Indigo Arts Alliance | Portland, Maine

Build the operational systems that enable cultural transformation.

At Indigo Arts Alliance, we've grown 400% in six years, hosting 85 international artists and creating Maine's (first) Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival.

We present curated experiences independently and in partnership with world-class institutions. We need an operational leader to build the infrastructure that sustains this growth.

As Deputy Director, you'll transform strategic vision into operational reality. While our Executive Director focuses on fundraising, board development, and national expansion, you'll ensure every program, system, and team member delivers excellence.

How You Will Engage

Operational Excellence & Program Management

• Guide standards and systems for IAA's 85 and growing Artist-in-Residence alumni 
• Manage day-to-day operations, resolving issues while keeping initiatives on track.
• Provide direction to evaluate the effectiveness of all programs, including large-scale public events such as our annual symposium series and the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival. 
• Manage facilities operations, establish documentation protocols, database infrastructure, and operational workflows to improve efficiency, utilizing the strengths of all team members

Team Leadership

• Directly supervise the Studio and Programs Manager and contractors.
• Partner to implement hiring, onboarding, and performance management
• Take a lead role in resolving personnel issues as needed

Strategic Implementation & Financial Operations

• Collaborate with the ED and Board to operationalize strategic plans, assuring alignment across programs and priorities. 
• Manage $1.5M operational budget with fiscal responsibility
• Coordinate local and national programmatic partnerships organizations that align with IAA’s mission and expand program reach.
• Support grant implementation and reporting
• Lead the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

How You'll Partner with the Executive Director

Your ED will: Set vision, lead Board and fundraising, serve as external spokesperson, and drive national expansion.

You'll ensure her success by:  building operational systems, managing day-to-day operations and staff, ensuring program excellence, and providing operational analysis.

Who You Are

• 5+ years in nonprofit operations or program management with systems-building expertise
• Bachelor's degree in Arts Administration, Nonprofit Management, or related field (Master's preferred)
• Proven track record managing teams, budgets, and complex programs in arts/cultural organizations
• Systems thinker with project management excellence and process improvement orientation
• Strong people leader who coaches, develops staff, and fosters inclusive environments
• Mission-driven professional committed to advancing Black and Brown communities through the arts
• Experience working with artists and diverse communities in culturally responsive ways

Why Join Us

Build Expertise: Develop mastery in nonprofit operations, gain senior leadership experience, positioning you for executive director roles.

Direct Impact: Partner with Executive Director Jordia Benjamin and co-founders Marcia and Daniel Minter, watch artists create transformative work in facilities you manage, access networks spanning major museums and cultural institutions worldwide.

You're the leader who finds satisfaction in: Building seamless systems, solving operational challenges, enabling others to shine, seeing programs succeed because you built the infrastructure.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $80,000 annually, based on experience, with comprehensive benefits (health, dental, vision, retirement)
• Time off: Average total of 20+ off days including: 1 week vacation, 3 personal days, 11 federal holidays, 2-week winter break, Fridays off in August. 
• Benefits
• Health, Dental, Vision, and Retirement  
• Workers Comp
• Professional development opportunities 

Position: Full-time, Portland, Maine (not remote)

About Indigo Arts Alliance

Indigo Arts Alliance's mission is to foster global connections by amplifying and supporting the professional development of Black and Brown artists through multidisciplinary and intergenerational artist residency programs. Through a Black-led approach, this unique program embodies co-mentorship among artists of color, empowering them to utilize their thought leadership and vision to lead community transformation.

How to Apply

Submit resume, cover letter, and references through our Submittable link. Tell us about: (1) an operational system you built and its impact, (2) your team leadership approach, and (3) why you're energized by enabling others' success through operational excellence.

We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others from traditionally underrepresented communities.

Indigo Arts Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.

Development Director | Indigo Arts Alliance | Portland, Maine 

Transform philanthropy for Black and Brown arts. Build sustainable funding for a movement.

Why This Role Matters 

Imagine knowing that every dollar you raise directly transforms lives—that your grant proposal brings a brilliant artist from the global African diaspora to collaborate with Maine's Black and Brown creative community, or your major gift cultivation funds the next generation of Black and Brown artists reshaping American culture. 

At Indigo Arts Alliance, we're building a movement. In six years, we've grown 400% to a $1.4 million budget, hosting 85 artists from 22 countries, creating Maine's first Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival, and establishing our annual symposium series. Featured in National Geographic, PBS News Hour and partnering with National Museum of African American History and Culture; to the Guest Artist Space Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria; to the Museu Nacional de Historia in Rio, Brazil , we're an internationally recognized force. 

You'll architect our financial future—designing the funding strategy that ensures Black and Brown artists have the time, space, and support they need to create transformative work. 

What You'll Build 

Revenue Impact: Secure funding supporting 85+ artist residencies, our annual symposium series, Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival, and partnerships with 30+ organizations from grassroots collectives to world-class museums. 

Fundraising Strategy: Design comprehensive development programs securing grants, major gifts, and individual donations for a Black-led arts organization.Shepard IAA’s sustainability fund, creating long-term financial security through diversified revenue streams. 

Donor & Funder Relationships: Cultivate relationships with individuals of all giving capacity, foundation executives, and corporate sponsors committed to racial equity. Represent IAA at fundraising galas, donor events, and philanthropic gatherings while building our network in elite giving circles. Partner with our Executive Director on Board cultivation and significant funder relationships. 

How You'll Partner with Leadership 

Your Executive Director will: Set organizational vision, lead Board development, serve as primary spokesperson, and drive national expansion. 

You'll ensure fundraising success by: Leading all development activities, managing donor cultivation systems, providing fundraising analysis, and representing IAA at donor-facing events. 

Your Deputy Director colleague will: Manage operations, program delivery, and internal systems, freeing you to focus entirely on revenue generation. 

Who You Are 

• 7+ years progressive fundraising success with proven $2+ million annually track record • Passionate about arts and Black and Brown creativity's power to transform communities • Experience with major gifts, corporate sponsorships, grants, and culturally responsive fundraising 

• Bachelor's degree required (Master's preferred), exceptional communication skills • Demonstrated commitment to antiracism, equity, and inclusion 

Why You'll Thrive Here 

Mission-Driven Culture: Work alongside Executive Director Jordia Benjamin and co-founders Marcia and Daniel Minter in a team believing artists are essential to building a multiracial democracy. See direct impact daily. 

Career Growth: Lead fundraising for organization featured in national media, working with funders like Andy Warhol Foundation, The Terra Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Build your reputation in national arts and philanthropy communities with access to prestigious conferences and development opportunities. 

Life-Changing Environment: Witness world-class artists creating new work, attend exclusive fundraising events, build relationships with international artists and cultural leaders. Be part of reshaping how America supports Black and Brown creativity. 

Comprehensive Support: $70,000 salary with full benefits, generous time off (average 20+ days including 3-week winter break and Fridays off in August), professional development funded, collaborative environment valuing your expertise. 

ou'll Thrive Here 

Mission-Driven Culture: Work alongside Executive Director Jordia Benjamin and co-founders Marcia and Daniel Minter in a team believing artists are essential to building a multiracial democracy. See direct impact daily. 

Career Growth: Lead fundraising for organization featured in national media, working with funders like Andy Warhol Foundation, The Terra Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Build your reputation in national arts and philanthropy communities with access to prestigious conferences and development opportunities. 

Life-Changing Environment: Witness world-class artists creating new work, attend exclusive fundraising events, build relationships with international artists and cultural leaders. Be part of reshaping how America supports Black and Brown creativity. 

Comprehensive Support: $70,000 salary with full benefits, generous time off (average 20+ days including 3-week winter break and Fridays off in August), professional development funded, collaborative environment valuing your expertise. 

This Isn’t Just a Job 

It's your chance to fuel a movement transforming lives, building community, and creating a more equitable arts landscape while working with world-class artists and building sustainable funding for generations. 

Details: Full-time, Portland, Maine (in-person), reports to the Executive Director. 

Submit resume, cover letter, and references via Submittable. Tell us why you're passionate about advancing Black and Brown artists and how your experience positions you to take our fundraising to the next level. 

Indigo Arts Alliance strongly encourages applications from traditionally underrepresented communities. 

Join our Artist Network! 

Our Artist Network is an internal database that gets exclusive program information and gives the Indigo Arts Alliance team insight into your practice.
 

Indigo Arts Alliance provides an environment for the production of artwork in all media across disciplines. Through our multidisciplinary residency programs, Indigo Arts Alliance is intended for established, mid-career and emerging artists to explore and grow their work in a creative atmosphere. Open to artists all around the world, our Artist Residencies and Fellowships aims to connect Black and Brown artists from across the globe to facilitate opportunities for critical feedback, relationship building and increased awareness of creative practices and resources. With the creation of our Artist Network, we want to know who is interested in participating in our residency programs, beyond the open application process.   

NOTE: This is not an application. Joining the artist network does not guarantee inclusion in our Artist Residency or Fellowship programs.  

Programs we offer: 

The Mentorship Residency Program is a pioneering residency concept that serves as an arts incubator with generous workspace and modern facilities enabling the creative work of visual artists across disciplines. We foster mentorship by pairing two artists together during a residency period to cultivate rich conversation, collaboration, and exchange experiences, knowledge, art industry information and technical skills. The artist-pairing consists of a National or International artist who is traveling to the state of Maine from their respective homes to be in residence with a Local/Regional artist. The goal of the pairing is to build positive relationships that enhance the individual artists as human beings and thought leaders. We want to create healthy relationships for artists of color who are navigating their art practice and create avenues of success that build networks. Learn more here! 

David C. Driskell Fellowship at Black Seed Studio was created to honor the life and legacy of artist, historian, and Indigo Arts Alliance’s Elder Advisor, Dr. David C. Driskell. The purpose of this fellowship is to grant time and space to artists of color who need focus in order to have creative production. Dr. Driskell was a beacon for Black and Brown artists in his life. With this residency Indigo Arts Alliance helps nurture artists’ creative production. Open to Maine-based and/or Maine rooted communities, this exciting opportunity will enable Black and Brown artists to engage in their practice in ways that they may not otherwise have the space and/or resources to. In addition to having access to a designated 500 sq foot space in Black Seed Studio, selected applicants are awarded a $700 grant. Fellows also receive 1:1 feedback and mentorship by the Indigo Arts Alliance staff and participate in studio visits with a selection of artists, curators, cultural workers, and scholars. 

C. Daniel Dawson Curatorial + Research Fellowship is a prestigious program dedicated to celebrating the remarkable legacy of C. Daniel Dawson. C. Daniel Dawson is a luminary in the art world—an esteemed photographer, filmmaker, educator, and arts administrator whose work has significantly influenced the discourse surrounding African American and African Diaspora art. This fellowship offers a unique dual-track: one for a photo archivist focused on the preservation of Dawson's extensive photographic collection, and another for a curatorial scholar dedicated to curating and contextualizing Dawson’s vast body of work.  This six-month fellowship empowers Black and Brown artists, curators, and scholars by supporting innovative research and curatorial projects focused on African American art, African Diaspora studies, photography, and art history.

Residency & Fellowship Program Eligibility:  

 - Applicants must be a descendent from any of the African nations, African-American, Afro-Latin, Caribbean, i.e., the communities inhabiting the geographic breadth of all the places where Africans were displaced as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, Indigenous Peoples, Latinx, Southeast Asian (i.e African/Indian oceanic world), the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. It is important to our mission to serve communities that have been impacted by colonialism and cultural erasure.   

- Applicants must be 21+ at the time of the proposed residency or fellowship.   

- Artists of all disciplines are encouraged (Painting, sculpture, illustration, writing, dance, music, theater/performance, photography, fiber/textiles, etc).   

- Applicants cannot be enrolled in a full-time academic program at the time of the residency.  

Please visit our Artist Residency FAQ page for more information. Should you have any direct questions please email ashley@indigoartsalliance.me. 

The David C. Driskell Fellowship at Black Seed Studio

A foundational aspect of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is to amplify and empower Black and Brown artists who enrich our local community. The goal of the David C. Driskell Fellowship Program is to identify talented Maine based & Maine Rooted artists whose work is of excellent artistic merit and is open to all artistic career stages. That is why Indigo Arts Alliance is proud to offer 6 months rent free studio space to our community! 

 The IAA mission is both local and global. We are specifically working with “Black and Brown” artists. African descent refers to people from all African nations, African-American, Afro-Latin, and Caribbean. The geographic breadth of all the places where Africans were displaced as a result of the transatlantic slave trade. We describe “Brown” to include Native American, indigenous, Latinx,  South and Southeast Asian, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim communities. This exciting opportunity will enable artists to engage in their practice in ways that they may not otherwise have the space and/or resources to. As artists and creative professionals ourselves, we understand the value and rarity of having dedicated studio space for an extended period of concentrated time. Selected Fellows Receive:

• Rent free semi-private 500 sq foot studio facility, for up to six months
• $700 (unrestricted): Fellowship funding may be used to enhance any aspect of the artist’s life, such as overhead costs, the purchase of materials, and other living expenses. Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.
• Support from Indigo Arts Alliance staff and access to IAA community resources and services.
• Black Seed Studio Visits: IAA coordinates a mid-residency studio visit with the current Indigo Arts Alliance Mentorship Artist Residents and a selection of arts professionals. These can be virtual or in person depending on your comfort level.

Eligibility:

• Artists must be a descendent from any of the African nations, African-American, Afro-Latin, Caribbean, i.e., the communities inhabiting the geographic breadth of all the places where Africans were displaced as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, Native Americans, indigenous peoples, Latinx, South and Southeast Asian, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.
• Artists must be Maine based (i.e living/working full or part time in Maine) or Maine Rooted (i.e strong ties to Maine, and maintaining strong community networks to the state)
• Applicants must be 21+ at the time of the proposed residency.
• Artists of all disciplines are encouraged to apply (Painting, sculpture, illustration, writing, dance, music, theater/performance, photography, fiber/textiles, etc).
• Applicants cannot be attending a full-time academic program at the time of the residency.
• Applicants must have the most up to date COVID-19 vaccination at least 3 months prior to the start of their proposed residency.  

Jury Criteria: 

Selection for this program will be based on artistic merit, creative integrity and community commitment. Artists working at every level, emerging through established, are equitably welcomed and reviewed.

• Artistic Merit: The artist presents a sustained commitment to their practice, risk-taking, and clear concepts and creative methodologies that advance artistic expression. This includes traditional studio practices, music/sound, creative writing to new forms that explore digital art mediums. 
• Creative Integrity: The artist’s work demonstrates integrity and ethical use of material demonstrates responsible social and/or environmental practice, models new forms of creative action. 
• Engagement with defined communities: There is a clear articulation of the role and relationship of the artist with the communities in which they are engaged. The artist engages in equitable creative practice which seeks to build social/structural/systemic equity.

Applicants are evaluated and selected based on their work, as evidenced in submitted materials and work samples. Consideration is given to accomplishments to date as well as promise for continued development and the potential impact the fellowship will have on the artist. The distinguished jury panel will also be asked to consider the wide range of media, aesthetic considerations, social engagement, relationship to defined community, and cultural traditions that might be influenced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and geography.

We are currently accepting applications for the following residency periods:

2026 Spring - Fall: May 4th - October 16th, 2026

2027 Winter - Summer: Jan. 18th - June 25th, 2027

2027 Summer - Winter: July 5th - Dec. 17th, 2027

David C. Driskell Info Session & Q/A: Please use this time to learn about Indigo Arts Alliance, our residency programs, and ask any questions you might have about IAA's various programs and/or your application. You may sign up for either session using the links below! 

If you have any additional questions or concerns about your application, please email us directly at ashley@indigoartsalliance.me