Xavier Blake

Executive Director, One Columbia for Arts and Culture

A native of Bamberg, South Carolina, Xavier Blake earned a bachelor of arts in communication from Newberry College and a certificate in diversity and inclusion from the University of South Florida. He spent over two decades at South Carolina Educational Television, working with creatives and communities creating and amplifying representative content, leading to important community conversations.

Driven by his passion to infuse diversity into leadership and content creation spaces, he most recently held positions as the community programming and engagement coordinator at Nickelodeon Theater and the content and engagement manager at WMHT. He also serves as a creative mentor for the South Carolina Arts Commission, The Art of Community: Rural SC, which helps advance creative placemaking initiatives in rural South Carolina.

Blake believes that centering historically marginalized voices is imperative to build the kind of society where everyone is able to thrive.

Currently, he serves as the executive director of One Columbia for Arts and Culture, the city's local arts agency. Blake is committed to collaborating with citizens, the cultural community, and city government, with the mission of enhancing the quality of life for all residents, attracting tourism, building sustainable and equitable pipelines for artists, and connecting our diverse cultural community.