Franconia Sculpture Park names new executive director

After nearly 10 months of searching for a new executive director following the departure of Ginger Shulick Porcella, the Franconia Sculpture Park Board has selected Alex Legeros for the job.

The arts advocate, who states he is "all art, all the time" on his LinkedIn profile, started at the nonprofit Sept. 1.

Legeros comes to Franconia, the 43-acre park near Taylors Falls, Minn., from White Bear Center for the Arts, where he has been development and communications director since 2019. He also was a board member for three years. Before that, he was the development officer at the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis. He holds a master's degree in arts and cultural leadership from the University of Minnesota.

"It's a chance of a lifetime," Legeros said. "As someone who has lived my whole life in the arts and being around artists and creation at all different levels, it just feels like somehow it's a cookie-cutter fit for this weird, weird life that I've lived."

Legeros, 34, first connected with Franconia as an artist-in-residence in 2017. He is also a bassoonist and contrabassoonist and served in the Army, where he also played bassoon.

"My time as a leader in the Army helped me understand how to relate to people in very tense and difficult ways," he said.

Legeros identifies as queer, and points to the problematic ways that "Minnesota Nice" teaches people to be "nice to fit in … but inside there are other feelings, you know?"

Porcella left Franconia in December 2022, and the board had said it would have a replacement by this past April. But the search took longer than intended, with the board taking a break in the search and resuming only in late summer. During that time, board member Sara Rothholz Weiner took over as interim executive director.

"Alex brings the experience, energy and talent to Franconia that will benefit artists, visitors and staff," board chair Stacy O'Reilly said. "The search committee considered not only experience and talent but cultural fit for Franconia. Alex, from our first meeting, impressed us with all the facets of his qualifications to lead the park."

During his time at the White Bear Center, Legeros co-chaired a strategic plan that "unlocked the next phase of growth for the organization." It contributed $10 million to expand the arts center through programs over the next five years.

"I think that kind of strategic vision is exactly what Franconia needs now," he said. "We're celebrating 27 years together here on Sept. 23, so it's time to look at the incredible space that it has, and the land, which is such a resource."

He sees Franconia as a rural destination for "transformative arts experiences."