Art Enables names Executive Director
Good Insight is pleased to share that Art Enables’ Board of Directors announced the appointment of Zachary Clark as its next Executive Director. Clark—an experienced DC-based art administrator—begins his new role on October 2, 2023.
An art gallery and vocational arts program dedicated to creating opportunities for artists with disabilities, Art Enables offers the creative space, materials, and marketing support artists need to develop and succeed as professionals.
“Zachary deeply understands the value of the arts for people of all ages and abilities,” said Rumbidzai Mufuka, PhD, Chair of Art Enables’ Board of Directors. “In addition to his passion for our mission, he has a track record of executive leadership in creative arts administration that ensures Art Enables will continue to grow and create opportunities for artists.”
As Executive Director, Clark will steer Art Enables’ highly successful and unique model with development of a vision and guiding framework for a new strategic plan, in consultation with the board, artists and their families/caretakers, staff, partners, and other stakeholders.
“I have experienced firsthand the ways in which learning and making through the arts can lead to self-knowledge and, ultimately, freedom,” said Clark. “This experience guides my commitment to building sustainable, expansive, and culturally relevant arts institutions that place individuals on a path toward an honest and fulfilling future.”
About Zachary Clark
Zachary Clark has worked in the youth development, education, and arts sectors throughout the United States. As the Executive Director of 826DC, an award-winning arts-based literacy education program based in DC, Clark focused on building a sustainable human-centered work culture, ensuring thoughtful and values-driven budget growth, and leading program innovations that prioritize accessibility, inclusion, and imagination. Over his tenure, beginning in 2016, 826DC doubled in size, guided by an ambitious strategic plan executed in true collaboration between staff and board.
He previously served as the Director of Early Learning at the Sitar Arts Center and led youth arts programming in collaboration with DC-based organizations including the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project and Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.
A practicing visual artist with a background in museum and gallery management, Clark holds an Ed.M. in Arts Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a B.A. in American Literature and Visual Arts from Brown University, and certification in non-profit management from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
About Art Enables
Art Enables believes that artists with disabilities offer unique voices, experiences, and perspectives that are vital to a robust arts landscape and should be afforded the opportunity to pursue art professionally. Since 2001, the organization has provided opportunities for artists to make, market, and earn income from their original and compelling artwork. In addition to earning income, artists build the skills, relationships, and experience necessary for a successful career in the arts.
Art Enables artists are largely self-taught and tell powerful stories through their artwork, harnessing the power of the arts to heal, inform, strengthen, transform, challenge, inspire, empower, and unite individuals and communities. Learn more and see current exhibition information at art-enables.org.