FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GALLERY ONE ANNOUNCES MILLER AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Contact:
Elizabeth Frederick, Gallery One Board Member, 509-674-8682
Monica Miller, Incoming Executive Director, monica@gallery-one.org, 509-925-2670
December 3, 2013
Gallery One Visual Arts Center is pleased to announce that Monica Miller, currently its Associate Director, has been promoted to Executive Director. She will begin her new role on January 1, 2014.
This transition is part of a succession plan that began in 2013 when Gallery One’s current Executive Director, Carol Hassen, announced that she would like to spend more time making her own art work and focusing on her love of curating. Hassen will continue as the Curator of Exhibitions for Gallery One as Miller assumes the leadership role for the organization.
When asked what she sees as important priorities for Gallery One, Miller said, “Gallery One is really a model arts center, where people and art come together to create community. We are perfectly positioned to begin to reduce barriers to art making by inviting everyone to come into the space and make it their own, regardless of income or ability, through our programs for youth and adults. I would like to change the perception of the space as a white box gallery to an arts center full of people and their ideas.”
As Associate Director of Gallery One, Miller’s primary responsibility has included generating income for the Gallery through memberships, sponsorships, special events and grants. In 2012, with her knowledge of ceramics (she once imagined being a potter) she was able to form a partnership with the McMillen Foundation to add badly needed equipment to the public ceramics studio. With this equipment she began the now popular Sip and Spin event as a way to invite the community to have fun, create and learn about ceramics.
Miller has worked with arts organizations for over 12 years in fundraising, grants management and professional development for artists. Prior to her work for Gallery One, she was employed by Artist Trust, a nonprofit that gives grants and provides resources for artists in Washington State. During her six years at Artist Trust, she spearheaded funding programs for artists and played a key role in memberships, fundraising and education programs.
Miller currently serves on the Ellensburg Arts Commission where she is spearheading efforts to advocate for the importance of arts in the community. Recently she forged a partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission and the Ellensburg Arts Commission to help assess the economic impact of the arts in the region. She is a Master’s Candidate at Johns Hopkins University for Museum Studies and received her BA from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with Honors. Miller is married to local artist, Justin Beckman, and they have a son, Porter.
In reflecting on her association with Carol Hassen at Gallery One Miller says of Hassen, “The Gallery is extremely fortunate to have had such a seasoned leader, and I consider myself very lucky as well to have had the opportunity to learn from the best. Carol is both an artist and an administrator, which makes her a wonderful advocate for the Gallery. I am so pleased that she is interested in extending her tenure at the Gallery as the Curator of Exhibitions.”
When contacted, Hassen said: “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to continue with Gallery One while stepping back on my responsibilities. Monica is highly qualified to fill this position. Thank you to all who have made my four years as Executive Director such a positive experience.”
“We would like to thank both Carol and Monica for their excellent work and continued dedication to Gallery One,” said Board President, Steve Williams.
About Gallery One
Gallery One Visual Arts Center is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the creation, exhibition and appreciation of visual arts in Central Washington. In addition to rotating exhibits of contemporary art, Gallery One offers a variety of quarterly classes, an art after school program, a gift store featuring regional artisans, a full ceramics studio available for rent and classes, inexpensive studio spaces for artists and facility rentals for the community.