Hate Your Job? The Armory Show Seeks New Director

Though they haven’t officially posted a “help wanted” sign yet, it’s no secret that the Armory Show is probably seeking a new executive director to replace Noah Horowitz, who jumped ship recently to join Art Basel as the director of the Americas, where he’ll be strengthening the fair’s already sterling rapport with galleries, collectors, and institutions in the western hemisphere and producing Art Basel in Miami Beach, arguably the art world’s most talked-about fair destination.

With March 2016 fast approaching, we imagine the Armory team is itching to find a new figure to helm the elite New York fair. If you hate your current job, and also happen to have a PhD, an expert knowledge of the intersection of economics and contemporary art, as well as an impressive background in the fair, auction house, or gallery sector, it could be you!

Noah Horowitz.
Photo: Courtesy of Patrick McMullan.

But aside from the typical glowing resume, what does it take to lead a calendar-making art fair with a week full of other fairs and events orbiting it?

First of all, your Rolodex (or iPhone 6) should be bursting with the names and email addresses of blue-chip gallery directors, moneyed collectors, taste-makers, and editors. You should have a seemingly endless cache of ideas for how to make an event that’s essentially the same every year feel fresh and exciting, and the ability to discuss these changes ad nauseam with everyone from reporters to gallerists.

Thick skin and the ability to go for (at least) a week without sleep will likely also prove to be helpful attributes.

Horowitz’s shoes will be tough to fill for sure, but if you think you’ve got what it takes, drop the Armory Show a line. Tell them we sent you.