Natasha L. Logan Appointed Deputy Director at Creative Time, the Public Arts Nonprofit in New York City

CREATIVE TIME, the public arts nonprofit that commissioned Kara Walker’s monumental sugar sphinx in Brooklyn and presented Nick Cave’s herd of dancing horses in Grand Central Station, named a new deputy director. Natasha L. Logan has been promoted to the role. She joined Creative Time in 2016, serving as project manager and director of programming, among other roles.

In her new position, Logan’s portfolio spans the organization’s programming. She will oversee all of Creative Time’s projects and the Creative Summit, an annual convening of artists and thinkers engaged in social change. Her appointment was announced June 27.

“[Natasha] brings such inspirational vision to the position and the organization at large,” Creative Time Executive Director Justine Ludwig said in a statement. “Her passion, as well as her breadth of knowledge and experience, will drive Creative Time forward.”

FOUNDED IN 1973, Creative Time partners with artists to develop imaginative and ambitious public art projects presented throughout New York City. The organization describes its work as being shaped by a core set of values: “art matters, artists’ voices are important in shaping society, and public spaces are places for creative and free expression.”

During her tenure, Logan has worked on a number of innovative projects, including Duke Riley’s “Fly By Night,” Pedro Reyes’s “Doomacracy,” and “Bring Down the Walls” with Phil Collins, “a three-part public art project which turned an unconventional lens on the prison industrial complex through house music and nightlife.” Sophie Calle’s “Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery” was conceived as a 25-year public art work.

A expansive undertaking, “Pledges of Allegiance” was created in response to the challenging political climate that emerged in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election. The project involved 16 artists and about two dozen partner institutions across the nation.

Artists designed flags inspired by issues they are passionate about, such as the Flint water crisis and the concept of dignity regardless of nationality. The flags flew at Creative Time’s headquarters, and nationwide locations such as the Queens Museum, 21C Museum Hotel Durham, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, California College of the Arts, Mass MOCA, and RISD Museum. Participants included LaToya Ruby Frazier, Robert Longo, Marilyn Minter, Jason Musson, and Nari Ward. Minter’s flag emphatically stated “Resist.”

In addition, Logan helped develop Creative Time’s first open call, which attracted applications from more than 600 emerging artists.

“[Natasha] brings such inspirational vision to the position and the organization at large. Her passion, as well as her breadth of knowledge and experience, will drive Creative Time forward.”
— Creative Time Executive Director Justine Ludwig

LOGAN BRINGS AN INTERESTING MIX of experience to Creative Time. Working in a variety of capacities she has engaged with artists across disciplines as a multimedia arts and cultural producer. She managed the studio of conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas and oversaw his various commissions, collaborations, and initiatives, including “Question Bridge: Black Males,” the transmedia project, and “In Search of The Truth” (The Truth Booth).

She also co-curated “White Boys” with Thomas. The exhibition examined “the ways artists are aestheticizing white, male identity in the United States today.”

On the film front, Logan was co-executive producer of “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” Terence Nance’s critically lauded debut feature. She is also co-editor of “Question Bridge: Black Males in America,” the book documenting the project, with Deborah Willis, chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

In an earlier position, Logan was assistant director of career development at NYU Tisch School of the Arts for nearly four years, advising hundreds of emerging artists. She earned an undergraduate degree in English Literature and African American Studies from the University of Virginia.

OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS, Creative Time has experienced notable turnover in its leadership ranks with talented, generally long-serving staff recruited away for prime roles elsewhere. President and artistic director since 1994, Anne Pasternak grew the fledging organization into a major force in public art programming. She departed in 2015 to head the Brooklyn Museum.

At Creative Time, Katie Hollander was promoted from within to replace Pasternack, serving for two years in the top job. In February 2017, during Hollander’s tenure, Nato Thompson was elevated from chief curator to artistic director and Elvira Dyangani Ose was hired as senior curator. Before the end of the year, Hollander and Thompson left. She headed to Los Angeles to run the Annenberg Space for Photography. He accepted a position as artistic director of Philadelphia Contemporary, a new art institution. The following June, Dyangani Ose joined The Showroom in London as director.

When Hollander stepped down, Ludwig was recruited for the top post. She came from Dallas Contemporary and took the helm at Creative Time in March 2018. Logan is filling the vacancy left by Jean Cooney who departed in May after seven years at Creative Time. Cooney most recently served as deputy director, before accepting the position of director at Times Square Arts.

Working closely with Ludwig, Logan is charged with helping artists realize their dream projects and engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time. She told ARTnews the Creative Summit is one of her priorities.

“I’m honored and excited to contribute to the shaping of Creative Time’s future alongside a team I love and deeply respect,” Logan said in a statement. “I follow an impressive legacy of incredibly talented and thoughtful leaders and thinkers, so it is a privilege to continue building upon an incredible legacy of working with some of the most imaginative artists of our time.” CT

IMAGE: Natasha L. Logan. | Photo by Nicholas Prakas, Courtesy Creative Time

BOOKSHELF
Natasha L. Logon co-edited “Question Bridge: Black Males in America.” The volume was published to accompany “Question Bridge,” a five-channel video installation that has been presented at numerous museum across the United States. The project “assembles a series of questions posed to black men, by and for other black men, along with the corresponding responses and portraits of the participants.” The candid responses are curated to simulate conversations.