When Indigo Sams moved to St. Louis from the Bay Area at 17, she was hardly a stranger to the region. Her father, George Sams, is considered a regional treasure for his work with the Black Artists Group in the 1960s.
Today, Sams stands as one of the region’s most prominent Black arts leaders, guiding the Center of Creative Arts as president and CEO. Her path — from student intern to chief executive — reflects both longevity and uncommon institutional knowledge.
After beginning her career at COCA as a college intern, Sams spent 17 years with the organization before taking on leadership roles elsewhere and ultimately returning to lead the institution during a milestone chapter in its history.
“Indigo is a trusted and inspiring leader whose innovative vision and dedication to St. Louis communities will further advance COCA’s leadership position in the arts and culture sector,” said Menon Dwarka, senior vice president at Arts Consulting Group, the firm that led the search.
Sams gives much credit to her father for the support he has always given her.
“My dad is my biggest cheerleader,” Sams said. “He is my biggest supporter, my biggest shoulder to lean on still to this day.”
His purpose-driven creativity — as a jazz musician, visual artist, photographer and gallery owner — shaped her early understanding of how art can function as protest, pride and human connection.
“I come from a family of artists,” she said.
That lineage extends beyond her father. Sams frequently references her grandmother, Ada Arnetta Whitt Sams, who balanced a career in education while singing opera and gospel and raising six children.
“I grew up around music and the arts and had an opportunity, like a lot of young people, to be touched and moved by the arts,” Sams said. “But my story as an arts professional started right here at COCA.”
After arriving in St. Louis — the city her father and grandmother once called home — Sams graduated from Sumner High School before enrolling at Harris-Stowe State University. While a student, she became an intern for COCA’s founding executive director, Stephanie Riven.
The internship provided an introduction to the business side of the arts.
“I learned that the arts aren’t just about performance — there’s a whole business behind it,” she said. “Under her, I learned so many of those pieces.”
That experience led to a full-time position and eventually a 17-year tenure at COCA. Sams later joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis under the leadership of Dr. Flint Fowler, where she helped expand arts programming.
Sams’ leadership is often framed by her vision and deep institutional knowledge. But those closest to her point first to something less visible — her loyalty and generosity.
“Indigo Sams was my anchor from the very beginning,” said Antonio Douthit-Boyd, recently named artistic director of Next Generation Ballet. “She offered me her couch when I had nothing but a dream. She cheered me on from the audience as I danced across the globe.”
Douthit-Boyd credits Sams’ unwavering support as instrumental in his evolution as an artist and educator — a journey that now includes another recent appointment as dance chair of the Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center in Tampa, Florida.
That same spirit of support would later shape Sams’ own return to COCA three years ago.
“Every day I walk through those double doors, I have the opportunity to inspire young people to find their voices, build on their potential, and access opportunities they might not find anywhere else,” she said.
Her return coincided with a milestone period for the organization. Sams recently marked her third anniversary as CEO as COCA prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
“For 40 years, COCA has built a reputation,” Sams said. “To come back home — because I do consider this my original home — and help ensure that more kids across St. Louis and beyond are celebrated, trained and able to go out into the world to do beautiful things in the arts gives me a feeling I can’t even begin to describe.”
She hopes students who train at COCA will one day return to contribute to the institution.
Sams points to Antonio Douthit-Boyd as one example. The former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater spent nearly a decade as co-director of COCA’s dance department alongside his husband, Kirven Douthit-Boyd, who now serves as interim director.
“My hope is that people trained through COCA will continue to bring some of that talent and experience back,” Sams said. “We continue to open doors for young people to return here and work, because that’s just as important as training them.”