Brooklyn Academy of Music President Steps Down

The Brooklyn Academy of Music, a performing arts institution, has announced that its president, Gina Duncan, will step down when her contract expires in June after three years in the position.

The announcement, released Wednesday evening, did not specify a reason for Duncan’s departure, though it expressed gratitude for her role in shepherding the organization during a difficult period of re-emergence after the coronavirus pandemic.

“Gina’s efforts have enhanced BAM’s promise and fortified the institution’s role as a premier home for both established and emerging artists and a place welcoming to all audiences,” said Diane L. Max, the chairwoman of the board, in a statement. “She leaves BAM well-positioned and poised for success for years to come.”

BAM’s board of directors is forming a transition committee to help choose its next leader, the academy said in the news release. Until recently, BAM had a history of long-serving leaders, such as Karen Brooks Hopkins, who was president for 16 years. Her successor, Katy Clark, stepped down in 2021 after five years. David Binder, BAM’s former artistic director, left in 2023 after just four years (he was replaced by Amy Cassello, who started last June after serving on an interim basis).

BAM’s hands-on chairman, Adam Max, died in 2021 and was replaced by Nora Ann Wallace and, last September, by his widow.

BAM credited Duncan for her efforts to help expand the institution and guide it out of the pandemic, which included completing a strategic plan to achieve financial stability. In particular, the news release cited increases in both the number of shows and attendance over the past three years.

Duncan was the first person of color to lead the academy, which operates several stages and a cinema, and has an annual operating budget of $56 million. She had previously served as BAM’s first vice president of film and strategic programming but had not held the top job at an arts institution.

She took over at a time when BAM, like other arts organizations, was struggling financially as ticket revenues disappeared during the period when there were no performances. In 2021, BAM was forced to use part of its $100 million endowment, with a distribution of $5 million and an additional $3 million the next fiscal year. In 2023, BAM laid off 13 percent of its staff — 26 positions — to help fill what officials called a “sizable structural deficit.”

Before returning to BAM in 2022, Duncan had been the producing director of the Sundance Institute. Upon taking the Brooklyn job, she said it felt “like returning home.

“I came back for BAM — the artists, the staff, the audience,” she said. “They’re my people.”

The news release did not indicate Duncan’s future plans but included remarks in which she reflected on her time in leading the organization.

“There is no place quite like BAM,” she said, “and it’s been an incredible honor to serve as president during such a pivotal moment for our industry.”