JOE VENA

Joe Vena holds a BFA in acting from University of the Arts, in Philadelphia. Upon graduation in 1999, he moved to New York City, made theatre with friends and took on a role as teaching artist at Children’s Museum of the Arts. There he developed and directed the CMA Media Lab, leading a staff of 15 teaching artists. The Media Lab department offered curricula in puppetry, sound, filmmaking and stop motion animation. In 2017, he moved, with his family, to Charlottesville, where he took a position as Education Programs Director at Lighthouse studio. There he developed summer camp programming, taught classes and workshops and coordinated programming at Vinegar Hill Theater. In 2020, Joe accepted the role of Director of Programming at Ix Art Park. There he assisted in the creation of The Looking Glass Immersive Art Space, built a summer arts camp program, and created and facilitated The Outside Art Room, free art making programming during the weekly farmer’s market. In 2023, Joe left Ix and joined the team at Alakazam Toys, working as a visual merchandiser and artist in residence. There he created content for social media and continues to design and build the window displays. Joe is thrilled about his new role at DMR and looks forward to exploring the role of visual art in theater AND all of the many creative collaborations to come.