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Published: 18 February 2013 18 February 2013

ACD - DworinThe Silver City Arts and Cultural District announced the appointment of George Julian Dworin as its new Director. Dworin, who officially began on Feb. 1, 2013, brings to the position more than 20 years of business management and advertising experience.

"I'm excited about the job, but I'm more excited about the community," Dworin told the Beat. "The job is giving me the opportunity to participate at a different level.

"I've been telling people about this place for many years," he continued. "I started the job a long time ago.

Dworin has been visiting Silver City and Grant County on a regular basis since 1991. An artist, outdoor enthusiast, and avid mountain biker, he joined the community on a more permanent basis two years ago when he moved his digital printmaking studio to the Silver City Arts and Cultural District.

He said he came to Silver City on that trip "on a whim, after visiting several times a year every year. I thought it was just another visit, but I fell in love with a studio space that was available."

"For a place of this size, it's so vibrant, with so many assets culturally and with great diversity," Dworin said. "It's really about the people in Silver City. The enthusiasm, the talent, the friendliness—that's why I'm here."

Three weeks later, he had moved his studio to an upstairs space above what was then Blue Dome Gallery, enrolled in art classes and attended his first Gallery Association meeting.

Dworin remarked that, whereas in most places, a person can find six degrees of separation from someone else, he finds that here it is more like two degrees of separation, because everybody knows everybody. "It's part of the enchantment."

He found the friendliness of Silver City hard to beat. When he was looking from his home in Tucson on Craigslist for a house to rent in Silver City, he found only one and it was outside his budget. "Within half an hour of posting my request, I got two leads. One was from a woman who was on vacation in California, but she sent me a lead."

Dworin believes that arts and culture are the foundation of the economic engine in the area.

"I'm excited about promoting the area regionally and nationally," Dworin said. "I'm thankful for the support from the community. I'm excited about the partnerships we already have in the Arts and Cultural district and expanding them."

Before Dworin had even begun his job, he visited at the state level with the other six arts and cultural districts in New Mexico. "Silver City really shines as a model for what an arts and cultural district can be."

He was in Santa Fe at the same time many other area residents were there, including the Prospectors. "I met more people from Silver City at that meeting," Dworin said. "They were amazing at showing their concerns and promoting the community."

Dworin has served more than 400 corporate, institutional, non-profit, and small business clients nationally in his career. His experience is in the development and creation of brand identity, multi-media advertising and marketing campaigns. He has held positions in executive management, operations, sales and service, as well as being an art director, studio manager, designer and business owner.


“We are thrilled to have George heading up the ACD.  He brings some very desirable attributes to the table that will be a real benefit to the organization and the community.  We (the ACD Coordinating Council) are looking forward to working with him to build on the foundation that our first two directors laid in the beginning years,” Faye McCalmont, founding chairwoman, said.

"As Chair of the Arts and Cultural District Coordinating Council, I am delighted to have George Julian on board as SCACD/Tourism Director. The combination of creative and management skills, along with his design and marketing experience, make him a perfect fit for the position. Congratulations, George Julian Dworin," said Lee Gruber, ACD Chair.

“This is a wonderful community, rich in cultural and natural resources. It is a great tourist destination. We are fortunate to have broad-based support from the community, the town, the county and the state for promoting arts and culture, and tourism as an economic engine for development,” said Dworin.