May 18, 2004

Jay Tribby, the new executive director of VSA Arts of Georgia, is excited about the nonprofit's location: not only is it located in what he calls the "heart of nonprofit Georgia," but it's located in the same building where he lives, the Healey Building.

“I don’t think that the (nonprofit agencies) really play up that downtown Atlanta is the heart of nonprofit Georgia,” said Tribby, who lives in the Healey Building just upstairs from his new office digs. “ I feel like VSA being in close proximity and touching skin with all these other nonprofits (offers) a lot of opportunity to create some new dialogues and conversations with this nonprofit energy.

“It’s not like we’re located here but our service area is 50 miles away. Every time someone comes to our gallery you know where our mission of service is—it’s right here.”

"Arts nonprofit can help downtown, new director says"
The Story, 6/13/04

VSA Arts of Georgia merges two services: arts support and service to people with disabilities. The agency provide arts programming and arts access services (arts development in schools, free tickets to underserved disabled populations, interpreting services at art events) and also has a gallery with a prominent location in Downtown's Fairlie-Poplar district. The gallery, which exclusively shows work by people with disabilities, has regularly changing shows and participates in the monthly Turner First Thursdays art walk.

VSA Arts location, 57 Forsyth Street, in the Healey Building

In addition to his role with VSA Arts, Tribby is secretary ofthe Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and serves on board of the Friends of the Central Atlanta Library. Tribby previously lived in Midtown but moved Downtown because, so he told The Story, it's “getting ready for its next wave of progress” —

“I always like to be in a place before it figures out what it wants to be when it grows up,” Tribby laughed. “This is just such an incredible opportunity to be a part of contributing to help downtown take this next step forward. It’s really an interesting time to be downtown.”

Arts nonprofit can help downtown, new director says"
The Story, 6/13/04