Artadia Names Allison Derusha as New Executive Director

Artadia, the nonprofit known for giving unrestricted grants to artists across the United States, has named Allison Derusha its new executive director.

Derusha, an arts fundraiser and strategist who has worked at the Guggenheim Museum, the American Ballet Theatre, the National Academy of Design, and SculptureCenter, takes over from Bora Kim, who has served as interim executive director since January. Kim stepped into the role following the departure of Patton Hindle, who left Artadia to become director of arts at the Knight Foundation.

Derusha comes to the organization with more than 25 years of experience in the arts and philanthropy. According to Artadia, she has raised more than $150 million for arts organizations and artists over the course of her career. Most recently, she ran A/D Consulting, her own arts and philanthropy practice, whose clients included Baryshnikov Arts, Centre Pompidou, Performa, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and the SCAD Museum of Art.

“I am honored to join Artadia and to lead an organization whose commitment to artists is both deeply rooted and urgently relevant,” Derusha said in a statement. She added that her goal is to expand the organization’s network and “financial commitment to artists.”

Founded in 1999, Artadia gives unrestricted grants to artists in seven cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization was originally created in response to the National Endowment for the Arts ending its direct grants to individual artists in the ’90s.

Derusha, who began her post this month, will get something of an official introduction next week at Artadia’s annual New York luncheon, scheduled for September 23 at the National Arts Club. The fundraiser brings together Artadia awardees from each of the organization’s seven program cities and raises money for its unrestricted artist grants.