Artistic Director

The Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) seeks a communicative, confident, and charismatic leader as its Artistic Director. After 42 years, Tatana Kellner, the founding Artistic Director, has announced she will be stepping down later this year.

Since its inception in 1974, WSW has brought artists from across the globe to work in our printmaking, hand papermaking, letterpress, photography, book arts, and ceramics studios. Over 6,500 Ulster County youth have participated in WSW’s art-in-education program and WSW’s has published more than 200 artist’s book editions, which are collected by major libraries and museums around the world.

WSW’s mission is to operate and maintain an artists’ workspace that encourages the voice and vision of individual women artists, provides professional opportunities for artists at various stages of their careers, and promotes programs designed to stimulate public involvement, awareness, and support for the visual arts.

The Artistic Director should be a practicing artist with deep knowledge and strong professional networks in the fields of printmaking, hand papermaking, and/or book arts.

The new Artistic Director will maintain WSW’s high artistic standards, enhance current and develop new programming, manage a diverse studio staff, and work with visiting artists and teachers. She will also be the public face of the organization with the capacity to present and clearly articulate WSW’s mission and programs at national conferences.

The Artistic Director will manage the team that:

-Awards grants and contract and schedule Artists-in-Residence
-Coordinates public art programs, such as the au-gust art festival and Dinner & Dialogues
-Builds curatorial/critical dialogue
-Arranges onsite and offsite exhibitions, and travelling exhibits/lectures
-Periodically participates (lecture/demonstrate) in national conferences, such as IAMPA, CBAA, Dard Hunter, SGC, MAPC
-Oversees visual support materials for grants and publications
-Supervises Studio Manager(s) and interns
-Works directly with the Studio Manager(s) and each Artist’s Book Resident to provide technical guidance and develop a production timeline
-Authorizes supply and material purchases
-Coordinates education programs including the Summer Art Institute and Hands-on Art, WSW’s public school art-in-education program
-Markets artists’ books
-Develops and coordinate follow-up artists’ assessment

Requirements:

-MFA – three years out of school
-Administrative and/or organizational experience within a non-profit or other public service field
-Ideally, applicants will have been previously engaged in local and national level programs.
-Capacity to engage with professional artists and educators
-Excellent oral and written communication skills
-Ability to manage and delegate
-Be self-directed with excellent organizational skills and the ability to work in a busy studio/office environment
-Proficiency in Photoshop and InDesign

Compensation: $35,000-$45,000 salary; health insurance allotment; four bedroom apartment in a historic house located in Stone Ridge.

Submit a letter of interest, resume, list of four references with contact information, and twenty images of your work with a corresponding image script. Applications accepted until position is filled.