AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

BECA: Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art

Global HQ = Albuquerque, NM

www.BECAICAD.org

BECA seeks Executive Director or Group to Direct Operations (Location: Open within the United States)

In addition to individual resumes, applications are being accepted from artist groups and other organizations to direct BECA operations

We continue to have a wonderful response in the BECA search to bring a new Executive Director on board. The review of resumes continues and BECA will accept resumes and cover letters for review through September 1, 2011.

As current Directors Melissa Roberts and Kurt Schlough begin their transition from BECA Directors to BECA Board Members they are busy spearheading new projects, one of which pertains to the Art Print Giveaway which you can read more about in the next section of this newsletter below.

In October of 2007, BECA Co-founders/Directors Melissa Roberts and Kurt Schlough hatched a unique experimental arts project that would give new access to exhibition opportunities to creatives without regard to their academic degree status, exhibition history, who they knew or where they were from. It has remained the only exhibition program in the Unites States which maintains this submission criteria while utilizing the only consistent blind curatorial review process in the world. The unique programming went one step further in that it was the first international exhibition program in the United States which focused on creating opportunities for both artists and designers alike. To the delight of BECA Co-Founders/Directors, some creatives have taken advantage of the open nature of the program to avail themselves of BECA exhibition opportunities, even though they may not have been dubbed an 'artist' in the past. Submissions have been received from a broad spectrum of creatives including visual artists, poets, graphic designers, architects, lighting designers, scientists, environmentalists, musicians, video artists, landscape architects and product designers, to name a few. Since January 2008, the BECA network grew from a few hundred people to now over 35,000 members of the international art and design communities including but not limited to gallery and museum directors, curators, collectors, as well as both emerging and established artists and designers. To date BECA programming has created exhibition and related opportunities for over 300 creatives from around the world. This has been accomplished through sheer determination, volunteers and an ability to stretch pennies farther than any other arts organization in the United States. It could not have been accomplished without the untold personal financial sacrifices made over the years by BECA’s Co-founders/Directors who rather than fold the BECA program when times became very difficult, remained steadfastly committed as full-time unpaid volunteers. BECA’s Co-Founders/Directors are artists and designers themselves, living off of small incomes yet they have personally funded over 50% of BECA programming expenses throughout the years. They are not, and have never been, financially independently wealthy as many over the years have mistakenly assumed.

Now that the difficult groundwork of BECA programming has been laid, it is time for BECA Co-Founders/Directors to pursue their other passions while remaining connected to BECA programming by serving on its developing Board of Directors. BECA has begun the search to find BECA's first official Executive Director. Once the Executive Director is hired, Melissa Roberts and Kurt Schlough will maintain a support role during the transition and eventually serve on a newly formed BECA Board of Directors. It will not be easy to fill the shoes of the current Directors as the new Executive Director will have to wear many hats until additional staff can be hired. In order to take BECA programming to the next level of its growth, the new Executive Director must serve as Fundraiser, PR Director, Social Media Manager, Director of Operations, Accountant, Program Director, Artist Liaison, Volunteer Coordinator and more.

The ideal candidate for the BECA Executive Director position will possess the following qualities:

* A dynamic leader who shares a passion for both art + design along with a passion for nurturing and supporting emerging creative producers from around the world
* An experienced business and financial manager in the context of an arts organization, with an ability to translate goals into action, and to manage operations in a cost-effective manner
* A strong relationship builder who can convert those relationships to sponsorships and donations
* An excellent oral and written communicator, who can effectively present the importance of BECA to the newcomers constituents while maintaining relationships with its existing international network
* A strong visionary leader who is organized, efficient and consistent
* Ability to develop and manage internal systems to ensure accurate and consistent administration
* A creative, strategic and tactical thinker who can develop, communicate and implement a vision and a plan for BECA's continued growth and development
* An energetic consensus-builder who can work with diverse individuals and groups and who has the skills required to build partnerships with other organizations and producers
* A team-builder who can effectively work with the board and partner organizations

The ideal candidate for the BECA Executive Director position will have demonstrated relevant experience, including:

* Effectiveness in raising significant funds from a variety of sources including online, event, membership, major and micro gifts, sponsorships, etc.
* Marketing and public relations
* Communicating with widely diverse audiences, both in written form, public presentations and social media
* Ability to work with diverse constituencies in a challenging and continually evolving environment
* Proven cultural competency skills or ability
* Leadership skills, including articulating a vision and designing and implementing strategies to achieve that vision
* Knowledge of facilities management
* Developing and managing a budget that is directly tied to measurable, strategic goals, and in understanding and implementing appropriate fiscal accountability and internal controls
* Prioritizing and deploying resources in light of needs, and making sound fiscal and mission based decisions
* Developing and maintaining external partnerships
* Managing an arts organization

Salary range: $45,000 - $85,000 depending on experience and demonstrated abilities. Please send resume and cover letter in .rtf or .pdf format (Word docs will not be opened) using the subject line “BECA ED” to becafoundation@gmail.com If your email does not bounce back as undeliverable, it has been received and is being reviewed. The BECA Foundation will only be able to contact those it wishes to receive additional information from or those it wishes to interview for the position. Thank you. You may visit the BECA website at: www.BECAICAD.org

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BECA Director Melissa Roberts has been busy with her transition from working internationally with BECA to focusing her efforts on the state of New Mexico where she has begun a new animal welfare non-profit organization called New Mexico Pets ALIVE!

BECA Director Kurt Schlough has been busy on 2 new projects: ABQ Icons, celebrating the iconic imagery of his new hometown and Paw Pads Nation, a residential housing development project to deliver truly pet-friendly rental housing options to pet parents around the United States.