If you see yourself in a job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway! Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups, particularly women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC, tend to self-select out of opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic approach to all of our hiring practices and want to hire those who best align with our mission and goals.

WSW is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Executive Director

Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW), a non-profit arts organization in Rosendale NY, is seeking a creative and visionary Executive Director (ED). We seek candidates with a proven record of leadership, a deep commitment to contemporary art and artists, a strong understanding of the operation of an arts organization and/or residency program, and a comprehensive commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as an ethical practice. The ideal candidate will have a collaborative and progressive approach to arts leadership.

Founded 50 years ago as a women’s art space, WSW has shed patriarchal definitions of gender to serve an expanded mission: to operate and maintain a workspace that encourages the voice and vision of women, trans, intersex, nonbinary, and genderfluid artists. We provide professional opportunities for artists at various stages of their careers and promote programs designed to stimulate public involvement, awareness, and support for the visual arts. WSW maintains studio facilities in printmaking, papermaking, ceramics, and book arts.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Executive Director, reporting to the Board of Directors, will bring vitality, direction, and clear communication in their leadership of WSW. The ED is responsible for the overall strategic development, operational management, facilities oversight, and artistic initiatives of the organization, managing and augmenting our financial resources, spearheading fundraising, and leading both short and long-range planning. The ED will serve as the public face of the organization to our varied stakeholders, including the artistic community, donors, grantmakers, sponsors, and partners.

The ED should be a team-oriented leader who is flexible and adaptable, who encourages a warm and creative environment that fosters communication, cooperation, and openness, and who respects staff expertise and allows staff to thrive.

The incoming ED will work closely with our Deputy Director, who has been at WSW for 7 years. Additionally, in order to facilitate a smooth transition, the outgoing Co-Executive Director of Finance, Development and Operations will support the incoming ED through consulting until they are up to speed, with a particular focus on donor management, grants and completion of our new building.
Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Creative Leadership

• Maintain high artistic standards, enhancing and supporting WSW’s vision and mission
• Lead and/or oversee all artistic and programmatic activities, including but not limited to:
  • Artist Residency Program
  • Artist’s Book Publishing
  • Internship Program
  • Library and Archives
  • Exhibitions
  • Educational Programs
• Develop materials and methods to assess WSW’s programs
• Remain current on issues in contemporary art and artistic practices, especially in WSW’s specialties of printmaking, papermaking, ceramics, and book arts

Strategic Leadership

• Lead staff in ongoing efforts to build alignment across the organization, centering WSW’s mission
• Champion diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as an ethical practice across the design and execution of programs and initiatives
• Prioritize organizational capacity, stability, and sustainability in the design and execution of programs and initiatives
• Track and effectively communicate progress and milestones to the Board, funders, and other constituents
• Support a strong Board of Directors, serve as ex-officio member of each committee, and build Board involvement especially through a collaborative partnership with its executive committee. Identify, cultivate, and recommend new demographically diverse and amply resourced candidates for Board Service

Financial Responsibility

• On an annual basis, review, revise and execute WSW’s business plan, and recommend actions needed to achieve strategic goals
• Oversee and participate in financial management of the organization, including building an annual as well as departmental budget, payroll supervision, financial planning, annual audit and asset management
• Work in partnership with an off-site accounting contractor in financial transactions and reporting, with aid from a staff member

Administrative and Operational Responsibility

• Maintain and manage a highly qualified and motivated staff:
  • Supervise staff including hiring, recruitment, onboarding, oversight, and facilitation of professional development opportunities
  • Perform regular staff evaluations and create (or revise as needed) clear job descriptions
• Work with studio, maintenance, and office staff to ensure quality of on-campus experiences, including but not limited to that of resident artists, interns, instructors, students, renters, and visitors
• Manage all consultants, negotiate contracts with vendors, and ensure proper contract processes are followed
• Collaborate with teams to integrate systems and improve organizational efficiency
• Ensure and oversee ongoing maintenance and upgrades of equipment and facilities; work with staff to ensure safety in all locations and operations
• Work closely with architects and contractors on facility needs and/or expansions
• Ensure compliance with national, state, and local labor, environmental, and safety laws and protocols, including but not limited to OSHA and ADA requirements

Development and Fundraising Responsibility

• Oversee a robust fundraising plan that builds on WSW’s strength with institutional donors, including execution and reporting
• Cultivate and acquire new major gifts from individuals
• Develop profitable special events
• Expand online donor campaigns
• Work closely with the Board to create vehicles for capital campaigns and endowment gifts
• Work with staff to develop further support from government and foundation sources.

Marketing and Communications

• Serve as the public face of the organization, acting as a local and national presence who communicates impact, strengthens partnerships, and cultivates relationships within the arts; and with political leaders, grantees, community leaders and donors
• Develop methodologies to increase visibility locally, nationally, and internationally
• Manage sales of artists’ books, maintaining contact with repositories and standing orders and organizing and/or conducting annual sales trips as needed
• In partnership with staff, deepen and refine internal and external communications to ensure consistent, compelling messaging of WSW’s mission, vision, and achievements
• Collaborate with staff to create and execute public relations and crisis response strategies
• Collaborate with staff to ensure promotion of programs and initiatives

Qualifications

The new ED should have:

• The ability to define and drive a vision for the next stage of WSW’s artistic growth, integrated with our rich history
• 5+ years of responsibility in an arts or cultural nonprofit, with 3+ in a leadership position with clear accomplishments (i.e. financial growth, organizational advancement, programmatic vitality, etc.)
• Experience creating and implementing creative programming
• A proven track record in fundraising
• A combination of education, training and experience equivalent to a master’s degree
• Budgeting, staffing and personnel management experience
• A working knowledge of WSW’s artistic disciplines
• Ability to exhibit courage and clarity when communicating about controversial and complex issues, both internally and externally
• Willingness to be open and consultative in interactions with staff, board and all constituencies. The ED should exhibit strong cultural competency and the ability to work with individuals across cultural, generational, and socio-economic backgrounds
• Outstanding communication, interpersonal skills, and relationship-building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and produce compelling written and digital materials.
• A reputation for the highest levels of integrity and credibility, and the ability to represent WSW in an exemplary manner.

Compensation

The position offers a salary and benefits package starting at $90k, depending on candidate qualifications. Benefits include Vacation Time, New Parenthood Leave, Sick Leave, Paid Family Leave, Medical & Dental Insurance (contributory), and IRA contributions.

Start Date

June 17, 2024 (or as soon thereafter as possible)

Procedure for Application

Applications will be reviewed starting April 9, 2024: review will continue until the position is filled.

Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a cover letter, resumé, and four professional references: all three items should be submitted as a single pdf. Your cover letter should be no more than two pages long: it should describe why this post and organization are attractive to you, and what about you and your work would make you a strong leader of Women’s Studio Workshop. Materials should have the applicant’s name as part of each file name and must be submitted to [email protected].

Once all applicant materials have been submitted online, applicants will receive confirmation of their submission via the email address provided in their application. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive; we expect to have preliminary results during the week of April 29. For clarification on any of this information, please contact us at [email protected].

DO YOU THINK THIS MIGHT BE YOU?

If you see yourself in this job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway! Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups, particularly women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC, tend to self-select out of opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic approach to all of our hiring practices and want to hire those who best align with our mission and goals.

Background

WSW, located two hours north of New York City in the Hudson Valley, is nationally and internationally recognized for the deep support we provide to artists, for the quality of the artists’ books and innovative programming. WSW was founded in 1974 by Ann Kalmbach, Tatana Kellner, Anita Wetzel, and Barbara Leoff Burge as a studio workspace for artists to create new work and collaborate. They envisioned a society where women’s art was integral to the cultural mainstream and permanently recorded in history.

The first studios were in a two-story single-family home. 50 years later, WSW’s rural Rosendale campus now consists of three studio buildings, one multi-family property with tenants, and three apartments for a total of five residents at a time. Additionally, construction of a new 4800 square foot building with a budget of $1.3M is well underway, with completion expected by 2025. The new facility will include an extensive ceramics studio, an additional studio for artists’ book production, and rental studio spaces for artists. Fundraising is over 50% complete. WSW maintains facilities for etching, letterpress, papermaking, book arts, silkscreen, 3D work, ceramics, and photography. WSW offerings include paid artist residencies, paid internships, workshops, studio rentals, and private instruction. More information about who we serve can be found here.

In a typical year, WSW provides residencies ranging from 4-10 weeks to 20-35 artists, and produces 4-5 artists’ books annually. These highly regarded editions are widely collected by individuals and institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Baylor, Scripps, the Library of Congress, Indiana University/Bloomington, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. There are presently 11 repositories which have contracted to collect every book we produce, sight unseen. Our work is housed in over 350 universities, museums, and private collections nationally and internationally. Our book sales provide significant revenue to both the artists and to WSW.

In the past year, WSW also:
● Served 20 artists in residence, providing time, equipment, funding and technical support
● Paid artists $243,000 in artistic services, royalties, and stipends
● Raised ~$800,000 for a new capital project to expand our studio facilities
● Hosted ~700 individuals at public events, including artist talks, gallery openings and public programming
● Welcomed 180 adult students from around the world for a program of 22 single week intensive workshops in printmaking, papermaking, and book arts, and 60 children from the Kingston City School District for our Art-in-Education Program
● Organized five exhibitions of work produced at WSW throughout our 49-year history, which will tour during 2024-2025.
● Formalized the Archives, turning WSW’s collection of artists’ books, institutional records and ephemera into a research center.
● Participated in three national artist book fairs, exhibiting and selling artists’ work
● Added one full-time and one part-time staff member

Since WSW’s founding, archival practices and record keeping have been a critical part of our work, resulting in a wide range of archival materials that trace the history and mission of the organization, as well as artist files for the hundreds of artists-in-residence who have worked in our studios. Given WSW’s roots in feminist history, artist activism, and artist-run organizations, this archive holds a wealth of material of special relevance for artists and scholars today. A full-time archivist position has been created thanks to a generous, 3-year grant from the Hauser & Wirth Institute. An important component of that project is making the archive– which extensively chronicles the studio’s 50 years of activity– easily accessible to artists and scholars.

WSW also has an ongoing commitment to our local communities. Since 1986, WSW and the Kingston City School District have been partners in facilitating studio instruction in print and papermaking on our campus. Thousands of students from grades 4-12 have participated in this collaboration and many have gone on to establish careers in the arts. Additional outreach programs include our Public Art projects and our Summer Art Institute, a content rich adult art education program serving 180 students each summer nationally and internationally. These sessions offer sliding scale tuition as part of the organization’s deep commitment to equity in the arts.

The WSW internship program, now in its 41st year, provides intensive, paid training opportunities for emerging artists and arts administrators, who work under the close guidance of WSW’s staff. Interns are offered free housing, employment/food stipends, and use of a company car.

Finally, in celebration of our fiftieth anniversary, WSW has organized a traveling exhibition, curated by Maymanah Farhat, A Radical Alteration: Women’s Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making looks at the organization’s rich history as a proponent of book arts for marginalized communities in the U.S., where documentation and critical analysis in the field are still largely reserved for white male artists. Through artists’ books, zines, printed materials, ephemera, and archival materials, the exhibition looks at how the organization’s policies, programming, and operations have evolved over the last fifty years, thus creating a space where the conditions of art making and institutional support are in the service of a sustainable and more equitable art ecosystem. This exhibition opened in San Francisco in January 2024, and will be on the road until Fall 2025.