Heeere’s Linda!

Living ArtSpace recently hired Linda Clark, former part-time Business and Grants Manager for the Tulsa Glassblowing Studio and frequent Living Arts volunteer, as its Administrative Director. Although Living Arts’ bylaws always intended for there to be an administrative head, that position had, until now, been filled by volunteers.

“Since 2000, since we’ve really been gaining momentum in our programming and activity in general, it’s been impossible for a volunteer to take care of everything we need,” said Living Arts Artistic Director Steve Liggett.

In 2007, Living Arts applied for and received a Warhol Initiative Grant of $100,000 from the Warhol Foundation, and the grant has helped fund the new position. The Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been very generous to Living Arts, especially recently, and the George Kravis and Raymond and Bessie Kravis Foundation also helped fund the position.

Living Arts’ search committee received 50 applications from job seekers across the country before deciding unanimously to hire Clark. April 1 was her first day on the job.

Clark worked as an intern at Living Arts in 2006 while earning a master’s degree in arts administration from Goucher College. She has a background in performance art as a dancer and performer in musical theatre. She coordinated New Genre 2008’s “Crazy Quilt Drive-in” performance as well as 2009’s “Dance Oklahoma.”

She decided to focus her career on administration rather than performance because, she said, she “saw a need for that.”

“I’m very business-minded,” Clark said, “and my career is a way for me to blend my two passions: business and art.”

Liggett said her background in performance art nicely offsets his in visual art and comes perfectly timed as Living Arts plans to grow and expand its performance art programs.

Liggett will still handle Living Arts’ programming, while Clark will be responsible for raising the funds to put those programs in place and market them.

“With Linda’s help, we’ll be able to expand out operations further and do more of what we think the community needs, which is out mission, to expand and develop new, contemporary art works,” said Liggett.