Civitella will be holding its 20th Anniversary Annual Party at ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn this April, and many of our Fellows and Director's Guests have performed at this great venue over the last decade. Given our ties to the organization, we ask the Civitella family to help us spread the word that ISSUE Project Room is in the process of searching for a new Executive Director. Please read on for more information, and pass this along to any individual you know who would be a strong candidate for this position.
About ISSUE Project Room
Issue Project Room is a pioneering performance center that presents innovative work by emerging and established experimental artists who expand the boundaries of creative practice and stimulate critical dialogue about art and culture. ISSUE plays a vital role in New York City’s cultural community, supporting the commission and premiere of new works and presenting a diverse array of artists working across the disciplines of music, sound, dance, film, performance and literature.
Each year ISSUE presents new and groundbreaking work by hundreds of artists whose creative practice embodies the highest level of artistic integrity and exploration. Recent performers have ranged from iconic figures such as Cecil Taylor, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros and Marina Abramovic to a cadre of younger experimental artists. ISSUE Project Room recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with the highly successful, critically lauded series Ten Years Alive on the Infinite Plain, a two-month festival revisiting past projects and initiating new relationships through performances by 60 emerging and established artists.
ISSUE’s commitment to nurturing emerging artists is reflected in its Artists in Residence Program, which provides rehearsal space, funding and performance opportunities for artists working across an array of disciplines.
The Role
Reporting to the ISSUE Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for leading ISSUE in support of its mission and vision; providing advice, proposals and research to the Board; working with its Artistic Director to further its artistic programming; managing its day-to-day and financial operations; and ensuring the organization’s financial health. The Executive Director will work to shape the institution’s future, in accordance with a well-conceived strategy approved by the Board and will also move ISSUE forward in new and innovative directions.
The Executive Director must be an enthusiastic and proven fundraiser with a demonstrated track record of fiscal responsibility, committed to establishing a strong and sustainable financial foundation for ISSUE. She/he will be adept at building relationships with a wide range of artistic, private and public constituents. Operating with a tightly knit, highly engaged staff, the Executive Director also will be responsible for cultivating and managing personnel.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate must exhibit a thorough knowledge of and an active engagement with contemporary performing arts. She/he will have demonstrated strong results as a leader, having managed teams and resources for non-profits in the performing arts. A record of respected curatorial achievement or of successfully collaborating with a curatorial staff is a plus. In addition, direct experience in performance planning, public programming, operations, fundraising, public relations/marketing and budget management are all desirable.
A skilled and energetic fundraiser with a focus on ISSUE’s financial stability and growth, the Executive Director will be responsible for developing and implementing a targeted fundraising plan that drives institutional and individual giving, membership growth, government grants, sponsorships and partnerships. She/he also will be responsible for developing revenue streams for the organization through fundraising events, the rental of ISSUE’s space for outside events and studio music recordings, as well as through merchandise and concession sales, and so on.
Strong interpersonal skills are critical, especially the ability to attract, motivate and manage a talented and diverse staff. ISSUE currently employs a team of five, which includes an Artistic Director, a Development Director, and directors of Marketing and Outreach, Operations and Tech. Given that there has not been an Executive Director in place since the end of 2012, this core team has done an outstanding job in managing ISSUE’s day-to-day activities, curatorial direction, fundraising, etc. The new Executive Director will need to take this into account when she/he assumes the leadership responsibilities for this evolving organization.
The successful candidate will have an entrepreneurial spirit, having proven her or his ability to collaborate with and motivate a diverse community, as well as build bridges that connect varying constituencies, including artists and colleagues in the global arts arena, existing and prospective donors, the local community and public officials. The candidate must be an articulate, dynamic and effective communicator both in person, with the media and in public forums, and serve as the primary advocate for the institution and its programs.
History of ISSUE Project Room
In February 2003, Suzanne Fiol founded ISSUE Project Room as an art and performance space on East 6th Street in Manhattan’s East Village. Shortly thereafter, ISSUE migrated to an iconic silo in Brooklyn on the Gowanus Canal. In 2006, ISSUE moved to the nearby Old American Can Factory, building its reputation as a performing arts center that provides artists and musicians with a dynamic environment in which to create new and innovative work.
On October 5th, 2009, Fiol lost her courageous battle with cancer. She was loved deeply and missed by all. Artforum eulogized her by noting, “Suzanne Fiol wanted to make a space for music, performance, and readings in a spirit of love and commitment, and created one of the warmest and best-sounding venues in New York.” By the time of her death, ISSUE had become one of the most beloved and important showcases for experimental culture in New York City.
Moving Forward
In 2012, ISSUE Project Room moved to its new, permanent home in Downtown Brooklyn in the historic, former NYC Board of Education headquarters building designed by McKim, Mead & White. Over the past few years, ISSUE has been planning for the design and renovation of this 5,000-squarefoot, European-style chamber hall space located on Boerum Place at Livingston Street. When completed in 2016, ISSUE will have a flexible, 199-seat theater that is technically, acoustically and aesthetically sophisticated to serve the fullest range of music, new media and contemporary performance.
Brooklyn is a global, arts and cultural epicenter -- home to the highest concentration of artists, musicians, designers, writers and cultural workers in the United States. ISSUE will continue to play a leadership role in maintaining Brooklyn’s vital cultural landscape by providing a vibrant network of artists with a leading-edge facility and opportunities to create and present groundbreaking new work.
To date, ISSUE has raised $4 million in public and private funding for the two-phase renovation project. In the summer of 2014, ISSUE will move forward with the first phase of construction, which will dramatically improve the facility’s acoustics. The second phase of construction is scheduled to begin in early 2015, with completion slated for early the following year. During the second phase, ISSUE plans to continue programming as a nomadic organization with performances at various other established New York City venues. When the space re-opens in 2016, ISSUE will be well positioned as the leading presenter of experimental performance in New York City.
Once the renovation is complete, artists will receive expanded rehearsal space, access to the latest technologies, a high level of production support, and exposure to a broad public audience. Music ensembles will have opportunitiesto utilize the space’s unique acoustics for recordings. Members of the community and organizations will have access to the hall for events. ISSUE will also launch educational programs designed to explore how experimental performing arts practices can invigorate progressive education and provide students with essential 21st century skills. To design these programs, ISSUE will work in partnership with local schools.
Planned improvements for ISSUE’s new home will include:
Acoustic treatments to accommodate an expanded range of musical performances, spoken pieces, and sound works
Theatrical lighting and acoustic systems
Rehearsal and recording studio
HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire, safety, and sprinkler systems
Artist green room,
Box office and bar, and office space
To Apply
Please e-mail your resume and cover letter to issu.ed@nvda.com by April 30, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment