Creative Growth has appointed Ginger Shulick Porcella to lead the organization as its new Executive Director. Porcella will start in January of 2023, joining Creative Growth from their current position as Executive Director and Chief Curator of Franconia Sculpture Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which they have held since September 2019. Porcella has been selected to further the organization’s vision of bringing art and access to everyone, fostering a culture of care and respect, and amplifying the disability arts community through radical visibility and artistic expression.
“Ginger’s commitment to Creative Growth’s mission and the communities we serve, along with her energy and leadership experience, will be instrumental in continuing to build a community focused on advancing artists with developmental disabilities in the contemporary art world,” says incoming Creative Growth Board President Michael Breland.
Ginger Shulick Porcella comes to Creative Growth with over 20 years of non-profit arts experience, most recently as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota. Porcella holds an M.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University and a B.A. in Art History from DePaul University. They were previously the Executive Director and Chief Curator of MOCA Tucson, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the San Diego Art Institute (ICA San Diego), and the Executive Director of Art Connects New York. Porcella has curated critically acclaimed exhibitions such as: Cyclic with Cassils and Ron Athey; Blessed Be: Mysticism, Spirituality and the Occult in Contemporary Art; Amir H. Fallah: Scatter My Ashes on Foreign Lands; and, Dazzled: OMD, Memphis Design and Beyond. They are the Founder and Co-Curator of the current 4Ground: Midwest Land Art Biennial. Porcella’s exhibitions have been positively reviewed in Frieze, The New York Times, and Hyperallergic and in 2015 Porcella was named the “Voice of the Year” by the San Diego Press for their work transforming the arts and cultural ecosystem of Southern California/Baja.
In welcoming Ginger to the Creative Growth organization, Creative Growth Director Emeritus Tom di Maria says, “As we pass the baton to Ginger, we’re confident she’ll make a positive imprint on Creative Growth. Ginger’s outstanding support of contemporary artists, her curatorial background and proven non-profit management skills will have a critical impact in furthering Creative Growth’s vision of bringing art and access to all.”
Creative Growth’s New Executive Director Ginger Shulick Porcella