San Antonio, TX
Executive Director
m/Oppenheim Associates is assisting the board of Artpace in San Antonio, Texas in the search for a new Executive Director to strengthen one of the most respected international artist-in-residence organizations in the world. For more information please review the complete Position Description.
Artpace nurtures the freedom to dream, supports the creative process, and engages audiences with the most innovative art and artists from around the world. For 20 years Artpace has marketed San Antonio to the world – it has an internationally respected brand, a set of well-established and well-attended exhibitions and programs, no debt, a strong alumni base of artists and curators, and a dedicated board and staff.
Artpace is known for its International Artist-in-Residence program, its exhibition of contemporary works at the cutting edge of innovation, and its content-rich education and public programs. At the core of Artpace is the residency program in which 3 guest curators each select 3 contemporary artists – one working internationally, one from the USA and one from Texas — to live and create in a supportive environment. Artpace provides artists with unparalleled resources that allow them to experiment with new ideas, take provocative risks, and develop ambitious new work. Artpace alumni include over 60 guest curators and almost 400 contemporary artists from around the world, many of whom are internationally prominent.
A hallmark of Artpace is that the art made during the residency belongs to the artist, and artists are encouraged (but not required) to share their ideas and become involved with the San Antonio and Texas art communities. In turn, they are indelibly influenced by their exposure to San Antonio, becoming international ambassadors for San Antonio to the world of artists, collectors, curators, gallerists and visual arts museums. A range of community programs, public and members-only events, mixers and other activities serve to connect audiences with Artpace resident artists. Extending Artpace’s reach and impact, the organization’s physical and online archives provide permanent access to residency documentation, while projects also live on in scholarly essays authored by the program’s renowned guest curators. Such efforts offer a critical overview of the artwork created and exhibited at Artpace, and provide a basis for future marketing of Artpace, the work of artists and curators alums, San Antonio and Texas.
Artpace makes a uniquely important contribution to San Antonio’s rebirth as a creative mecca, and is poised to attract new generations of artists, collectors and creative leaders to San Antonio and Texas. The Executive Director will bring to Artpace the entrepreneurial energy, creativity, drive, arts marketing-savvy and joy in engaging public support of artmaking that was embodied by the Founder, Linda Pace, and that is a driving force in any city that values creativity.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will ensure that Artpace continues to evolve its international artist-in-residence, educational and community programs, and will drive public and private support for its mission of fostering creativity. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing funding and other forms of support for Artpace and its resident artists. Artpace’s annual operating budget is $1.7 million and there is no debt. The organization owns an 18,000 sq ft building renovated in 1995 by the internationally renowned firm Lake/Flato Architects in central San Antonio one block from the River Walk and in the center of the $175 million San Pedro Creek downtown development program. It has an extraordinarily committed and creative staff of 14 and 11 part-time employees.
The Executive Director position is explicitly open to diverse candidate profiles. Such may include: artists, arts educators, gallerists, arts-business professionals, curators, museum directors, arts fundraising professionals and impresarios, and others of diverse backgrounds with a track record of providing support for contemporary visual, mixed media and diverse media artists. Strong fundraising and management credentials, along with an ability to joyfully engage others regionally, nationally and internationally, will be essential for this position
For additional information, please contact Mark Oppenheim or Lisa Grossman at info [at] moppenheim [dot] com.
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