Independent New York is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashley R. Harris as Executive Director. Harris will assume her post with the fair in January 2020.
In the newly created position of Executive Director, Harris will collaborate closely with co-founder and CEO of Independent Elizabeth Dee, founding curatorial advisor Matthew Higgs and the rest of the Independent team to continue developing relationships with galleries and institutional partners worldwide. Her appointment is part of Independent’s mission to continually innovate in response to the gallery and artist marketplace, thereby providing support for a sustained engagement of the audience during and beyond the fair.
Harris joins Independent from Sotheby’s, where she has served as Marketing Director since 2016. A leader in the fields of marketing and communication, Harris has extensive experience conceptualizing and driving cohesive messaging for global brands across the fine art and luxury sectors. At Sotheby’s, Harris developed and executed multi-channel communications plans across digital, social and influencer platforms to reach new audiences.
‘With the appointment of Ashley Harris, we are entering a new phase of our business,’ Elizabeth Dee remarked. ‘Over the course of the decade, our fair has developed in concert with the demand for new forum that prioritizes contemporary collecting, incorporating a true reflection of the arts ecosystem - and now our attention to this area is growing in truly exciting ways. Our vision is to collaborate even more closely with our community, including private collectors, galleries, brands, public museums and foundations toward a future facing culture.’
About Independent
Independent was founded in 2010, with the aim to inspire relevant art encounters for a well-informed and devoted Contemporary Art audience. Over the last decade, Independent has created an internationally-recognized platform for galleries, that prioritizes discovery and context, in contrast to the standard commercial fair. Due to Independent’s unique model, our audience is tailored to connoisseur-based collectors and institutions. Taking place annually in March in New York, Independent brings together over 60 international galleries and non-profit organizations, with consistently fresh and unexpected content for each edition. By supporting a focused range of established, innovative and emerging as well as outsider art and design, Independent aims to present a true reflection of the fabric of the global art community.