art Colony Association, which oversees the Bayou City Art Festival, with apparently little warning and much fanfare in late August, we were all left wondering where she would take her talents next.
But the answer came a few weeks later: Stoilis is the new president and CEO of The Houston Festival Foundation (organizers of iFest).
"iFest is bigger in scope and bigger in reach," Stoilis said. "This is a really great opportunity for me to, again, do what I consider a personal mission of mine, which is to promote Houston — within Houston and outside of Houston."
James Austin retired as director of iFest in November of 2010, after leading the organization for 24 years and molding the festival into the event it is today. Rick Mitchell has served as interim director since Austin's retirement, and will return to his position of director of performing arts and education programs with Stoilis on board.
CultureMap spoke with Stoilis about her new venture, and she seemed enthusiastic about the challenge.
"[My new position with the Houston International Festival] is a different direction, but both organizations produce large-scale public events," Stoilis said. "With the art festival, there is obviously a focus on the arts, and with iFest — well, it's a bigger canvas with more color on the palette."
Moving from one non-profit festival to another, Stoilis feels that the transition will be a natural one.
"There are a lot of moving parts [in each organization]," she said. "iFest is bigger in scope and bigger in reach. This is a really great opportunity for me to, again, do what I consider a personal mission of mine, which is to promote Houston — within Houston and outside of Houston. And bringing culture to a larger community is very compelling to me."
During her 4-1/2-year Art Colony tenure, Stoilis upped festival attendance and earned multiple awards, both for the Bayou City Arts Festival and for her own leadership. Was she worried about leaving the organization a few weeks before this weekend's 40th annual downtown event? Not one bit.
"They have a really amazing team that I was integral in putting together," Stoilis explained. "Planning doesn't start two or three weeks before the event, it's a year-long process. I'm really excited to attend as a patron, and I'm confident that it will be successful."
Bayou City Art Festival board member Joe Pogge, who is heading up the search for a new director, praised Stoilis for increasing the festival's profile. "Kim took us to a new level," Pogge said. "To have other festivals come to us to find their people is very complimentary. She has a huge challenge (as iFest director), but if anyone can do it, Kim can do it."
Until a new permanent director is hired, Pogge said the Bayou City Arts Festival is in good hands under interim director Kelly Kindred. The festival takes place this weekend in downtown Houston, celebrating its 40th anniversary.
