18th Street Arts Center is searching for a dynamic, experienced leader for the position of the Director of Residency Programs. The center’s mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art-making. Since 1988, 18th Street Art Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, has supported thousands of individual artists and is a community that values art-making as an essential component of a vibrant, just and healthy society. The residency programs support artists working in all disciplines from traditional visual art media, to music and performance by providing live/work space, exhibition opportunities and access to the local resources of Southern California. Artist Residents come from California and a national and international pool of applicants from the Pacific Rim, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and Latin America. 18th Street is committed to artists who are risk-takers and are innovatively engaging the public through their work. We are seeking an inspired advocate of our mission to facilitate thoughtful and provocative cross-cultural exchanges with artists and our constituents.

Job Description

The Director of Residency Programs is a position reporting to the Executive Director. She/he is responsible for the overall creative and artistic direction and management of 18th Street’s Artist Residency Programs.  The programs entail booking 18+ residencies annually for contemporary artists from multiple countries 12 to 18 months in advance, working with regional curators abroad to identify artists for grant supported residencies, overseeing 1-2 calls for proposals annually for local residencies, overseeing 4 exhibition-based residencies, overseeing the publication of 1 year-end catalog, conducting ongoing program evaluations, and working with an advisory board shaping program policies. The individual is responsible for creating and managing overarching annual budgets and individual project budgets. He/she will be closely involved in the planning and implementation of fund development from grants and individual donors supporting the residencies, long range strategic planning and other duties as assigned.  She/he will supervise interns and volunteers. He/she will work as part of a team of six to produce an annual cohort of residencies and related public events. Other team members oversee marketing and outreach, the website, documentation, public event production, fund development and accounting.

Job Requirements:

• Masters degree in a relevant arts field from an accredited university. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.


• A minimum five years of progressively responsible professional experience in the development of contemporary art programs such as artist residencies, museum/gallery/alternative space exhibitions, public art programs, or public practice programs


• Excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills


• Excellent organizational skills


• Self-motivated and ability to work independently and within a team


• Previous management level and supervisory experience


• Experienced multi-program budget management


• Successful grant writing experience


• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Excel.

• Individual donor fundraising experience


• Some travel required


• Available weekends and evenings

Full-time Exempt, Salary Range $50 - $60k with Full benefits

Deadline to apply: June 21, 2011

 Please submit the following:

1. A cover letter highlighting 2 - 3 accomplishments relevant to the position


2. A current resume with relevant work experience


3. Three different arts-related writing samples in .PDF format (examples could be a published exhibition essay, an published opinion piece, an exhibition review, a successful grant application etc…)


4. A list of three professional references

Applications should be sent via email to: jobopenings@18thstreet.org