Executive Director ISSUE PROJECT ROOM (Brooklyn, NY)
ISSUE Project Room invites applications and referrals for the position of Executive Director. The successful candidate will partner with an enthusiastically supportive board and staff as the organization builds upon its seven-year history as a leading experimental arts center and develops into a nationally and internationally recognized presenter of pioneering and experimental arts across the genres of music, dance, media and performance..
About ISSUE Project Room
ISSUE Project Room is a pioneering arts center located in Brooklyn, New York that is dedicated to presenting emerging and established artists whose works embody the highest spirit of exploration. It is a space where new ideas and creative directions are explored and where emerging artists can hone and present their craft in a supportive environment. Through an evolving collaboration with curators, artists, and educators, ISSUE Project Room serves as a vibrant nexus for cutting edge arts. The organization produces more than 200 events year-round -- new and experimental music concerts, literary readings, films, videos, dance, visual and sound art, new media, critical theory lectures and discussions, site-specific work, commissions, educational workshops, master classes and interdisciplinary performances -- that challenge and expand conventional practices in art.
Established in 2003 by visionary artist and curator Suzanne Fiol, ISSUE Project Room has grown rapidly from a small arts presenter on the Lower East Side into one of New York City’s pre-eminent presenters for experimental arts in all disciplines located in the Gowanas section of Brooklyn. As a pivotal next step in ISSUE Project Room’s development, the organization will move into a centrally located new home in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn that will enable it to tap into a broader audience, more than double its seating capacity, expand its services to artists through residencies and training programs, and develop programs that serve youth and the community at large. ISSUE plans to undertake an estimated $2.5 million renovation of a 4,800-square- foot space in an architecturally and historically significant building designed by McKim Meade White, which formerly served as headquarters to the New York City Board of Education. Today the building houses residential condominiums and the New York City Transit Museum.
The incoming Executive Director for ISSUE Project Room will be responsible for leading and guiding the organization through its move from its current space into its new home , as well as its successful organizational and financial transition into to a mid-size presenting organization. Responsibilites will include:
* Running the organization’s day-to-day operations, managing staff and overseeing administrative activities, providing managerial leadership, ensuring sound financial management, fundraising, and establishing an artistic vision for programming, which builds upon the organization’s mission and the vision of its founder Suzanne Fiol.
* Spearheading fundraising and building on the organization’s current $2.5 million capital campaign, its $1 million Suzanne Fiol Memorial Fund, and its existing development activities, and establishing its strong financial footing as a mid-size presenting organization.
* Managing the renovation and transition into its new venue. This will include working with City agencies, partnering organizations and consultants, introducing ISSUE to its new neighborhood constitutients, and migrating Issue’s existing audience to its new home.
* Providing leadership as ISSUE expands its staff, develops its new presentation facilities, increases its visibility , and develops city-wide, national, and international programming partnerships and collaborations.
* Serving as a significant, visible, and publicly-involved member of the New York cultural community, expanding ISSUE’s presence as a catalyst for exciting, experimental, avant-garde performance and art.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate for Executive Director will be a visionary leader with strong creative energy, managerial skills, and fundraising/development acumen who recognizes the long-term potential of the organization and is eager to utilize their talents to advance ISSUE Project Room to its next stage of evolution.
The successful candidate will have a thorough understanding of experimental and avant-garde music, sound art, poetry, and other forms of experimental performance, both historical and contemporary, and will be excited at the prospect of developing and nurturing emerging artists, as well as creating high-profile presentation opportunities for established ones. This person must have a strong personal commitment to the work that ISSUE will produce, and a desire to embrace, expand upon, and strengthen the avant-garde community in New York City through uncompromising programming.
The successful candidate will have a solid experience in the operational, managerial, and financial requirements of a mid-size performing arts venue in a major urban center, with the creative flexibility and agility to work with a space that is evolving. This person must also be able to work in partnership with city and borough agencies and be comfortable with pursing fundraising opportunities from arts foundations, individual donors, and the government arts funding infrastructure.
The successful candidate will demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit in seeking new opportunities for strategic partnerships with other organizations on a local, national, and international scale, and in growing reach a wider audience with experimental work.
The successful candidate will look forward to working with an energetic and extraordinarily dedicated staff, an active board of directors, a well-respected and active artistic and professional advisory boards, and a talented roster of artists, composers, performers, and guest curators that view ISSUE as their home.
Information and Application Process:
Compensation, including benefits, is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Interested candidates are invited to submit a letter of interest that describes qualifications, availability, and specific interest in ISSUE Project Room, with a curriculum vitae and three references, by May 1, 2010 or until the position is filled, in confidence to:
ISSUE Project Room Attn: Executive Director Search 232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11215
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