After 11 years at Englert Theatre, Executive Director Andre Perry will soon depart from his long-held and resonant role.

Perry is moving on from the leadership position in the theater to take on new creative projects and seek additional opportunities within the community. His last day will be on Sept. 13.

“The Englert is indebted to Perry’s passionate work in building positive outcomes for the future of Iowa City, Johnson County, and Iowa,” Englert Board President Carl Brown and Marketing Director John Schickedanz wrote in a press release. “Our organization is forever changed under his leadership and we are poised to build on his foundations toward new heights.”

According to a letter to the community from Perry, he will continue to act in a temporary capacity while he finalizes Englert’s fall and spring programming. He will serve as Festival Director for Witching Hour 2021 and Mission Creek 2022, both programs he co-founded.

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In the letter, the director cited his time at the Englert as an unforgettable service to the arts and noted his gratitude to Iowa City and its residents for offering him the opportunity to help shape its artistic culture.

“You gave me license to experiment, seek new heights, to envision what our collective dream might look like. This has been a fantastic journey,” he wrote.

In lieu of Perry’s departure, Schickedanz will assume the role of Interim Executive Director.

Englert’s budget more than doubled while Perry served in his position, rising from $800k in 2010 to $1.9 million in 2019. Additionally, under Perry’s vision, the Englert brokered community collaboration with establishments like FilmScene and aided in their Strengthen Grow Evolve fundraising event, which secured $5.5 million in contributions.

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The program fostered renovations of Englert’s 109-year-old-building and FilmScene’s first location on the Ped Mall, as well as FilmScene’s four-screen expansion into The Chauncey.

In an email to The Daily Iowan, Perry also emphasized the transformative nature of his time at the Englert and noted that he is committed to working in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids regions of Iowa.

“I feel that I have grown in tandem with this arts organization over the past 11 years,” Perry wrote. “It has been as much of an education as it has been my job. I am honored, grateful, and excited to build upon what I’ve learned as I consider new community projects.”