KARL DAVIS DEPARTS CROW'S SHADOW; SEARCH FOR NEW DIRECTOR BEGINS

Moving into our fourth decade of programming, Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts expresses gratitude to its outgoing Executive Director Karl Davis. Over the last eight years, Davis has helped elevate CSIA’s success through print sales, artist-in-residence programs, traditional arts workshops, and community events. He built long-lasting partnerships, secured ongoing funding, and led CSIA successfully through the economic uncertainty of the last three years, ensuring that despite a global pandemic, programming remained stable and the organization’s budget remained healthy. Below, our board reflects on his time with us at CSIA and Looks forward to our next thirty years! 

Dear Friends,

On this bright February day, we are reaching out to thank you, first of all, for your continued support of Crow’s Shadow Institute for the Arts.

As one of our closest supporters, we would also like to share with you some big news.  Our Executive Director Karl Davis announced to the board in December that he will be transitioning out of his role as the Executive Director at the end of February. Karl has been instrumental to the development and success of this organization, and he leaves us with a strong local and national reputation.

Since Karl’s first day eight years ago, Crow’s Shadow’s budget and staff size has more than doubled, including the appointment of a traditional arts coordinator, marketing manager, apprentice printer, and a new Master Printer. In the last five years of Karl’s leadership alone, we have generated more than $340,000 of income for artists through print sales and have been part of 24 prominent exhibitions, including the Whitney Biennial (NY). Fifty-two of our prints have been collected by the Library of Congress, 120 by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, and over 150 by other institutions and museums including the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian. 

“It has been an absolute honor to lead Crow's Shadow for the past 8+ years; serving the community through the arts is a special privilege. I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished together. I will cherish my time here and miss it greatly,” Karl says.

We are excited for Karl’s next journey and wish him the best in this new chapter of his life and career. If you would like to join us in thanking Karl for his service, please consider making a gift to Crow’s Shadow in his honor.

We will be holding a thank-you party for Karl at Crow’s Shadow on February 24, 3:30-5:30 pm. Please join us if you can! (While RSVPs are not mandatory, it would be helpful if you could RSVP via this form). 

Please be assured that, during this leadership transition, all programs and events will continue as normal. We are contracting with interim leadership as well as with a firm to help us run a national search to find an inspiring leader who can lead us into our next thirty years and fulfill our vision to illumine and elevate the genius of Indigenous creativity! We will be reaching out to you soon to share the position listing and hope that you will help spread the word.

Meanwhile, we have lots of exciting things planned for 2023, including artist residencies, gallery talks, traditional arts workshops, and the return of our amazing Monothon on August 12th at Foundry Vineyards. Please mark your calendars!

Thank you again for your continued support of Crow's Shadow as we move into our next thirty years! We hope to see you on February 24th. Meanwhile, please reach out to us with any questions or ideas you might have. You can reach us at info@crowsshadow.org. 

You can also view the Press Release announcing Karl’s departure.