Her Story
About Linda
Linda Walton began her professional journey in 1989. She started out in the fashion industry on the production side before transitioning to arts and culture. Her first role in the field came after responding to a New York Times ad for Festival Production. She then joined 651 Arts in Brooklyn as project manager for a residency program featuring jazz artist Betty Carter and managed the Africa Exchange Project for over ten years, facilitating collaborations involving artists from Africa, the United States, Latin America, and Asia. Walton continued this work at Arts International, organizing convenings and residencies across multiple countries. Additional roles include work at Jazzmobile as Vice President of Programming where she commissioned Wycliffe Gordon to create music for Oscar Micheaux films, and collaborations with Harlem Stage on the Harlem Jazz Shrines project. She has served multiple terms as Executive Director of the Harlem Arts Alliance.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Linda
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Go with your passion. It's really where it lies. If you have a passion for the arts, the greater pleasure should be out of the work, as opposed to having a title or a particular salary level. Because the arts are such as they are, there's not always a significant amount of funding available. You're definitely not in it for the money. Be creative, there are no bad ideas. Start with a passion for whatever the discipline, whether it's presenting or production, visual arts, performing arts, literary arts. Become informed and immersive in that work, go see as many shows as you can, check out periodicals on the arts, gather with like-minded individuals. Everything in this area is about partnership and collaboration.
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