New VP of Marketing, Communications & Sales at Midland Center for the Arts is a familiar face

The Midland Center for the Arts has brought on a familiar face to help lead its reimagined vision for the future. Previous Director of Communications, Josh Holliday returns to Midland for his new role of Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Sales. 

“We are so excited to have an engaging and enthusiastic leader like Josh join our team,” says Matt Travis, President and CEO of the Center, in a press release. “I am eager to see how his innovative ideas help shape the future of our organization.”

The Michigan native is excited to return to the Great Lakes Bay Region, after spending time as the Director of Communications at Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville from October 2022 until last month.

“As I was in Nashville, Tennessee, taking in everything I could from a leading Broadway presenter in our industry, I found that there was an opportunity that existed back in my home state in an organization that I deeply cared about,” Holliday says. “It was also at a pivotal time when the organization was ramping up to reopen all its facilities in the state-of-the-art museum of science and art.”

Holliday says the professional opportunity and the proximity to family was something he could not deny. He brings a renewed sense of leadership and compassion for the work of the Center. 

“When I considered coming back here, I knew that the Midwestern heart and spirit is all rooted in this idea of belonging, and that people value your contributions to the community and other unique and diverse voices to be heard,” he says. “To me, that was really appealing.”

Although time spent in a growing city like Nashville was beneficial, allowing this young professional to branch out, and see how other cities create a sense of place and pride in their communities, spending some time away made the heart grow fonder of the mitten state. Today, Holliday is feeling a renewed sense of love for his hometown area. He also brings the experiences of being on a rapidly-growing team, making data-driven decisions and telling impactful stories. 

“Midland Center for the Arts really is a leading cultural institution here in the state of Michigan, and provides a wide breadth of programs that really make lives better here for people in Midland, in the Great Lakes Bay Region, and the visitors that come here from all around the state,” Holliday said.

The boating enthusiast is also excited to return to the resilient Great Lakes Bay Region, and be close to water at his new Bay City home. Holliday moved back to the area on March 23, and enthusiastically started his first official day back in office the next day. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing how we can continue to grow and bring in new audiences to explore the performing arts on our stages,” he says. 

“But we also have a museum of science and art that is going to be reopening in the next couple of years. When we reopen, it’s going to be a fascinating museum for discovery and innovation that this region hasn’t seen before. I’m excited for that creative and collaborative process to establish a way in which we can have hundreds of thousands of people coming to Midland to explore that new museum.”

Outside of the Center, Holliday is also excited to see new businesses, creativity and art continue to pop up in the downtown corridor. He’s proud to be part of a community that has many cultural amenities making it a great place to live and work. 

“To me, coming back here to Midland, we have access to the things that I loved to do in Nashville," Holliday says. “We have those amenities and opportunities here, and those that we maybe don’t have — there’s an opportunity to bring that to the region. That’s what’s special.”