Former Minneapolis Fox 9 news anchor, Robyne Robinson, will be the new Director for Arts and Culture at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It is a newly created position at Airport Foundation MSP, a nonprofit organization that has operated within MSP International Airport since 1982.
Robinson enjoys a high profile in the Twin Cities arts community including being co-chair of Mosaic, the city-wide arts and diversity festival in Minneapolis. Outgoing mayor RT Rybak appointed her in that role.
As director, Robyne will be responsible for developing both the visual and performing arts programs at MSP Airport, and collaborate with local arts organizations and artists to showcase the best the state and region has to offer to 33 million travelers annually.
The Travelers Assistance volunteers you see at Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport when you got there (they number over 450) are a Airport Foundation MSP project. The children’s play areas at the airport are also a service of the Airport Foundation MSP as are the hanging flower baskets on the roadway.
After she left the anchor chair in 2010, Robyne Robinson dabbled briefly in politics as the running mate to Matt Entenza who unsuccesfuly ran for governor of Minnesota.
Her last visible role with the Minnesota African community was as master of ceremonies at the 3rd edition of the African Awards which are organized by Mshale.
Jana Vaughn, the executive director of Airport Foundation MSP said the reason Robinson was chosen from among the candidates considered was because of “her ability to guide the direction of this exciting new arts venue and utilize her connections to draw attention to our regional arts community.”
Her immediate focus at the airport might be The MSP Arts and Culture Program, a partnership between the Airport Foundation MSP and the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), owner and operator of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six other general aviation airports in the metropolitan area. MAC is in the process of modifying space throughout the airport to display art, which the Airport Foundation will manage. The program aims “to provide international exposure for the local and regional arts community through rotating exhibits, performing arts and commissioned installations”, according to Airport Foundation MSP.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be leading this new effort,” said Robinson. “Minnesota has a strong, diverse arts community. The MSP Arts and Culture program has a wonderful opportunity to showcase our vibrant community of artists and their work to the world.”
Author
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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