Resume — jclayton

Resume

WORK EXPERIENCE

Arts For Art | Office Coordinator | NY, NY | May 2025 - Present
+ Keep internal daily operations of the 30 year old nonprofit organized in preparation for the annual Festivals, reorganizing and streamlining interal systems, both physical filing and digital drives.
+ Administratively supported on developmnt taskes, calendar management, meeting facilitation, and drafted coorespondence and newsletters with artists, donors, foundations, politicians, and community members
+ Coordinate volunteers for larger Festivals and run FoH for weekly events.
+ Project Manager for the FreeJazz.NYC web archive of the history of FreeJazz venues from the 1960s-1980s

Hedy Pagremanski’s Estate | Archivist | Long Beach, NY | Nov 2025- Apr 2026
+ Cataloging and archiving the life’s work of New York artist Hedy Pagremanski, creating a comprehensive database spanning 50+ years of painting, prints, and sketchbooks.
+ Developed an inventory system to document artworks held in major museums, financial, and private collections.
+ Organized and rehoused materials to support long-term stewardship and family access.

Nars Foundation | Operations Assistant | Brooklyn, NY | February 2025 - May 2025
+ Design graphic and promotional materials, assist with internal data collection and organization, and optimize internal processes fr increased efficiency. Research global grant and funding opportunities aligned with individual artists and foundations.
+ Assisting in the current and future exhibition, educational, and developmetal programming of the organization.

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center | Curatorial Assistant | NY, NY | August 2024 - January 2025
+ In Plain View Exhibition featuring Freshkills Park: Field R/D and Sound the Mound Artists and Designers.
+ Supported the curatorial team directed by Caroline Dionne, John Roach, and Andrew Shea.
+ Conducted in-depth archival research focused on uncovering the history of the Freshkills area including its environmental, social, and cultural significance. Building a timeline of the area to give larger context to the works inside of the exhibition.

Miriam Parker Studios | Studio Manager | NY, NY + Jersey City, NJ | March 2022 - Aug 2024
+ Oversee and coordinate multiple project timelines to ensure successful execution of studio initiatives. Manage and delegate to a team of studio assistants, Actedas a key point of contect for collaborators.
+ Streamlined studio operations by creating systems for conducting research on grans and residency opportunities, crafting compelling proposals for applications, effectively communication the studs visions and goals
+ Initially hired as a Studio Assistant where I problem solved for the artist’s installtion work and performance art practice, editing images for gallery prints, providing administrative support, anticipating needs while balancing working on installations, material research, and assisting in social media coordination and video editing.

The New School | Research Assistant | NY, NY | Sept 2023 - May 2024
+ Creating an archive of the last ten years of the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School x Parsons partnership. Studying participatory service design and ethical collaboration through observation and archival.

Dialective | Director of Production | NY, NY | Oct 2022 - June 2023, Oct 2023 - June 2024
+ Executing a fashion show and exhibition for 20 NYC based fashion designers, coordinated with 6 industry professional jusges, collaborated with local businesses to create fundraising opportunities, worked alongside emerging photographers, lighting/sound designers, stylists, and makeup artists, directed a staff of 30+ on set
+ Produced a documentary of the premiere show of the fashion collective, managed and built a production team
scheduling interviews, managing recording schedules, coordinating visual aesthetics, managing team logistics, solving problems creatively, and managing production resources.
+ Developed comprehensive agendas for weekly team meetings ensuring alignment with objectives, budgetary constraints, and timelines, resolving unforeseen challenges and adjusting the production schedule as needed.
+ Worked closely with the organization’s Board and finance director to secure necessary funding, prepared comprehensive reports while working with the board, ensuring alignment with organizational goals

Make a Kid Merry | Working Board Member | Cincinnati, OH(remote) | June 2021 - Dec 2023
+ Supported operations, communications, and program execution as part of a hands-on working board, supporting the early stages of the nonprofit by building foundational internal systems, streamlining communication and collaboration to support effective operations and long term growth.
+ Orchestrated personalized events and experiences for 100+ kids, fundraised for and co-led 5 events a year, raised $24,000, sponsoring 445 families in 2 years.

Amplify Arts Project | Teaching Artist | Santa Barbara, CA | July 2022 - Aug 2022
+ Developed a curriculum, taught workshops to 50+ 3rd - 12th graders to expand their technical skills and confidence in artmaking, worked with program leadership to align workshop content with organizational goals and community needs.

Back2Back Ministries | Teaching Intern | Cincinnati, OH | May 2020 - Aug 2020
+ Worked with kids of all ages to keep up their reading and writing skills through the pandemic in Cincinnati, primarily ESL students.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE AND AWARDS

ArtTable Fellowship at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council | NY , NY | June 2025 - Present
+ Supporting artist engagement, exhibit installation, and audience outreach for the River to River Festival and Works on Water Triennial. Working directly under the head producer of summer programming I’ve gained hands-onexperience in production management, administrative support, stakeholder coordination, and public programming in both conventional and unconventional venues on projects focused on climate arts.

Aronson Fellowship for Environmental Sustainability | NY, NY | Dec 2023 - June 2024
+ Created a proposed program creating collaborative student-led public art projects around themes of environmentalism and climate change through support and funding from the Aronson Center

Tishman Environmental Merit Scholarship | Recipient | NY,NY | May 2023
+ A selective program that sends students to Alaska for an immersive environmental internship, I supported the Northern Alaska Environmental Center in day to day administrative tasks, graphics, and event direction for the Annual 5k/10k fundraiser

FREELANCE PROJECT BASED WORK

Freelance Producer, Media Strategist, Experience Director, Project Manager

+ (2026) Perennials in My Small Intestines - Curator, an exhibition presenting artmaking as an altarbuilding practice, bringing together 10 trans and gender nonconforming artists who through their work are ritualizing a reclamation of religion through nonconformity and connection to environment. A week long exhibition with theater, music, and poetry programming.
+ (2026) Everything You Pray Also Dances - Curatorial Assistant, Programming support, Fundraising Support in partnership with the US Embassy in Tanzania and SUNY Old Westbury
+ (2025) 8.2 Billion Stones - Producer & Director (2025) A documentary exploring the dissonance between climate policy, education, and public perception. Coordinated and directed interviews with students, educators, and professionals in museums and nonprofit including American Museum of Natural History and Futureline
+ (2025) V? ‘Girlhood Vol2” - Production, Set Design, and Install for Australian Artist, V?’s New York Debut. In collaboration with the Unstable Co and v14 Experiential we built an immersive bedroom space for audience members to step into the world of V?’s newest series. Over the course of the three day event, we hosted a private reception with 115 guests featuring sushi bites and tarot readings, followed by two open gallery days that welcomed nearly 900 visitors with activations such as flash tattoos and tooth gems.
+ (2025) Gucci ChangeMakers - Production Design for Gideon Gomm’s Gucci ChangeMaker’s Creative Fellowship Collection Launch with live performances by Alvin Ailey Dance Company, A private event that welcomed 150 fashion and creative industry guests
+ (2025) “Shatter Me to a Thousand Pieces” Film Screening Event Design Filmmaker Meghan Rothwell’s newest original film made its debut at a screening produced by myself and V14.Experiential. Hosted both the screening, a Q&A for Meghan and her collaborators to speak about their process, and a networking portion of the evening for young professionals to commune
+ (2023) Streat Seats - Built a temporary installation and activation on the corner of Fifth Ave and 13th St in Manhattan in collaboration with the Department of Transportation’s Street Seat Program and Parsons School of Design.
+ (2021) Met Gala Production Assistant for Raul Avalia, Backstage and Set Fabrication Support