Rochester Arts & Lectures Collection

Rochester Arts & Lectures was founded by Rosemary Mancini (later Lloyd) and Susan S. Feinstein in 1988 to bring major authors to the Rochester arts world. From the beginning, the organization succeeded in luring renowned writeers to speak in Rochester; the inaugural 1989-1990 series consisted of Maya Angelou, Jonathan Kozol, Calvin Trillin and Stephen Jay Gould. Rochester Arts & Lectures built on this strong beginning to become a mainstay of Rochester cultural life for the next 27 years. During Feinstein and Lloyd's tenure, lectures were held at Downtown United Presbyterian Church; the 800-seat venue routinely selling to capacity.

After eight years running Arts & Lectures, Mancini and Feinstein stepped down on July 1, 1997. While the organization was as successful as ever and financially sound, they decided to seek a new challenge in an organization called Floom (a musical poetry group) and aiding other cities in developing their own lecture series. They were succeeded by Susan Chekow Lusignan and Susan Herman, both of whom were already well-known figures in the Rochester arts scene. Lusignan stayed with Rochester Arts & Lectures until 2010, when she was succeeded by Andrea Weinstein. Herman continued until 2015; at this time, Weinstein took over sole management of Rochester Arts & Lectures until it closed in 2017.