OZ ARTS IS A DESTINATION FOR INNOVATIVE, CONTEMPORARY ART AND PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCES.
MISSION
OZ Arts supports the creation, development and presentation of significant performing and visual art works by leading artists whose contribution influences the advancement of their field. Through performances, exhibitions, and community events, OZ Arts focuses on producing and presenting the work of local and visiting artists who reflect our diverse society, utilize new artistic forms and technology in creative ways, and provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with audiences, students and cultural and civic leaders.
HISTORY
Housed in a renovated, former cigar warehouse in Nashville, TN, OZ Arts’ modern, flexible performance and installation space enables leading artists across disciplines to present Brave New Art in a nontraditional context. The Ozgener family established OZ Arts Nashville in 2013 as a gift back to the city and country that have been so hospitable to them as first-generation, Turkish-Armenian immigrants. Nashville residents since 1968, the Ozgener family are internationally recognized for innovation in their entrepreneurial endeavors. Having built one of the world’s foremost cigar companies, CAO Cigars, the Ozgeners brought unprecedented artistry to cigars and, previously, humidors and Meerschaum pipes. After selling the company, the family converted their former headquarters into a nonprofit cultural center for contemporary art, performances, and events.
Leadership
Mark Murphy
Executive & Artistic Director
Mark Murphy is the Executive & Artistic Director of OZ Arts Nashville, appointed in December 2019 after a year as Artistic Director. His inaugural season doubled attendance over the previous year, increasing community access to innovative programming that featured more than 100 diverse regional artists and OZ Arts’ first international artists from Chile, Brazil, and Japan.
Mark was previously the founding executive director of REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater), one of California’s most influential centers for contemporary art, performance, film, and media in the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. He has served as the artistic director of On the Boards, a contemporary performing arts center in Seattle (1986-2001), as chairman of the Choreographer’s Fellowship Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, was a founding board member of the National Performance Network, an advisor to the National Dance Project, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Japan Foundation’s Performing Arts Program. Mark is the recipient of a First Place Curatorial Award from AICA/US, the Association of International Art Critics (2009).
Tim Ozgener
Co-Founder & President
Tim Ozgener is Co-Founder & President of OZ Arts Nashville, established in 2013 as a home for innovative, artistic voices in the region and influential, world-class artists from throughout the US and abroad. Before launching OZ Arts, Tim spent over 20 years building his family’s previous enterprise, CAO Cigars. Regarded as one of the great success stories in the cigar industry’s history, CAO ultimately reached more than 40 states and 60 countries with Tim as the public face of the brand, driving distribution. The Ozgener family sold CAO in 2007, and the family converted the existing structure into the vital contemporary arts and special events center that stands today.
Tim is a native Nashvillian and a proud son to hard-working Turkish-Armenian immigrant parents. He enjoys leisure time with his lovely wife Arnita and their two young boys, Evan and Aidan.
Staff
Brittany Carlton
Marketing & Communications Manager
brittany@ozartsnashville.org
Paige Davis
Program Coordinator
paige@ozartsnashville.org
Nicholas Gulick
thea@ozartsnashville.org
Board of Trustees
Meera Ballal, J.D., Med
Founder, Women’s Healthcare Initiative
President, Sheridan Road Charitable Foundation
Community Volunteer
Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), HCA Healthcare
Ann Waller Curtis
Associate, Stones River Group
Shervin Eftekhari
Owner, Strategic Hospitality
Arnita Ozgener
Director of Private Events, OZ Arts Nashville
Aylin Ozgener
Community Volunteer
Senior Vice President, Pinnacle Financial Partners
Managing Director, Alliance Bernstein
Community Volunteer
Community Volunteer
Co-Founder and Co-Owner, Jumpstart Health Investors; Co-Founder, Nashville Soccer Club
South Central Market Executive, UBS
James Kelley
Chair
Attorney, Neal & Harwell
Jimmy Wilson III
Vice-Chair
Co-Owner, The Blue Chair Café, Bakery & Tavern
T. Alp Ikizler, MD
Treasurer
Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Chair in Vascular Biology; Professor of Medicine; Chief, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Laurie Seabury
Secretary
Consultants
Nancy Heathman
Graphic Designer
Michael Trebing
Videographer/Web Designer
Adele Chazin