For Immediate Release
Beyond Baroque Announces New Executive Director: Quentin Ring

Richard Modiano, in a long-planned transition, will step down as the executive director of Beyond Baroque Literary / Arts Center on February 1. He will continue to serve in a part-time capacity as theater and events manager. Quentin Ring, the current assistant director of the Venice-based literary center, has been named the new executive director.

In the nine years that he led Beyond Baroque, Modiano greatly expanded the institution’s programming, established its Mike Kelley Gallery as a showcase for language-focused visual art, launched the Pacific Coast Poetry Series imprint of Beyond Baroque books, and brought a new level of financial stability to the organization.

In announcing the transition, Board President Andrew Schwartz thanked Modiano for his service, saying “Beyond Baroque, and the poets, writers, artists, and members who form our family, owe Richard a profound debt of gratitude for his tireless dedication to the literary arts.”

Schwartz also welcomed the new executive director. He noted that Ring, who has served as Beyond Baroque’s assistant director since 2016 and successfully oversaw its ambitious 50th anniversary programming, has proved instrumental in reshaping the organization’s operations, artistic planning, and fundraising in recent years.

“Since joining Beyond Baroque five years ago, first as development director, then as assistant director, Quentin has shown tremendous leadership, energy, and creativity in every project he's worked on at Beyond Baroque,” Schwartz said. “Thanks to his joint efforts with our beloved outgoing executive director, Beyond Baroque is better able than ever to nurture the literary arts of Southern California. He is the right person to lead the organization into a new half-century.”

Quentin Ring

At Beyond Baroque, Ring conceived and implemented new artistic initiatives, wrote and administered grants, managed the budget, created new giving programs, and co-organized the recent Southern California Poetry Festival. He holds an undergraduate degree from Pitzer College, and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago, where he studied poetry and poetics. Prior to joining Beyond Baroque he worked as a freelance grant writer, and was employed in international education as both an instructor and nonprofit administrator.

Ring said that it’s “a dream come true” to be appointed executive director of Beyond Baroque.

“Over the past five years, I’ve been immersed in one of the country’s great creative communities,” he said. “The place is electric with language, with writers and artists exploring the possibilities of language. Beyond Baroque is unique in its commitment to encouraging everyone to explore and encounter new forms of expression and meaning. That’s an incredibly important project for our city and our culture.”