Midland Center for the Arts recently announced the addition of Michael Mirto as the new Vice President of Development. Mirto comes to the Center from the Detroit area where he was the VP of Philanthropic Services for the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, and before that the Associate Vice President of Individual Giving at Wayne State University.

The Midland Center for the Arts is starting dialogue and presenting programs around the role women have played in history, and their achievements that are impacting tomorrow. Connecting these themes with the bi-annual (Be)causes & Effects symposium, the Midland County Historical Society welcomes award-winning author Daisy Hernandez as keynote speaker to share current disparities in today’s culture on Feb. 1 in the Center Lecture Room below the Alden B. Museum of Science & Art.

Imagine if Albert Einstein had met Pablo Picasso, sat down at a local watering hole in 1904 and both disclosed what would soon become their most brilliant ideas. What would happen if these two struggling artists, geniuses you might say, shared tales and new discoveries? Welcome to the brilliant and witty writing of other legendary artist and playwright, Steve Martin.

As Midland Center for the Arts quickly approaches its 50^th anniversary next year, Center programs are seeing exciting growth. In its latest edition, Pollstar Magazine ranked the Center as one of the top theatre venues in the world based on ticket sales. Over the past few years, new programs highlighting shows and artists from around the world, as well as newly formulated community-produced events have contributed to the Center’s increasing audiences and growing notoriety within the arts industry.