SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is pleased to welcome new Senior Writer/Publicist Charles Donelan to its team effective May 16, 2022. A&L is the premier arts presenting organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco, producing more than 100 public events annually with world-renowned artists and speakers, and an equally robust array of complementary community outreach and arts education activities. In this role, Donelan will apply his extensive experience with arts and entertainment writing and media relations to continue to elevate A&L’s profile locally and nationally.
“We are thrilled to welcome Charles Donelan to the Arts & Lectures team. As a journalist, Charles has been one of our strongest allies. His familiarity with our program and the local arts scene is unparalleled, and we look forward to working with him more closely than ever to shine a light on our events and impact in the community,” said Celesta M. Billeci, Miller McCune Executive Director.
Charles Donelan has been writing about theater, music, dance, education, and the visual arts in Santa Barbara since 2002. He has been the Executive Arts Editor at the Santa Barbara Independent since 2004. From 2017 to 2020, Donelan created weekly segments on arts and entertainment events in Santa Barbara for KCRW radio. In 2021 he was a finalist for the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers grant.
“I want to say how grateful I am to Charles for all his years of remarkable work. He has elevated the Independent’s Arts coverage into the position it holds today. It’s been a pleasure and honor to work with him, and I look forward to continuing our relationship in its new form,” said Marianne Partridge, Santa Barbara Independent Editor in Chief.
As an educator, Donelan taught at Laguna Blanca School from 2004 to 2021 and the UCSB Writing Program from 2001 to 2004. Donelan holds Yale (B. A.) and Columbia (Ph.D., English and Comparative Literature) degrees. He published the book Romanticism and Male Fantasy in Lord Byron’s Don Juan: A Marketable Vice(Macmillan/St. Martins) in 2000.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES — Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
UCSB Arts & Lectures is grateful to WaveComm Santa Barbara for supporting its marketing and public relations efforts during the last two seasons and throughout the Senior Writer/Publicist recruitment. WaveComm will continue to assist A&L in a transitional capacity through June 2022. For more information, contact WaveComm owner Chris Davis Chris@WaveCommSB.com / (805) 687-3322.