Innovative Arts Leader and Lifelong Artist to Spearhead National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists Beginning in January 2023

MIAMI, FL (December 14, 2022) – YoungArts, the national foundation for the advancement of artists, is proud to announce the appointment of Clive Chang as its new President, following an extensive, months-long national search overseen by a search committee of YoungArts’ Board of Trustees. As President, Chang will report directly to the Board of Trustees and have oversight of YoungArts’ strategy, programs, fundraising, communications, and operations. He will assume his position in January 2023.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire YoungArts community, I am delighted to welcome Clive Chang as President,” said Sarah Arison, Board Chair of YoungArts. “Clive brings to this role exceptional leadership, program-building, and fundraising skills, along with the special perspective of a lifelong musician who deeply understands the needs and aspirations of the artists we serve. The search committee was unanimous in its admiration for his record of accomplishments at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, including his work to diversify the institution at the highest levels, his entrepreneurial background, and his continuing personal engagement in the artistic community. We are excited to watch YoungArts grow under his direction.”

“I am thrilled to join the YoungArts team and drive forward its mission to identify, amplify, and super-charge the potential of artists at every stage of their careers,” said Clive Chang. “As an artist myself, I deeply appreciate the importance of the work that YoungArts does and its impactful role in encouraging and ultimately launching an artist’s career. As we approach the new year, I am excited to dive in with the leadership team and staff and to celebrate the 2023 finalists, who will soon be in town for National YoungArts Week.”

Clive Chang comes to YoungArts from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Advancement & Innovation Officer. In this capacity, he oversaw all fundraising-related strategy and operations, and built and operationalized a portfolio of new innovation programs for the world’s leading performing arts complex: home to 11 world-class arts organizations across a 16-acre campus. Chang’s key achievements at Lincoln Center include the commissioning of Mimi Lien’s transformative installation, The GREEN; the establishment of the Lincoln Center Leadership Fellows board pipeline program; and the design and piloting of the Collider, an R&D lab for the performing arts that explores the intersection of art, technology, and social impact.

Chang returned to Lincoln Center in 2020 having previously served as Director, Strategy & Business Development (2012-14) and Special Assistant to the President (2011-12).

From 2014 to 2019, Chang was Director, Strategy & Business Development for Disney Theatrical Group, where he led strategic planning and growth initiatives for Disney’s global commercial live entertainment division. During this period of prolific growth, Chang established Disney’s new stage-to-screen business, including the digital capture and distribution deals for Newsies (2016) and Aladdin (2019).

A lifelong musician and multi-hyphenate, Chang studied piano from the age of 5 and went on to earn his diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music, dual bachelor’s degrees from McGill University (Bachelor of Music in composition and Bachelor of Commerce in finance), a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Musical Theater Writing from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Harvard Business School. Chang remains active as a pianist, music director, and composer/arranger in the arts community. He has been an adjunct professor in the graduate program in Arts Administration at Columbia University in New York City since 2018 and serves on the board of the Music Academy in Santa Barbara, CA.

About YoungArts

Established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison, YoungArts identifies exceptional young artists, amplifies their potential, and invests in their lifelong creative freedom. YoungArts provides space, funding, mentorship, professional development and community throughout artists’ careers. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application for talented artists ages 15–18, or grades 10–12, in the United States that is judged by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process. 


For more information, visit  youngarts.org, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter

Image Credit: Photo by Gesi Schilling, courtesy of YoungArts

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Clive Chang seated on a bench in an art gallery, with large artwork in the background.