About

CORE BELIEF

A thriving arts community is essential to the enduring health of our society.

Vision

We envision our nation’s capital as a place that welcomes, values, and respects the presence and contributions of contemporary artists.

Mission

WPA supports artist-driven projects, advocacy, and dialogue so that artists can live, work, and flourish.

Values

Collaboration — We believe there is strength in people working together in partnership.

Inclusion — We believe in the power of critical thinking and a diversity of viewpoints.

Experimentation — We believe in the courage to experiment, innovate, and face the unfamiliar.

ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

Our program model provides artists with the opportunity to expand their practices and experiment without absorbing additional financial burdens or capacity barriers. We provide resources to create critical connections and long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships that build artistic communities around knowledge-sharing.

Our programs are organized across four different areas:

1. Project Residencies that support collaborative research, experimentation, and public presentations of artist-organized projects.
2. Publications highlighting discoveries that emerge from select project residencies, providing context for further research and experimentation.
3. Wherewithal Grants, a funding source exclusive to artists in the region—to support research and self-produced presentations. Generously funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts as part of its Regional Regranting Program.
4. Open Call, our annual call for events organized by DC-area artists, taking place in and around DC and produced by WPA.

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.ARTISTS SUPPORTING ARTISTS

Additionally we organize opportunities for regional artists through two major annual special events:

1. Hickok Cole Art Night, an annual benefit taking place each fall and organized in collaboration with architecture firm Hickok Cole, which supports sales of artwork.
2. Collectors’ Night, WPA’s annual auction taking place each spring, which also supports sales of artwork.

All proceeds are split evenly between artists and WPA, annually raising over $300k in direct sales.

W.A.G.E. CERTIFIED

Our commitment to artist compensation is why WPA is the first arts organization between New York and Miami to be honored with W.A.G.E. certification.

In the past decade alone WPA has paid more than $200,000 in honorariums to artists and $1,000,000 in sales commissions to artists. We’ve put even more money into artists’ pockets by hiring them on staff, or on a contract basis for art handling and transport, fabrication, graphic design, installation, and photography.

We value artists. We pay artists.

HISTORY

WPA was founded in 1975 by the art impresario Alice Denney, organizer of the legendary NOW Festival in 1966. Over the past four decades, WPA has presented more than 500 exhibitions; 1,000 performances; 700 lectures, workshops, and symposia; 250 screenings; and 58 public art projects. Nearly every major visual artist in the District between 1975 and today has had some connection with WPA. Many have sat on WPA’s Board of Directors, including William Christenberry, Gene Davis, Sherman Fleming, Sam Gilliam, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, and Maida Withers. Walter Hopps, the legendary curator, was also a board member.

WPA has brought hundreds of extraordinary artists and curators from outside the area to DC over the years. They include Robert Ashley, Alice Aycock, Eric Bogosian, Chris Burden, John Cage, Ullises Carrion, CoLab, Lucinda Childs, Simone Forti, Hollis Frampton, Group Material, Doug Hall, Deborah Hay, Jenny Holzer, David Ireland, Danny Lyon, Meredith Monk, Antonio Muntadas, Steve Paxton, Howardena Pindell, Adrian Piper, Nancy Rubins, Allison Saar, Jacolby Satterwhite, Carolee Schneemann, Joyce Scott, Alan Sekula, Nancy Spero, Haim Stainbach, Alan Suicide, Saya Woolfalk, Robert Wilson, Zanele Muholi, Alisha B. Wormsley, among many others.

Washington Project for the Arts is today perhaps most familiar to those outside of DC for its role in modeling a resistance to censorship during the 90s culture wars when Robert Mapplethorpe’s exhibition The Perfect Moment was canceled at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1989 (due to the Corcoran’s fears of losing their NEA funding on the basis of visual obscenity). WPA stepped up within less than 24 hours to present the exhibition. In 2019, Tiona Nekkia McClodden was invited to revisit this historic event in WPA’s history with the exhibition There Are No Shadows Here: The Perfect Moment at 30. In the decades since the Mapplethorpe exhibition, WPA has remained a dynamic hub for presenting work by DC artists and providing resources for supporting the local creative community. After renewing its mission in 2018, WPA has carved out a new identity with a national and international scope, while simultaneously uplifting values of collaboration, experimentation, and inclusivity in all of its programmatic and operational activities.

The WPA staff includes artists, curators, and arts workers.

WPA’s board of directors is comprised of artists, arts patrons, and arts professionals with a shared commitment to supporting contemporary artists as intellectuals, and advancing their art and thought through collaboration and experimentation.

Washington Project for the Arts is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Hickok Cole; National Endowment for the Arts; The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; William S. Paley Foundation; MetLife, Venable LLP, ArentFox Schiff, Carl M. Freeman Foundation, Foulger Pratt, Soho House, UBS, Allianz, De Novo Projects, Emmy Squared Pizza, Shulman Rogers, Rubenstein Communications, Capital One, DAVIS Construction, HapstakDemetriou+, Occasions, Outright, HITT Contracting, and many other generous foundations, corporations, and individuals.

Art Night Exhibition & Events Producer (Contract)

Washington Project for the Arts (WPA)

Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) seeks an organized, detail-oriented arts professional to serve as Art Night Exhibition & Events Producer for the 2026 Art Night benefit exhibition and fundraiser, taking place Thursday, October 15, 5-9pm on site at Hickok Cole Architects’ office headquarters in NoMa, DC.

Art Night is one of WPA’s largest annual fundraising events, featuring approximately 80–100 artists and more than 100 artworks organized in partnership with Hickok Cole Architects. The event supports artists through artwork sales, with proceeds shared equally between participating artists and WPA.

The Art Night Exhibition & Events Producer serves as the primary liaison for participating artists and oversees all artwork logistics, installation, and exhibition coordination associated with the event.

Contract Details

• Contract Period: July–November 2026
• Compensation: $14,000 project fee ($2,800/month)
• Classification: Independent Contractor
• Schedule: Hybrid
• Estimated Commitment: Approximately 350–450 hours over the contract period
• Workload: Generally 10–15 hours per week during July, August, and November; up to approximately 30–32 hours per week during September and October as event production intensifies.
• Opportunity for future engagement on WPA’s Collectors’ Night benefit auction in Spring 2027.

About Art Night

Art Night is produced in partnership with Hickok Cole Architects to benefit Washington Project for the Arts and participating and artists. The event introduces hundreds of stakeholders from the DMV architecture community to the work of DMV-area visual artists through a benefit exhibition held annually at Hickock Cole’s office headquarters in NoMA, DC. While Hickok Cole manages overall event production and sponsorship activities, WPA is responsible for artist selection, artwork presentation, exhibition coordination, and artwork sales.

The systems, relationships, and production framework for Art Night are already established. The Producer will work closely with WPA’s Executive Director and receive support from a seasonal assistant during peak production periods.

Primary Responsibilities

Artist Selection & Outreach

• Support artist invitation and artwork selection processes.
• Coordinate Art Night Open Call administration.
• Prepare materials for artwork review and selection.
• Coordinate artist notifications and follow-up communications.
• Maintain accurate artist and artwork records.

Artist Relations

• Serve as primary point of contact for participating artists.
• Collect contracts, artwork information, artist statements, and publicity materials.
• Communicate event details, deadlines, installation schedules, and artwork pickup information.
• Coordinate artwork transportation when necessary.

Exhibition & Installation Logistics

• Plan and oversee artwork intake and return (including deliveries from Baltimore and Richmond).
• Coordinate artwork inventory and tracking.
• Coordinate freelance installers and temporary event support staff during artwork intake, installation, and deinstallation. In collaboration with ED, identify, engage, and coordinate additional freelance support as needed.
• Coordinate artwork labeling, packing, wrapping, and shipping as required.
• Steer exhibition layout and installation planning.

Sales & Administrative Coordination

• Work with WPA staff and finance personnel to facilitate artwork sales.
• Maintain accurate artwork records and buyer information.
• Support artist payment processing following event closeout.

Art Night Production

• Participate in weekly checkin with ED and other Art Night production staff.
• Participate in meetings with Hickok Cole production team (weekly in September-October; as-needed otherwise).
• Coordinate artwork information and images for sponsor preview materials.
• Manage artwork uploads and information entry for online sales platform (Big Cartel).
• Coordinate with Hickok Cole staff regarding installation schedules and event logistics.
• Assist with exhibition walkthroughs for sponsors, collectors, board members, and VIP guests.

Event Closeout

• Coordinate artwork pickup and return.
• Ensure all artwork records are reconciled.
• Support final artist communications and project wrap-up.

Ideal Qualifications

• Experience coordinating exhibitions, artist programs, galleries, museums, or cultural events.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Experience working directly with artists.
• Familiarity with artwork handling and exhibition installation.
• Strong communication skills and attention to detail.
• Interest in contemporary visual art and the DMV arts community.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds and assist with physical installation tasks.
• Comfort interacting with artists, collectors, donors, and community members.

About WPA

Washington Project for the Arts is the region’s oldest alternative arts organization and is celebrating its 50th anniversary season. Through exhibitions, artist-organized projects, publications, public programs, and direct artist support, WPA champions experimental and artist-centered practices throughout the Washington region. wpadc.org

To Apply

Please send resume and statement of interest or cover letter highlighting relevant experience, plus one relevant professional reference to info@wpadc.org, with the subject line: “Art Night Exhibition & Events Producer Application – YOUR NAME”. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early applications are encouraged. Interviews will take place in June.