3Arts team at the 2024 3Arts Awards Celebration from left to right: Mesha Arant, Cat Tager, Esther Grimm, Sidney Mori Garrett, and Taylor Roberts. Photo by Rankin Photography

3Arts – Cat Tager

The 3Arts Board of Directors announces the appointment of Cat Tager to the role of Executive Director, effective on January 1, when she will succeed founding Executive Director Esther Grimm, who has led the organization for 23 years and will transition into the role of Executive Advisor through next March. A professional musician and experienced and passionate arts administrator, Cat served on the 3Arts board for ten years and subsequently joined the staff as Director of Development and Partnerships in 2022. 

3Arts also announced that Sidney Mori Garret has been promoted to the position of Director of Programs, beginning on January 1, after serving most recently as Interim Director of Programs. 

In early 2025, 3Arts will launch two job searches to fill the positions of Director of Development and Partnerships and Manager of Programs.

To learn more about the leadership transition, read the full press release here.

Mariela Acuña

Hyde Park Art Center - Mariela Acuña

Hyde Park Art Center Co-Directors Jeannette Tremblay Chambers and Aaron Rodgers announced the pomotion of Mariela Acuña to Director of Exhibitions and Residency Programs. Acuña’s new role was announced at the Art Center’s 85th Anniversary Gala (November 15, 2024) during remarks to community members, artists, and supporters. Acuña will assume her new role on November 25th, 2024.

Chambers and Rodgers stated, "We are thrilled that Mariela is taking up the mantle of Director of Exhibitions and Residency Programs at Hyde Park Art Center. Having witnessed Mariela's exceptional contributions not only to the Art Center thus far, but also to the breadth of Chicago’s artistic landscape, we are confident she will guide our programs to their next echelons of success, building on the 20-year legacy of Allison Peters Quinn before her."

Acuña is an art administrator and curator from San José, Costa Rica. As Exhibitions and Residency Manager at Hyde Park Art Center, she has led the Jackman Goldwasser Residency which supports local, national, and international artists and curators, taking a care-based approach to honing artistic practices and strengthening networks within the creative community. Acuña will continue to oversee the Art Center’s residencies, plus its publishing platform Green Lantern Press, and the Artists Run Chicago Fund, an innovative regranting initiative which has distributed over one million dollars to nearly 100 artist-run platforms since 2020. In her new role, Acuña will also oversee a program of 12 exhibitions each year at the Art Center.

Acuña says, "I am so excited and deeply honored to take on the role of Director of Exhibitions and Residency Programs at Hyde Park Art Center. For me, this is a dream job, building upon Allison’s visionary work and expanding the impact of our exhibitions and residency programs to transform the lives and careers of countless artists in Chicago. I look forward to continuing to deepen our capacity to support artists in ways that only Hyde Park Art Center can, alongside my dear colleagues who are brilliant, talented, and generous.”

Spudnik Press - Meg Duguid

Spudnik Press announced the appointment of Meg Duguid as the organization’s Interim Executive Director. 

Duguid’s appointment comes after a search led by the Board of Directors in collaboration with Spudnik Press staff members and other members of the Spudnik Press community. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Meg to our leadership team.” Says Board of Directors Chair, Patti Swanson. “Her visionary ideas, wealth of experience, and prior successful tenures at similar organizations provide the exact combination of skills we were looking for. We are excited to support her as she ushers Spudnik into a new era of growth and change.” 

As interim executive director, Duguid will lead the press after a long period of rebuilding and structural shifts. Upholding the organization’s commitment to accessibility, equity, and positive change, Duguid plans to grow the community’s membership as well as its outreach and partnerships across Chicago. She brings her leadership and development talents to facilitate the necessary growth of the organization to return to a place of stability. This position will provide the direction and structure to expand its reach and effectiveness to implement the press’s new mission and priorities.

“I am ecstatic to be joining the team at Spudnik Press to help plan the future.” Duguid states “Print is such an amazing and accessible medium for conveying emotions, information, and imagery. Supporting artists and makers in their practices and businesses is central to Spudnik's ethos, and I am looking forward to providing platforms for artists to use their voices, imagine new worlds, and envision bold futures.”

Duguid comes to Spudnik by way of Columbia College Chicago, where she worked for over a decade managing exhibitions and event spaces in a variety of roles. Duguid’s former colleagues described her as a phenomenal leader dedicated to making sure her community had ample opportunities to share their voice and be represented. Her creative fundraising talents and sharp budgetary skills helped build and fund numerous iconic projects along the Wabash Arts Corridor, developing one of the largest street art and public art collections of women artists and artists of color.