Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has appointed Kenya Merritt permanently as commissioner of the city’s cultural affairs department, a role she has been serving in on an interim basis since October.
Merritt, a deputy mayor in the Johnson administration, was tapped for the cultural position after the mayor’s previous hand-picked leader and friend, Clinée Hedspeth, resigned the post. Hedspeth’s tenure included high staff turnover and allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. The city council must now approve Merritt as commissioner.
In an interview with WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times in December, Merritt said she was focused on leading the department into a new era and establishing “communication norms” internally.
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events steers everything from large-scale downtown events such as the Millennium Park summer music and film series to Taste of Chicago and Jazz Fest. It also gives out individual artists grants.
Merritt, a lifelong Chicagoan who grew up in North Lawndale, has also said her plans for the DCASE include creating a “stronger connection between culture and economic growth” and ensuring the department is “built for long-term sustainability.”
“The best way to articulate that is the contributions that arts and culture play in our broader economy,” Merritt said. “Everybody can understand that.”
The arts face a precarious moment. In the latest City Hall budget battle, DCASE’s funding took a cut. On the state level, the proposed budget for the sector is flat. And nationally, President Donald Trump has clawed back grants given through the National Endowment for the Arts, announced he will close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations after taking over control of the venue and called for a sweeping review of Smithsonian exhibitions.
“We already know what’s happening at the national level, arts are in limbo, and many believe that arts are a luxury,” Merritt said at the Chicago Loop Alliance’s annual meeting last month. “What we know as arts is incredibly important, not only to our quality of life, but to our economy.”
Merritt is a longtime city staffer who served as Johnson’s deputy mayor of business, economic and neighborhood development.
Merritt previously worked as DCASE’s chief financial officer and interim chief operating officer. She’s also served stints at the city’s Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; Department of Family and Support Services; Chicago Office of Budget and Management; and other public positions over the last 25 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has been with Johnson’s administration since he took office in 2023.
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.
