Sarah Russin

Executive Director since 2014, Sarah Russin is expanding upon LACE’s experimental spirit and legacy of presenting groundbreaking and socially engaged art. With the LACE team and board of directors, Sarah is dedicated to the development and support of artists and artistic communities, and to offering LACE as a communal center that welcomes a broad audience to experience and create dialogue around contemporary art and culture. Shortly after arriving at LACE, she established two signature annual programs: the Emerging Curator’s Program, designed to discover curatorial talent in Los Angeles, and the Summer Artist in Residence Program, which since its inception, has featured Native Strategies, Rafa Esparza, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Jimena Sarno, and Young Joon Kwak with Mutant Salon. In celebration of LACE’s 40th Anniversary, Sarah worked closely with The Getty Research Institute in their acquisition of The LACE Archives.

Prior to LACE Sarah worked in higher education in various capacities. At Otis College of Art and Design, she served as Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement, and previously as Director of Alumni Relations, developing support for the college in the areas of collaborative partnerships, corporate and foundation relations, marketing and communications, and individual giving. Before joining Otis in 2002, Sarah oversaw recruitment efforts for Art Center College of Design, where she reviewed thousands of portfolios, and led Art Center’s highly regarded Night and Saturday High Programs. She served on the board of the Barnsdall Park Foundation for seven years. Sarah holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.