User:JKizzieHumanities/Iona Dobbins

Iona Dobbins (1930-2012) was an arts adovocate and the first executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA).

Prior to her work at RISCA, Dobbins was the Rhode Island coordinator for the New England Foundation for the Arts, she also spent some time working for Trinity Repertory Company and the Puppet Workshop. During her tenure as executive director of RISCA, Dobbins spearheaded Providence's First Night celebration, which later grew into the Rhode Island FirstWorks, a non-profit arts company.

Several awards were named after Dobbins posthumously, including the Iona Dobbins Award from RISCA, the Iona Blake Dobbins Scholarship Fund for the Visual Arts at the Rhode Island Foundation, and the IonaFest Award.