Erika Mallin to serve as executive director of New York State Council on the Arts

Nationally recognized arts leader to champion state’s creative industries, advance arts & culture

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the appointment of Erika Mallin to serve as executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts. An experienced and nationally recognized arts and cultural leader, Mallin recently led the Aspen Institute Arts Program and served for over a decade as executive director of New York’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre.

“New York state’s arts and culture sector is a powerful economic driver, a contributing force to our health and well-being, and a keystone of our community strength,” Hochul said. “We welcome Erika's leadership, experience and innovative work in the field. Under her direction, we will continue to grow our creative economy and its impact on all of our communities.”

Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Katherine Nicholls said, “Erika’s career combines a proven commitment to growing accessibility to the arts and a deep understanding of the role of the artist in our society. Together with our dedicated staff and council, I look forward to welcoming Erika to NYSCA and to serving and supporting our world-renowned New York state arts and culture sector.”

Mallin said, “I am deeply honored by this appointment and opportunity to champion the thousands of artists and arts organizations across New York, the greatest and most innovative creative industry in the world. I wish to thank Gov. Hochul and the Legislature for their unwavering support of New York's powerful arts and culture sector. I look forward to working with staff, the council, and partners throughout the state to best serve the field and its vital contributions to our economy, to transforming communities, and to inspiring residents and visitors alike.”

Mallin most recently served as executive director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program where she convened artists and cultural leaders to honor their work and their role as thought leaders on how to approach major social and civic issues. She also led the arts programming for the renowned Aspen Ideas Festival and the prestigious Harman/Eisner annual Artist in Residence Award.

Prior to the Aspen Institute, she was the executive director of the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre Company. Her tenure included producing over 100 shows and leading Signature’s $70 million expansion to the Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center. She also developed and expanded the “Signature Ticket Initiative,” a subsidized ticket program to make theater more accessible. The program became a national model serving over 1 million people. For its accomplishments, Signature Theatre was the first NYC company to receive the Regional Theater Tony Award, one of the highest honors in the field.

She has held positions at Manhattan Theatre Club; Atlantic Theatre Company; and at the New York City's Mayor’s Office, where she worked on initiatives to streamline government services. She also developed the Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, which received an Innovations in American Government Award from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Mallin has moderated panels, presented and lectured at Columbia, Yale, NYU, The Kennedy Center and the Aspen Ideas Festival. She has sat on various grant award committees and consulted on arts management for cultural institutions. She received her M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.

The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York state’s arts, culture and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York state, the Council on the Arts will award $127 million in fiscal year 2024, serving over 2,000 arts organizations and artists across all 10 state regions.

The Council on the Arts further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the council is an agency that is part of the executive branch. For more information on NYSCA, visit www.arts.ny.gov, or follow NYSCA's Facebook page, on X @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.