Janet Langsam, HRM Gala Honoree
The HRM’s Annual Gala is fast approaching. This year we will present Gilded Splendor: A Hudson River Museum Gala on Thursday, June 13, celebrating 100 years of stewardship of our historic home, Glenview, and recognizing three exceptional honorees: NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester, artist Julia Santos Solomon, and Janet T. Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester.
Janet Langsam has served as the CEO of ArtsWestchester for thirty-three years, taking the arts to new levels in Westchester. She is retiring in June and will become CEO Emeritus effective June 30. During her tenure, she transformed the organization from the Westchester Arts Council, which initially served about a dozen arts institutions to an organization that today funds more than 200 arts groups and a flagship home in a former bank building in downtown White Plains. Langsam commissioned over 30 public artworks across the County, chartered the introduction of the “ArtsMobile,” and successfully navigated the organization’s grants programs through the COVID-19 pandemic.
HRM Director and CEO Masha Turchinsky states, “If you look up the word ‘tenacious’ in the dictionary, you’re likely to find a picture of Janet Langsam. Her visionary leadership put the arts where they matter—at the forefront of our minds and advocacy. I’ll always be appreciative of her supportive counsel and loudly applaud her successful career in bringing art to every corner of Westchester.”
Langsam has more than fifty years of experience as an arts administrator, serving as an advocate, artist, journalist, and former Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for New York City. Langsam began her transformative role for ArtsWestchester in 1991 following her time at the Boston Center for the Arts where she served as President and CEO. Founder of the board of the Queens Museum, Langsam has also been recognized twice by the Americans for the Arts with the Michael Newton Award, as well as the Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership.
Langsam’s dedicated efforts for the organization secured more than $75 million for the arts and obtained $10 million in funds for upstate arts councils. Langsam also secured $1 million in state funds for ArtsWestchester’s “Restart the Arts” program. Janet has served in mayoral administrations alongside Abe Beame and Ed Koch as the Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, during which she brought in more than $30 million in funds for the arts. Following this service, Langsam held office as a Housing Commissioner, where she spearheaded a city housing project to transform tenement buildings into housing for local artists.
We are grateful to Janet for her tireless advocacy for the arts in Westchester County and beyond, and are thrilled to be honoring her at this year’s annual gala.
