Monday, March 3, 2025 (New York, NY)—Creative Capital, the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting visionary artists creating new work, is pleased to announce the new Directors of the Board. In Fiscal Year 2025, the following Board member appointments were made: Laura Bardier, Timur Galen, Gina Gibney, Deirdre Guice, Tatiana Nikitina, and Michele Tortorelli.

As Creative Capital celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year, it is expanding its grants and services to uplift more individual artists across regional and rural communities with the launch of the new State of the Art Prize, which aims to provide a $10,000 unrestricted grant to one artist in every U.S. state and inhabited territory.

“I am delighted to welcome Laura Bardier, Timur Galen, Gina Gibney, Deirdre Guice, Tatiana Nikitina, and Michele Tortorelli to the Board of Directors,” said Reginald M. Browne, Chair of the Board of Directors. “As Creative Capital expands its grants and services, these esteemed new members bring unique value to a board committed to the professional life cycle of artists and their roles as makers and innovators. Their diverse views and experiences will bolster the support we provide to artists in their transformational work across art making.”

“Creative Capital plays a crucial role in support of artists and their work through transformative financial grants, professional training, the building of industry networks, sourcing of key infrastructure, and the introduction of artists to their audiences. Working across the full breadth of artistic practice–visual arts, the art of performance, literature, film, digital and mixed media–Creative Capital is unique in its direct investment in diverse, risk-taking artists as essential catalysts for community development and sustainability. I’m delighted and honored to become a Director and very much look forward to working with Reginald Browne and his Board colleagues in support of Christine Kuan and her exceptional professional team,” said Timur Galen, newly-appointed member of the Board of Directors.

New Board Members

Laura Bardier is a New York-based curator, writer, and executive, currently serving as the Executive Director of the James Howell Foundation and Founding Director of the ESTE ARTE Cultural Summit & Art Fair. Since 2018, she has led the James Howell Foundation, successfully overseeing its incorporation and expanding access and engagement with James Howell’s work. In February 2014, Bardier established ESTE ARTE, which has significantly reshaped South America’s art landscape. She has written extensively on contemporary art for publications like Domus, Arte al Día, and Review, and curated exhibitions in Europe and South America. Bardier is also Chair of Governance at ArtTable and serves on the board of ICI – Independent Curators International. Her work continues to influence the contemporary art scene on a global scale.

Timur Galen is a trustee of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a founding director of the Urban Design Forum, a member of the Board of Directors of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Emeritus Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). A former member of the Haverford College Board of Managers where he chaired its Property Committee, he has also served as a member of the Executive Committee and Co-chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee at the Regional Plan Association, the Dean’s Council at Harvard GSD, the U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group, and as a Special Advisor to the New York Public Library.

Until his retirement at the end of 2021, Timur was Citadel’s Chief Workplace Officer. Prior to Citadel, he served as Executive Vice President at Related Companies with responsibility for the commercial development of Hudson Yards, and as Partner at Goldman Sachs & Co with global responsibility for Corporate Services & Real Estate, including the firm’s move to 200 West Street, the transformative development of the balance of its New York/New Jersey campus, including 30 Hudson Street, the Conrad New York, and its associated retail complex, the development of Plumtree Court, the firm’s London based EMEA headquarters, its multi-building campus in Bengaluru, and the evolution of the balance of its global footprint, including major projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Salt Lake City, and Singapore. With over 40 years of diversified experience in the design, development, entertainment, and the financial services industries, he has also held senior executive positions at Walt Disney Imagineering Reichmann International, and Bechtel Park Tower Properties. A registered architect, he completed his design apprenticeship under Pritzker Prize winners Robert Venturi and Fumiko Maki and received his early real estate training at Hines.

Timur, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, earned a BA in Physics from Haverford College, Master of Architecture and Master of Civil and Urban Engineering degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, was a Henry Luce Foundation Research Fellow at Tokyo University, and has lectured regularly in graduate architecture and business programs at Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Michigan, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

Gina Gibney, a nationally recognized leader and entrepreneur in the field of arts and social justice, is the Founder, Director, and CEO of Gibney, a New York City-based arts organization dedicated to dance and social action. With a belief in the vast potential of movement, creativity, and performance to effect personal change and social transformation, Gina Gibney established the Gibney organization in Manhattan in 1991. Today, Gibney’s presenting, training, fellowship and residency programs have served and supported thousands of New York City artists and audiences, and community outreach programs have impacted hundreds of lives, especially in the areas of domestic violence, economic inequality, and workforce development. Gibney Company, has grown from a small troupe of dancers presenting Gina Gibney’s choreography into a critically acclaimed internationally touring contemporary dance company dedicated to commissioning and presenting today’s most compelling choreographers. Gibney operates two New York City locations—280 Broadway near City Hall and 890 Broadway above Union Square—encompassing 23 studios and five performing spaces that serve as a nexus for a diverse and expansive artistic community.

Gina Gibney is known for pioneering innovative new programs which connect the arts with the broader community. Her work has impacted the lives of thousands of domestic violence survivors through programs like Move to Move Beyond, an evidence-based program that offers the transformative power of movement to survivors of gender-based violence and their families. Her Moving Toward Justice incubator uses art as a tool for activism and social impact with a focus on entrepreneurship, social engagement, and mobilization alongside artistry. Other innovative programs include the Dance in Process (DiP) Residency. One of the first programs of its kind, DiP provides extensive, holistic support for mid-career New York-based dance artists who are in the middle stages of work on a new project. 

Gina Gibney’s career started as an independent choreographer and quickly evolved with her acquisition of Studio 5-2 at 890 Broadway which immediately became a resource for the community, planting the seeds for what the Gibney organization has become today. During her 25 years as a choreographer, she created intimate, poetic works that explored the humanity and physicality of interpersonal connection, such as Landings (1992), Anchoring (1994), Coming from Quiet (1998), Time Remaining (2003), Thrown (2004), unbounded (2005) and View Partially Obstructed (2009).

In 2008, Gina Gibney was inducted into the Vanity Fair Hall of Fame for “making art and taking action.” She has served as a Trustee of the national dance advocacy organization Dance/USA and received its Ernie Award in 2017 in recognition of her role as a changemaker in the field. She is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Dance/NYC and is a member of The Women’s Forum of New York. She was included in Dance Magazine’s 2017 list of The Most Influential People in Dance Today and was named to the Out100 2016 list of influential members of the LGBT community. In 2018 she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, Case Western Reserve University, and in 2019 was awarded the Floria Lasky Award from the Jerome Robbins Foundation and the Plus Factor Award from the string quartet ETHEL. 

Gina Gibney is a frequent panelist and speaker on topics of dance, entrepreneurship, and arts-community partnerships. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Deirdre Guice is a Vice President and U.S. Institutional Sales Executive for the Americas division of T. Rowe Price, acting as a key advisor to the firm’s clients and prospects, managing and expanding relationships across all asset classes. Deirdre has more than 25 years of industry experience. Before joining T. Rowe Price in 2017, Ms. Guice was a Managing Director with UBS Asset Management and had similar roles at Rothschild Asset Management and Oppenheimer Capital in New York, Gartmore Investment Management in London and at Dreyfus Investment Advisors in New York.  She started her career with the Division of Investment Policy with the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office in Chicago. Deirdre serves on the National Council on Teacher Retirement’s Corporate Advisory Committee and the advisory board of Girls Who Invest. She is married to Timothy Reese, has three beautiful children – Lindsey (19), Maximilian (17) and Marshall (14) and three bonus sons. She enjoys living her best life, spending time with family and friends, running and traveling. Deirdre earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Florida A&M University. She is a Series 3, 7 and 63 registered representative.

Tatiana Nikitina is a sales & marketing executive with 25+ years of experience in leading the growth of small to medium size companies. Tatiana is a trained Board member who has served on various Boards, specifically in roles of secretary, on governance and nominating committees. She has earned her MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business with a focus on strategy and entrepreneurial management. Tatiana moved to the United States from Siberia (Russia) to pursue education and ended up making her life here. A long-term resident of New York City, she is an avid skier, Olympic weightlifting champion in the masters (i.e., old age) category, and enthusiastic photography collector.

Michele Tortorelli had a successful career as a lawyer in private practice in Manhattan, regularly recognized in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. She worked primarily in Dispute Resolution and Family Law. She reports that her most gratifying work was representing children and advocating that their voices be heard in family disputes requiring judicial intervention.

Michele has a passion for the arts which was cultivated at an early age by her mother who was a maker and a docent at the Newark Museum. Michele first became involved with grant making arts organizations in her roles with the Joan Mitchell Foundation‘s Board of Directors, where she served as The Foundation’s Secretary and later President, stepping down in 2020. Michele is also a screener of applications for Funding Arts Network, a Miami, Florida, based not-for-profit funding visual and performing arts projects.

About Creative Capital 

Founded in 1999, Creative Capital defends freedom of expression by funding the creation of new work by risk-taking, underinvested artists in the visual arts, technology, performing arts, film/moving image, literature, as well as multidisciplinary and socially engaged forms in all disciplines. Creative Capital Awards are made via a democratic, national open call process. The Award is designed to help artists realize ambitious new work, to connect their work with public audiences, and to build sustainable practices. 

Over 25 years, Creative Capital has provided $55 million in grants and services to 1,010 artists to create 830 new works across the country. More than 75 percent of Creative Capital Awardees in recent years identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or artists of color, LGBTQIA+, women, and artists with disabilities. Creative Capital also provides a national scaffolding for individual artists. The free, online Creative Capital Curriculum and Artist Opportunities listings serve more than 250,000 artists each year, providing professional development tools to help advance equity in the arts. 

Creative Capital grants and services are made possible by the generosity of its Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and with major support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Isa Catto and Daniel Shaw, Catto Shaw Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Wanda Kownacki, Lyda Kuth, Lambent Foundation Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Margaret Silva, Paige West, and other generous supporters.

Press Contact

Jason Quincy Bailey
Director, Strategy and Audience Engagement, Creative Capital
[email protected]