After 11 years with Art Papers, Saskia Benjamin has announced that she will step down as executive director on July 21. The board of directors will lead the search for the next executive director and are working closely with Saskia to ensure a smooth transition.
“My departure from Art Papers is bittersweet. I have enjoyed working with extraordinarily talented individuals, including a committed staff, a supportive board, two supremely talented editors, and too many partners and supporters to name,” Benjamin said in a press statement. “It has been my distinct pleasure to lead Art Papers for over a decade. This organization will always be special to me but after stewarding it through challenging times, including many changes in the field of arts publishing, as well as the pandemic, I am looking forward to pursuing new opportunities, and to witnessing how the organization thrives under new leadership.”
Under Benjamin’s leadership the organization published 48 issues, transitioning from a bi-monthly publishing schedule to quarterly; redesigned and relaunched the artpapers.org website; and secured the publication’s legacy by placing its archives at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University
Other accomplishments include launching the Mildred Thompson Art Writing & Editorial Fellowship for emerging Black writers/editors, securing new sources of funding, and raising over $2.7 million in the annual art auction.
“I thank the members of the Board who took a chance on me, so many years ago, as a first time executive director, “ Benjamin said. “I’ve had the opportunity to learn and grow while making Art Papers what it is today. With so many exciting opportunities on the horizon for the organization, it is time that I pass the torch to a new executive director.”
Benjamin is committed to shepherding the organization’s ambitious programs and partnerships for the remainder of her tenure. Included among these initiatives are a summer partnership with
The fall issue of Art Papers will be guest edited by Carson Chan and the team at MoMA’s Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and Natural Environment. The issue will act as an editorial extension of the Institute’s inaugural exhibition.
ART PAPERS EXHIBITS will return with an exhibition that expands on its Summer editorial theme of Refusal/Renewal. Timed to coincide with Atlanta Art Week in October, the exhibition will feature artists based in Atlanta as well as artists from outside the state.
Also this fall, Art Papers, in conjunction with the Newcomb Art Museum at Tulane University, will launch an art writing workshop in New Orleans.
Speaking on behalf of the board of directors, co-presidents Kevin Mobley and Chris Watkins thanked Benjamin for her leadership and announced that the board will conduct a thorough search over the next months to find Art Papers’ next executive director. “It is our priority to find a dynamic leader who will help shape the future of Art Papers into its 50th year and beyond.”
Find out more about the job of executive director here.