services
Brand strategy, digital marketing, and creative content development across multi-channel environments. Writing and copyediting. Photography and photo editing. Public relations. Event and project management.
experience
Communications Consulting, Erin Sweeny Studio, Remote, May 2024–Present
Primary Client: Ruth Foundation for the Arts (Ruth Arts), an emergent non-profit philanthropic arts organization supporting artists and organizations with grants and initiatives, awarding over $44 million since its inception in 2022.
Ideating innovative visual campaigns in collaboration with design and web development teams to introduce the work of the foundation, honoring benefactor Ruth DeYoung Kohler II (1941–2020) with inventive approaches to philanthropy rooted in creativity, experimentation, and access.
Drafting copy for a variety of platforms—including press releases, social media posts, e-newsletters, and web content—to announce grants, amplify work of grantees, and promote public programs.
Initiating contact with press outlets for ad placements and developing relationships with journalists to generate earned media in support of exhibitions, grantees, and the work of the foundation in general.
Establishing production workflow, liaising with contributors and designers, and editing copy for Best Wishes, a risograph-printed publication sent to grantees and subscribers on a quarterly basis.
Managed communications-related timelines and deliverables for the 2024 launch of the foundation’s new art space, launching collaborative programming with grantee organizations as an extension of grantmaking.
Director of Communications, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, 2021–2024
Led strategy and messaging for a historic community art center offering classes, workshops and memberships for all ages, also serving as a hub for exhibitions and cultural events in South Philadelphia.
Collaborated across departments to craft and interweave messaging promoting quarterly educational offerings for youth and adults, a rotating schedule of onsite exhibitions, membership incentives, fundraising initiatives, and programming geared towards art-based community engagement.
Worked directly with Board of Directors and committee chairs as a member of the senior leadership team, also managing Communications and Visitor Services staff.
Created production timelines and worked closely with contractors—designers, photographers, videographers, translators—and printing vendors to deliver materials.
Produced narrative-driven content for a yearlong 125th anniversary campaign, featuring interviews with key community stakeholders and archival content.
Communications Manager, The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM), Philadelphia, PA, 2018–2021
Shaped and executed communications strategies for a contemporary art museum known for its artist residencies.
Developed and implemented communications plans—featuring a streamlined mission statement and ideas developed in collaboration with Artists-in-Residence—which balanced FWM’s institutional voice with experimentation and new models for engagement.
Worked directly with a wide range of contemporary artists, including Sonya Clark, Jacolby Satterwhite, Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley, Samara Golden, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, and Elisabeth Kley, to shape messaging in support of their residencies, exhibitions, and public programming.
Organized and led press preview events, working closely with PR consultants and media contacts to generate exhibition coverage and earned media placements.
Managed FWM's social media channels, email marketing, and website updates; launched Halftone podcast series as a new storytelling platform for the institution.
Communications Director, Parlor Coffee, Brooklyn, NY, 2017–2018
Directed internal and external communications for a specialty coffee roaster.
Directed the organization's internal and external communications, including management of social media channels, printed assets, and newsletter campaigns.
Traveled abroad for sourcing trips with coffee producers and exporters, documenting and sharing the unique attributes of landscape, industry, and culture.
Expanded creative content with focus on storytelling in support of the company's mission to advocate for producers and pursue transparent relationships with partners at all stages of the supply chain.
Photo Editor, Lyle Ashton Harris Studio, New York, NY, 2016–2018
Assisted celebrated contemporary photographer with thoughtful review of archive and skilled editing of material.
Edited and prepared images for major art installations and exhibitions in New York and abroad, including the 2017 Whitney Biennial and 2016 Bienal de São Paulo.
Participated in proofing sessions with the artist in the studio and offsite at printing lab to refine selections.
Media and Communications Manager, David Weeks Studio, New York, NY, 2013–2016
Oversaw marketing and communications for an internationally recognized industrial designer.
Generated creative content—writing, photography, video—for integration into collateral materials, web content, social media, and installations for events at Brooklyn production facility and Manhattan storefront.
Developed and updated marketing materials for lighting fixtures and furniture to support sales manager and prospective clients, also preparing storefront space for product launches and special events to expand reach.
Coordinated with studio team, product and event photographers, graphic design firm, national and international PR firms to create and manage assets and generate earned media in support of the brand.
Interim Director of Education/Registrar, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA, 2006–2009
Taught and advised photo students, also innovating a new fundraising model in support of community arts access.
Coordinated quarterly schedule of classes and workshops for nationally accredited center of photographic education with degree program linked to Seattle University.
Produced inaugural 24-hour artmaking event introduced as a new fundraising initiative for education programs; developed visual identity for related materials and exhibition.
Darkroom instructor for an after-school program introducing photography to teen ESL (English as a Second Language) students in the Seattle Public School District as a tool for expression and storytelling.
FREELANCE/WRITING
Contributor, The Brooklyn Rail, 2017
Freelance writer for New York-based independent publication focused on arts, culture, and politics.
Contributed reviews for contemporary art exhibitions based on assignment.
Columnist and Contributing Writer, Art21 Magazine, 2012–2017
Proposed and crafted articles integrating artist interviews and gallery visits based on thematic issues for online publication focused on contemporary art and artists.
Developed monthly Praxis Makes Perfect column.