I'm the new Co-Director at Vital Spaces!

So this is happening

I was supposed to be touring a lot this year. I was packed and almost got on a plane to Paris when everything locked down. In the weeks that followed I was at my office at Vital Spaces trying to figure out what direction to go in talking to other artists in the building and with the founder Jonathan. We would run into each other and I would be scheming on some plan merging art and community and he’d tell me about what vital spaces were doing. At one of our rants where I was giving suggestions on programs he stopped me and was like well “what if you worked here and did the program?” I thought about it but with all going on with the murders of black people by police I was hesitant about joining a nonprofit arts org that was headed by white folks who would bring on a black person. Even though I felt qualified (I’ve been working in arts, culture, and community for a long time) I figured it was just a bad look. seeing how organizations use people of color for their catalogs and mission statements but rarely were these folks in any positions of power to affect any of the systemic change we’ve all been talking about...I mean power positions need to shift, diverse boards and decision-makers need to be included, real foreal change. Right? So anyway, I said all this to him. We left the conversation and 2 days later he calls me up and says “ok what if I work for you then?” I was like wait what? (I really thought the conversation was over days ago) he proposed I would be the co-director (along with my homegirl Hannah who had been working there for a while) and he would step into a role where he stayed active but in a supportive role to push our ideas and programs forward. He said he thought about all I said and he agreed and “it just made sense” So now there’s this. I’m a co-director for Vital Spaces! an org “whose mission is to sustain and enhance Santa Fe's cultural vibrancy by creating affordable spaces for artists working in all media to create, present, connect.” It’s been a trip y’all, but I’m learning so much and it’s doing the work I was already doing in a lot of ways but now there are actual resources 🤯. Wish me luck!