June 12, 2013

SPACES to Seek a New Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Download PDF Press Release: http://www.spacesgallery.org/files/pr/2013/130612-spaces-lynn-departure-pr.pdf

Cleveland, OH, June 12, 2013—After almost five years of serving as the executive director of SPACES, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to artists that explore and experiment, Christopher Lynn will step down on June 26, 2013 to pursue the next phase of his career.

Martha Loughridge, SPACES' current development director will take over as SPACES' interim director while the Board of Directors conducts a thorough nationwide search for SPACES' next executive director. Loughridge joined SPACES in 2010 and has a wide range of experience in managing and operating non-profit organizations. She, in addition to Board President John Farina, will oversee the day-to-day management of SPACES during the search for a new Director.

"I am proud of the work we've all done at SPACES over the past five years," remarked Lynn, "and I will value the time my new position will afford me to spend with my family and my own artistic projects. I am confident that Martha Loughridge and the staff will move forward gracefully until a new executive director is chosen. SPACES has built an impressive reputation with its innovative projects and supportive community that is sure to attract a top talent. I remain in Cleveland and will continue to be a supporter of and champion for SPACES."

"Christopher Lynn has been an incredible asset to SPACES. He leaves us, as an organization, in better shape than he found us," said Board President John Farina. "We have broadened our funding base, grown our programming on a national scale and are a stronger, more stable organization. The board is both pleased and proud of his accomplishments. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Over the past five years, Lynn oversaw a refocusing of SPACES' mission to define itself as an instigator and facilitator of artist projects that explore and experiment. Such notable projects as Steve Lambert's "Capitalism Works For Me! True/False" (2011) and the recently executed "Pull!" (2013) by William Pope.L were created within Lynn's new framework that gave artists additional freedoms and support to encourage the production of work that would have few opportunities to exist outside of SPACES.

Under Lynn's leadership and vision, SPACES has received attention and funding from national sources, such as the Joyce Foundation, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to support from a variety of local sources, including the Ohio Arts Council, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, and the John P. Murphy Foundation.

Lynn will be joining American Greetings as a Visual Interaction Designer.

The job posting for the Executive Director position at SPACES is posted at http://www.spacesgallery.org/work-with-us.