Artist Incubator Presentation
Join this session for a debrief from the Arts Incubator Workgroup, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 2023 and appointed by Governor Moore to explore ways to better support individual artists across Maryland. You’ll hear how the workgroup came to be, along with reflections from two participants about their experience being appointed and serving on the workgroup over the past two years.
The group wrapped up its work in 2025 with the submission of a final report to the General Assembly. During the session, we’ll share an overview of key findings and recommendations for future research, potential legislation, and considerations for the Maryland State Arts Council. Anyone interested in artists’ access to fair wages, affordable housing, and cross-sector resources is encouraged to attend, and there will be plenty of time for questions.
Join this session for a debrief from the Arts Incubator Workgroup, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 2023 and appointed by Governor Moore to explore ways to better support individual artists across Maryland. You’ll hear how the workgroup came to be, along with reflections from two participants about their experience being appointed and serving on the workgroup over the past two years.Maryland Citizens for the Arts, Nicholas Cohen
Maryland Citizens for the Arts is a statewide arts advocacy and education organization. Founded over 40 years ago to provide “One Voice for all the Arts in Maryland,” MCA works to highlight the role the arts play in economic vitality of the state and the increased quality of life they provide for all Marylanders.
Nicholas Cohen has served as the Executive Director of MarylandCitizens for the Arts since March of 2017. In this capacity, Nicholas is in charge of coordinating advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire arts community in Maryland. These efforts help ensure increase funding at the state level for the Maryland State Arts Council and help bring increase access to the arts for all Marylanders.
Before coming to MCA, he served as Director of Community Engagement & Education Program for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, overseeing programming that provided access to music and arts for the entire Mid-Atlantic region. Most recently, Nicholas served on Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh’s Youth Development Committee which was charged with developing a comprehensive plan for Baltimore City youth.
An avid musician, Nicholas is currently the contrabassoonist with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Bethesda, Maryland, and has performed with the Annapolis Symphony, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles throughout North America. Nicholas received his Bachelors of music with a minor in developmental Psychology from the University of Florida and a Master of Music Performance in Bassoon from Carnegie Mellon University.
Debbie Ellinghaus
Debbie Ellinghaus (Executive Director) is in her eleventh season at Olney Theatre Center where she partners with Artistic Director Jason Loewith to lead initiatives that advance Olney Theatre’s artistic, educational and community-centered mission and expand its local, regional, and national impact. Prior to Olney, she held positions at the University of Maryland, College of Arts and Humanities; Yale Repertory Theatre/Yale School of Drama; Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre; The Guggenheim Museum (New York); and the global sports and entertainment agency, International Management Group (IMG). Debbie briefly worked as an actress after training with the incomparable master teachers George Morrison, Mike Nichols, and Paul Sills in NYC. She is a founding board member, past chair and secretary, and current emeritus member of Merriweather Arts and Culture Center; vice-chair of the board for Medstar Montgomery Medical Center; and co-Treasurer for Kol Nefesh. She also serves as an ex-officio member of the board of directors for Olney Theatre. Debbie is a 2019 graduate of Leadership Montgomery and a 2022 graduate of Leadership Howard. In 2018, Debbie was recognized with the “Emerging Arts Leader Award” from then Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. Debbie received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a professional certificate from the New Actors Workshop. Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Columbia, MD, she resides in Laurel, MD, with her husband, Andrew, their two “nearly grown” children, and two large, adorable dogs. In addition to enjoying her family and all of their passions, Debbie spends her free time on the running and hiking trails, and dreaming of new places to explore.
Jess Porter
Jess Porter is the Senior Program Director at MSAC, where she leads the Grants for Artists and Arts Capital programs and oversees the administration of the County Arts Agency and Arts and Entertainment District initiatives.
With over 15 years of experience in arts administration, Jess’s career began with Arts for Learning, where she cultivated a deep commitment to supporting individual artists. She then broadened her work regionally as the Program Officer for Jazz and Folk and Traditional Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts, and most recently served as a Program Officer at the France-Merrick Foundation.
A Baltimore native with deep ties to Maryland’s cultural and creative communities, Jess believes our state is rich with creative genius and cultural treasures. She is dedicated to offering responsive, human-centered resources to Maryland’s artists and arts organizations, with a strong emphasis on access and equity.
Paula Saneaux
Paula Saneaux is a visual artist whose work investigates embodied vulnerability within domestic architecture, examining how containment, visibility, and proximity shape lived experience. Through restrained figurative painting and deliberate spatial composition, she constructs interiors in which psychological tension is embedded within architectural structure.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts (Maryland), the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (Wisconsin), the Dominican Museum of Modern Art, and in various national biennials in the Dominican Republic. Her paintings are held in public and private collections, including the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic and the Cándido Bidó Museum, as well as private collections in Brussels, Miami, New York, Rome, Santo Domingo, and Washington, D.C.
Saneaux is a recipient of the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant, the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, and the Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award, and has received support from the Rauschenberg Foundation. In 2016, she was granted U.S. permanent residency under the category of “Extraordinary Ability” in the arts. She has served as a panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council and was appointed to the Arts Incubator Workgroup by the Office of the Governor of Maryland, Wes Moore.
She is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design, an AA in Fine Arts and Illustration from Altos de Chavón School of Design, and a BA in Advertising from APEC University in the Dominican Republic.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Saneaux lives and works in Maryland.