Executive Director

About Lillstreet

Lillstreet Art Center is a 50-year-old, multi-disciplinary creative space rooted in community, craft, and a deep commitment to the serious practice of art. Founded in Chicago with ceramics at its core, Lillstreet has grown into a vibrant hub where artists of all levels engage with expert instruction, professional quality equipment, and an open studio culture that fosters genuine artistic growth.

What distinguishes Lillstreet is its spirit, principles and values: we believe creativity is accessible to everyone and the act of making art changes people. Many students arrive uncertain of their own creative capacity and leave as committed practitioners, whether amateur or professional. The institution’s teachers are working artists, generous with their expertise and deeply invested in the community they’ve helped build. Theaster Gates, the acclaimed ceramicist and urban planner, as well as Steven Young Lee, the celebrated ceramicist who leads Montana’s Archie Bray Foundation, are among the many artists who got their start at Lillstreet.

Lillstreet operates as a for-profit organization that prioritizes community and connection, offering classes, open studio time, artist studio rentals, a gallery, a café, and a rooftop garden. It is a place where art is practiced, celebrated, and fairly compensated.

About the Position

Following a 50-year founding leadership tenure, Lillstreet Art Center is seeking an Executive Director to steward the organization’s distinctiveness into the next chapter. The Executive Director will report to the owner’s delegate and work in close partnership with an internal team of Directors, and a soon-to-be established Advisory Board. The Executive Director will build the operational infrastructure, financial systems, and strategic clarity the organization needs to thrive, while carrying forward the warmth, creative rigor, and community-first energy that have defined Lillstreet.

The ideal candidate is an engaging and grounded leader who brings genuine familiarity with Chicago’s arts and culture landscape, experience managing creative organizations and the interpersonal depth to earn trust across a staff, faculty, and community that has strong ties to Lillstreet’s founding vision. This is a role for someone who leads with presence, listens before acting, and understands that institutional change requires both patience and resolve.

How to Apply

Lillstreet Art Center has retained Morten Group, LLC to conduct this search. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume in PDF format by the best consideration date of November 19. Cover letters will be reviewed as a writing sample and should speak to the candidate’s connection to Lillstreet’s mission and their vision for this role.

Application materials and additional details are available at /mortengroup.com/active-searches/lillstre…↗↗.

Only those candidates selected for a screening interview will be contacted.

Lillstreet Art Center is committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of Chicago and the communities it serves.