Art in General announced yesterday the appointment of Laurel Ptak as its executive director, effective next week.
Ptak, currently director and curator of the New York City artist-run space Triangle, comes to the Brooklyn-based non-profit with an extensive resume of curatorial experience.
“Laurel has a keen eye for art and artists, and is deeply committed to bringing to the fore groundbreaking new work and creative practices,” said Roya Khadjavi Heidari, co-president of the board of Art in General’s directors, in a statement.
“Her curatorial experience and approach combined with an incredible institutional acumen make her the ideal choice to take Art in General into its next chapter.”
Art in General has been assisting working artists with production and presentation of their work since 1981 by providing space and funding. It also runs a New Commissions program, which has helped to realize exhibitions by artists such as Bernadette Corporation, Shana Moulton, Basim Magdy, Donna Huanca, Rachel Rossin, and more.
At the non-profit, Ptak will oversee artist engagement and curatorial direction for this program, as well as develop the annual What Now? symposium, a two-day event probing issues in contemporary art and curatorial practice.
Ptak is one of four co-founders of the Art+Feminism Wikipedia-Edit-A-Thon, which takes place annually at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and other institutions worldwide, dedicated to increasing female participation in Wikipedia editing in order to de-skew the male dominance of Wikipedia pages.
She has also worked at non-profit institutions around the world, including Tensta Konsthall in Stockholm, and the Guggenheim Museum and MoMa PS1 in New York.
“I am thrilled to be joining the [Art in General] team, and I look forward to working with the board and staff to extend opportunities to an even broader scope of voices, to engage our audiences on the issues most relevant to art and contemporary life,” Ptak said.