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curriculum vitae

melissa west

curator | creative producer | arts management

  • Dedicated arts professional creating high-caliber and impactful cultural programs, artist services, and community engagement

  • Intrapreneurial leader with over ten years of experience in program design, project management, brand cultivation, and leading collaborative, results-driven teams 

  • Passionate about projects that build worlds through creative placekeeping: shifting the Staten Island narrative


 

photo by Lance Reha

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director & Senior Curator, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, 2017-Present
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island, NY

Responsible for developing and executing a vibrant artistic vision that includes exhibitions, performances, residencies, public art and related programs across the 83-acre historic campus:

Senior Leadership

  • Oversee the strategic and daily operations of the Arts Department, including personnel management, fiscal planning and oversight, and arts facilities supervision

  • An essential player within organizational and programmatic strategic planning, including developing the artistic vision, and matrix for program design and evaluation

  • Serve as chair of the Snug Harbor Arts Advisory Council, responsible for agendas, cultivating relationships, and developing initiatives with the goal of raising the organization’s profile and increasing income opportunities

  • Lead vision and strategy around arts-related facilities activation, including the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Music Hall, and Dance Center

  • Inaugural chair of the organization’s program team comprised of arts, farm, horticulture, education, external affairs, business development and operations staff with focus on collaboration, communication, planning, and outcomes evaluation

Project Management

  • Director and chief curator of the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, the oldest and largest gallery on Staten Island, developing 4-6 exhibitions annually

  • Director and chief curator of live/work residency programming, supporting dozens of artists with creative and professional resources through the PASS: Performing Arts Salon Saturdays residency since 2017

  • Create dynamic, immersive programming in dance, music, and visual art including artist talks, workshops, and screenings for broad audiences

  • Partner with Director of Education on Youth Matters, connecting high school students with artists and curators to provide hands-on opportunities to explore careers in the arts industry, build community, and gain professional skills

Community Relations

  • Increased event and gallery attendance by 42% since 2017 by expanding programs and services for artists and communities, investing in volunteerism and outreach efforts

  • Oversee robust portfolio of local, citywide, and national partners to increase cultural equity through dynamic, site-specific programming

  • Facilitate Snug Harbor’s Smithsonian Affiliation, bringing the national Smithsonian Institution’s collection and programs to all Staten Islanders

Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island, NY, 2015 - 2017

Strategized and facilitated programmatic and institutional marketing for Snug Harbor's 83-acre campus with emphasis on interdepartmental/cross-organizational collaboration and a strong visual brand identity:

  • Led marketing for the arts, horticulture, agriculture and education departments

  • Managed visual identity and marketing campaigns for annual Neptune Ball gala

  • Oversaw website development, including integration of campus calendar, homepage web-slides, and mobile features

  • Refined branding and graphic design for print and digital collateral

  • Developed content for social media, press relations, and communications on original programming as well as constituent, rental, and partnership events

Organizing Director & Curator
Second Saturday Staten Island Art Walk, Staten Island, NY, 2013 - 2015

Organized monthly art walk with a mission to facilitate cross-community partnerships between artists, galleries, audiences, and local businesses. Curated public programs to highlight cultural assets across the North Shore:

  • Rebuilt the vision and team in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

  • Oversaw communications, press relations, and marketing to reach a broad audience

  • Raised funds through crowdfunding, events, grant writing, and membership

  • Cultivated partnerships and initiatives with artists, galleries, and small businesses

  • Created succession plan to transition the project to new leadership at Hub 17 in 2015


TEACHING

Adjunct Faculty, Dance Department
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, 2022 - Present

Developed syllabus for a new course, Dance History 2: A Cultural, Historical, and Social Approach, designed to introduce students to key frameworks in the study and analysis of dance cultures from across the world:

  • Create dynamic lessons that build on core concepts from the fields of anthropology, dance studies, art history, and the social sciences

  • Structure the classroom to be a collaborative space for exploration through experiential writing, breakout assignments, and discussions

  • Guide students toward final projects comprised of oral presentations and accompanying research papers


PUBLICATIONS

  • DADA IN THE HOUSE: 20 Years of Performance Art on Staten Island, producer, copy editor and contributor, 2023

  • Staten Island Mode: Identity, Memory, Fashion, producer, copy editor, and contributor, 2023

  • Kathy Westwater: PARK Ephemera, designer, editor and contributor, exhibition publication, 2022

  • Queer Van Kult: Revelation, editor and contributor, exhibition publication, 2022

  • Roots/Anchors, editor/design advisor and contributor, exhibition publication with introduction by Lucy Lippard, 2021

  • The Hyphen, chief editor, art blog

  • “Between Worlds: Melding Past and Present in Reda Abdelrahman’s I Am Everybody,” I Am Everybody, editor and contributor, exhibition publication, 2020

  • “Your Participation is Needed,” Heal the Man, exhibition catalog, 2019

  • Transmissions: writing on dance, writer and designer, collection of essays, self-published, 2019

  • “Columns & Caryatids: Immortal Shape-Shifters,” Columns & Caryatids, exhibition catalog, 2018

  • “Counterpoint,” Native Soil: Staten Island Homescapes, Sarah Yuster Retrospective, contributor, exhibition publication, edited by Marguerite Rivas, 2018


GRANTS, AWARDS, & FELLOWSHIPS

  • Mertz Gilmore Dance Research Grant, Staten Island Arts, 2023

  • Fellowship for Utopian Practice, Culture Push, Shaolin Art Party with Jahtiek Long, 2023

  • Emerging Leaders Program, New York Foundation for the Arts, 2019-20

  • Art Fund Grantee, Staten Island Arts (DCLA regrant), Transmissions, 2019

  • Community Art Partner Grant, Staten Island Arts (NYSCA regrant), Staten Island Dance Project, 2017

  • New York Community Trust Leadership Fellows Program, 2016-17

  • Performance Studies Award, NYU, 2014


RESIDENCIES

  • CUNY Dance Initiative Artist Residency at the College of Staten Island, 2016

  • Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, 2014

  • The Greenbelt Conservancy, 2014

  • The Curiosity Project at Staten Island Arts, 2013


SPEAKING AND SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS

  • Choreographer, Wagner College Dance Department, 2024

  • Advisory Committee, CITY OF WOM_N, Catherine Galasso Dance Projects, 2023

  • Guest instructor, class session for Choreography I, Wagner College Dance Department, 2023

  • Guest instructor, class session for Contemporary Dance Workshop, Wagner College Dance Department, 2023

  • Guest instructor, class session for Pedagogy II, Wagner College Dance Department, 2023

  • Guest lecture, wanderingaffect: connecting dance, place, and community, class session for Dance Appreciation, Wagner College Dance Department, 2023

  • Guest speaker, Arts & Entertainment Virtual Career Panel, Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) at United Activities Unlimited, Inc., 2022

  • Guest speaker, Curtis High School Dance Department, Career Week, 2021

  • Guest speaker, Hunter College Dance Department Alumni Event, 2020

  • Panel moderator and organizer, Art & Action Chat: Embodying Shaolin— a conversation on resistance and resilience, Human Impacts Institute/Creative Climate Awards, 2020

  • Guest co-curator, Human Impacts Institute/Creative Climate Awards, 2020

  • Panelist, Career Paths in the Arts, St. George Theatre, 2019 and 2020

  • Presenter, Wagner College's Port Richmond Partnership Summit, 2016

  • Panelist, Geographic Equity panel, Dance/NYC Symposium, 2015



EDUCATION

2014. M.A. Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
Thesis: Reveries of the Girl Wanderer: Into the Embodied Landscapes of Staten Island

2009. B.A. Dance and English, Hunter College, The City University of New York