Executive Staff

Albert B. Head

Executive Director

    Al Head has worked in the state arts field for over 38 years beginning in 1972 with the Fine Arts Council of Florida, and continuing through executive director positions with the Stephen Foster Folklife Center, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and the Alabama State Council on the arts.  He has served his home state of Alabama for the past twenty years as the Council’s director.  Mr. Head earned his undergraduate degree from Troy State University in art history and aesthetics, and his Master of Liberal Arts, with a concentration on Southern literature, from Auburn University at Montgomery.  He received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1974 to attend Harvard’s Arts Administration Institute.  Mr. Head has served two terms on the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies board participating in a wide range of committee work.  He has been a member of the Southern Arts Federation board for 32 years and presided as its chair 1983-85. Prior to serving as chair of SAF, Mr. Head served as vice-chair 1981-1983.  Mr. Head has served on numerous panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and has chaired the Folk Arts and Arts in Education panels.  In 1998 he received the Gary Young Award presented by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies for his leadership and achievements in promoting the arts nationally. Al Head is the only executive director to hire/start three folk arts programs. Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. Al is a native of Troy, Alabama.

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