PRESS CONTACT: CAITLIN CAPLINGER
CULTURALDC ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: KRISTI MAISELMAN
FROM ARTIST IN THE GALLERY TO RUNNING THE SHOW
Washington, DC – September 27, 2018 – CulturalDC announced today that Ava LaTanya Hilton will be retiring as Executive Director of CulturalDC and Deputy Director Kristi Maiselman has been promoted to Executive Director effective October 1.
“Our board could not be happier to announce this seamless transition. Kristi has been working as Tanya’s right hand for the past three years overseeing the launch of CulturalDC’s innovative Mobile Art Gallery and other groundbreaking initiatives such as VISIONDC,” said Olwen Pongrace, Board Chair. “With this appointment, CulturalDC will have a new leader with strong ties to the arts community and a deep understanding of CulturalDC’s unique place in using art as a catalyst to build community.”
Hilton joined CulturalDC’s Board of Directors in 2015 and has served as the Executive Director since October 2015. She will continue her commitment to CulturalDC as a member of the board. “It is a credit to Tanya’s leadership and innovative planning and programming that we were able to promote from within the organization. After a well-deserved break, Tanya will rejoin CulturalDC’s Board of Directors,” added Pongrace.
Kristi brings over 15 years of experience in non-profit and for-profit arts organizations including the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Rubell Family Collection, Conner Smith, Hamiltonian Artists and the National Gallery of Art. She holds an MA in Arts Management from American University and a BFA in Photography from James Madison University. She lives in Shaw with her husband and daughter.
“CulturalDC has been a major player in building the DC visual and performing arts scene for 20 years now. My time as Executive Director will focus on ensuring that the city's diverse range of artists and community members know that we are committed to producing high quality, community-centered work for the next 20 years,” said new Executive Director, Kristi Maiselman.
Maiselman is an artist herself who has benefited for nearly 15 years from CulturalDC’s work to support local creatives. Kristi’s first solo show in 2004 – Incorporating Process, a showcase of abstract, color photograph collages – was at CulturalDC’s Flashpoint, DC’s premier arts incubator. She was an inaugural occupant for the affordable artist live/work condominiums of Mather Studios in Penn Quarter, completed in 2003.
ABOUT CULTURALDC, “WE MAKE SPACE FOR ART”
CulturalDC celebrates its 20th year of creating affordable, sustainable artist spaces in the Washington, DC, area. Since 1998, CulturalDC has brokered more than 300,000 square feet of artist space, including: the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market, Atlas Performing Arts Center, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Source Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery is DC’s first moveable artspace and a commitment to use art as a catalyst to build community. Each year, CulturalDC serves more than 1,000 artists and welcomes 40,000 audience members and participants who patron local businesses and contribute an estimated $1 million to the local economy.
