New Urban Arts Seeks Executive Director
Mid $50s, Excellent Benefits
Application Due: Begin review of credentials on November 2
Start Date: Open Until Filled
Full Time/Permanent
About the organization:
Founded in 1997 with seed funding from the Echoing Green Foundation and Brown University’s
Swearer Center, New Urban Arts is a nationally recognized arts studio and gallery for high
school students and emerging artists in Providence, Rhode Island. Our mission is to build a vital
community that empowers young people as artists and leaders to develop a creative practice they
can sustain throughout their lives. We have been recognized as a national model for engaging
underserved teenagers through the arts.
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities has named New Urban Arts a
Coming up Taller Award winner, the nation’s highest honor for youth arts and humanities
programs. We were one of only nine organizations selected to participate in ARTOGRAPHY, a
multi-year national Ford Foundation-initiative documenting and disseminating the artistic and
organizational practices of exemplary diverse community-responsive arts organizations. Each
year we serve 300 high school students, 20 emerging artists and 2,000 visitors through free
youth programs, professional development, artist residencies, public performances, workshops
and exhibitions. We have a permanent staff of six and an annual operating budget of over
$400,000. Visit www.newurbanarts.org for more information.
New Urban Arts is at a unique moment in its history, having recently bought, renovated, moved
in, and paid for a building on a street we helped revitalize. Our new studio is near the four high
schools which send us most of our student participants and has been financed by a nearly
complete one million dollar Capital Campaign. We seek a new Executive Director to lead the
organization in the next phase of our development. We need to participate in national
conversations around education and creative practices, in order to continue to contribute to
national reform efforts, while keeping our commitment to our local Providence community. New
Urban Arts must deepen its relationships with current supporters, attract new funding sources,
and further diversify its revenue streams. We want to propel New Urban Arts into its next stage
of development and ultimately increase national and international impact.
The Position and Ideal Candidate Profile:
New Urban Arts seeks an inspiring leader who believes in the power of creative practice and
lifelong learning. The Executive Director should have a strong understanding of creative
practice within an individual’s life and participate in dialogues about community and cultural
production on a local and national scale. The Executive Director understands the value of
relationships in building a self-sustaining organization. An ideal candidate is a strong
strategic thinker with excellent non-profit management skills. The Executive Director must
be flexible and adaptive, resourceful and values-driven (and will also have a good sense of
humor). S/he fosters a rewarding workplace that is stimulating, respectful, collaborative,
relationship-driven, and results-oriented, and where the mission of New Urban Arts will
thrive. The best candidates will have experience in the non-profit sector, particularly with the
arts and young people in community based settings; a record of success partnering with,
developing, and engaging nonprofit boards; knowledge of fundraising and non-profit financial
management; proven ability to work collaboratively; and leadership skills.
Job Responsibilities:
Ensure the ongoing growth and success of New Urban Arts while keeping the
organization’s work consistent with its mission, values, and strategic plan and relevant
to the needs of the community
Support the New Urban Arts Board of Directors in fulfilling their legal and fiduciary
responsibilities as stewards of the organization; develop annual budget
Oversee New Urban Arts’ building and programs in accordance with the organization’s
mission and in collaboration with staff, mentors and students
Supervise and support staff in their programmatic and administrative duties
Conceive and carry out fundraising activities at the corporate, foundation, government
and individual levels, through grant writing, donor cultivation and stewardship, and
work to increase the amount and diversity of revenue streams
Engage New Urban Arts in national conversations, collaborations, and best practices
in education, community arts, and non-profit and youth development
Serve as the public face of New Urban Arts, telling our story and making connections
to current and potential partners, both locally and nationally
To apply, please email cover letter and resume to: alyssa@newurbanarts.org
New Urban Arts
705 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903
For more information, visit www.newurbanarts.org
