MIAMI, FLA.- The Board of Trustees of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, announced that Ellen Salpeter has been appointed as the museum’s Director. With more than 20 years of experience leading cultural institutions, Salpeter currently serves as Deputy Director, External Affairs, at the Jewish Museum in New York, where she has played a central role in developing new audiences, increasing and diversifying community engagement, and expanding support and patronage for the art museum. Salpeter previously was Founding Director of Heart of Brooklyn, a non-profit consortium of cultural organizations dedicated to serving the diverse communities of Brooklyn, and was Executive Director of Thread Waxing Space, a multidisciplinary arts and education space supporting the work of emerging and under-recognized artists. Salpeter will lead the museum through its next phase of institutional development, including the realization of its new permanent home in the heart of Miami’s Design District.

Salpeter begins in her new role at the museum working with the ICA Miami Board of Trustees, Deputy Director and Chief Curator Alex Gartenfeld, and museum staff on December 1, 2015.

“Throughout her career, Ellen has been dedicated to forging alliances among cultural, civic, and educational institutions for community benefit, and to creating spaces in which meaningful public dialogue on contemporary art can occur. Her vision and leadership will be invaluable as we enter into this next critical chapter of our museum’s history,” said Irma Braman, Co-Chair of ICA Miami’s Board of Trustees. Added Co-Chair Ray Ellen Yarkin, “Ellen’s depth of experience in the cultural sector and her enduring commitment to community engagement and outreach make her the perfect choice as our new director. We are delighted to welcome Ellen to ICA Miami.”

“I am thrilled to be joining ICA Miami at this pivotal moment in the life of the museum and of Miami as an international arts destination,” said Salpeter. “ICA Miami plays a vital role in the cultural landscape of Miami-Dade County and is poised to take its place in the global contemporary arts community. I am honored to have been chosen to work with such a talented and passionate professional team and visionary group of trustees, and look forward to collaborating with them as ICA Miami moves into its permanent home and pursues its goal of becoming among the most innovative centers of dialogue, reflection, and engagement for artists, writers, curators, educators, students, and above all, our diverse and dynamic public.”

Dedicated to presenting boundary-pushing contemporary art and to expanding the educational resources of the Miami region, ICA Miami is mounting major solo exhibitions on Alex Bag and Shannon Ebner during Art Basel Miami Beach 2015 in its current location in the landmark Moore building. The museum is concurrently moving forward with plans to build a new, permanent home, designed by the Spanish firm Aranguren & Gallegos Arquitectos. With 20,000 square feet of exhibition galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden, the new 37,500-square-foot building will create an enduring cultural and educational resource for the local community and for audiences from throughout the region and beyond. The design and construction of the new museum are being funded entirely by a major capital gift from Irma and Norman Braman.

Ellen Salpeter has over 20 years of leadership experience advancing the missions of a wide range of nonprofit arts organizations, working to strengthen community outreach and engagement, increase cultural partnerships, and build audiences and financial bases of support.

Salpeter comes to ICA Miami from the Jewish Museum in New York, where as Deputy Director, External Affairs, since 2012 she has helped to forge a new institutional vision, and expand and diversify its audiences and fundraising streams. Salpeter oversees development, community engagement, visitor experience, marketing, communications, and special events. Among her achievements at the art museum is the management of its strategic planning process and its rebranding, including new graphic identity, award-winning website and innovative digital initiatives.

Prior to the Jewish Museum, Salpeter was the Director of Heart of Brooklyn, a partnership of leading cultural institutions located in central Brooklyn—including Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park, and Prospect Park Zoo—which she helped to found in 2001. For over a decade, Salpeter led Heart of Brooklyn’s innovative initiatives, which broke new ground for community development and cultural partnerships. The organization was recognized with a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest honor for out-of-school youth arts programs in the nation.

Previously, Salpeter was Director of Thread Waxing Space from 1994 through 2000, a nonprofit arts and education space in New York that presents works of art not ordinarily accessible to the public, and supports emerging artists, where she established its traveling exhibition and education programs. She also served as Co-Founder and Vice President of BRAT, a non-for-profit public arts organization. Salpeter has consulted for a range of cultural organizations, including the Judd Foundation, The Drawing Center, and Artist’s Space, among others, providing strategic management and development services as well as short- and long-term strategic planning.

Salpeter currently serves on the boards of the Judd Foundation, which maintains and preserves Donald Judd's permanently installed living and working spaces, libraries, and archives in New York and Marfa, Texas; Participant, Inc., an alternative arts and education space; The Builders Association, a New York-based performance and media company that creates original productions based on stories drawn from contemporary life; and Co-Chairs the Advisory Board of STREB Laboratory for Action Mechanics (SLAM), a community space and performance venue for artistic experimentation.