Lissette García Arrogante Appointed Miami Beach Tourism and Culture Director

(Miami Beach, FL) Nov 18, 2020 -

Today, the Miami Beach Commission voted to appoint Lissette García Arrogante as the city’s new Tourism and Culture Director.

“During her more than two decades in the arts and cultural community, Ms. García Arrogante has gained an in-depth understanding of their value and impact to the greater community,” Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales said. “She can leverage their economic impact by implementing arts-based strategies to deal with economic and community development.”

Most recently, García Arrogante served as an arts & culture consultant for public and private visual arts organizations. Her broad experience in the arts includes public museums, private galleries, corporate art, community foundations and festival planning.

She also served as a key strategist advancing arts and culture for the City of Savannah, Georgia, as Director of the Cultural Resources Department and the Savannah Cultural Arts Center, a new $27-million-dollar 39,000 square-foot public facility. In that role, García Arrogante oversaw a portfolio that included a wide range of strategic, programmatic initiatives with cultural investments. She provided direction for activities relating to the city’s role in culture, public art, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement. She managed the department and the facility’s daily operations, administered the annual administrative, capital improvement, and contributions budget, visual and performing arts programming, and the proposal for a new public art ordinance while reporting to the Cultural Affairs Commission.

Prior to joining the City of Savannah, García Arrogante was the 2016-2017 National Urban Fellow at the Cleveland Foundation. She was project lead for the $3.2-million-dollar creative placemaking project, the PNC Glenville Arts Campus, an international visual artist residency for FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art exhibition comprised of artist commissions, performances, films, and public programs that launched its inaugural edition in July of 2018.

As a cultural producer, García Arrogante has produced performing arts events and concerts, including the Bang! Music Festivals in 2005 and 2006 at Bayfront Park. The daylong events were held over 12 hours with five stages and over 75 performing acts, including Daft Punk, Modest Mouse, Tiesto, Gnarls Barkley and Duran Duran.

She also oversaw well-known local programs like WordSpeak at Tigertail Productions, the first spoken word teen program in Miami-Dade County, and JAM at MAM, the popular multi-tiered We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant, tropical, historic community. monthly adult program at the Miami Art Museum (PAMM), producing groundbreaking programming with local poets, DJs, and musical acts such as DJ LeSpam and The Spam Allstars, Cortadito and legendary blues singer Joey Gilmore.

“Ms. Garcia Arrogante’s prior work experience in the arts and cultural field will be invaluable in her role as the incoming tourism and culture director for the city of Miami Beach,” Morales added.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, CUNY Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, and a Bachelor of Art from Florida International University in Art History specialization in Contemporary Art.

“I am thrilled to join the City of Miami Beach team,” Garcia Arrogante shared. “I look forward to the opportunity of being part of the city’s mission to support the culture, tourism, and hospitality community. Arts and culture are a fundamental part of the vibrancy of the city and are key drivers to its economy and vitality. In these challenging times, now more than ever, the importance of culture and entertainment for our residents and the unique identity of tourism in Miami Beach ring true. I’m excited to continue the efforts to build robust and resilient cultural and tourism industries while strengthening Miami Beach’s position as a leading international cultural destination.” #