The festival is conducting a national search for permanent leadership, with applications due March 9, as it heads into its summer 2026 season under interim management.
New Haven Arts Festival Launches Search for Executive Director
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas, one of New Haven's flagship cultural institutions, has launched a national search for its next executive director, with applications due March 9, 2026. The position carries a $150,000 annual salary, according to the New Haven Independent.
The festival is being managed by an interim team while the search is conducted. Candidates who advance to the semifinalist stage will receive a $400 honorarium; finalists will receive an additional $1,000 plus travel reimbursement, according to the Independent.
Recent Leadership Transitions
The search comes after more than a year of leadership change at the New Haven festival. Former Executive Director Shelley Quiala, who had led the organization for four years, stepped down in August 2024 to care for her mother in Minnesota.
Rev. Kevin Ewing, a longtime board member, stepped in as interim executive director. His tenure in that role ended on September 30, 2025, though the transition was not publicly announced until December 22, 2025.
Since then, the festival has been guided by an Interim Management Team made up of board and staff members who meet biweekly to manage operations. Thérèse LaGamma, a Boston-based cultural producer who previously worked at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., joined as Interim Program Lead to help steer programming toward the 2026 summer season.
The Festival's Profile and Finances
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas takes place annually in New Haven and draws regional and national acts across music, theater, dance, visual arts, and public talks. It has been a fixture in the city's cultural calendar since the mid-1990s and uses Yale University's campus and downtown New Haven venues as primary locations.
The organization operates on an annual budget of approximately $2.7 million -- significantly reduced from prior years due to federal funding cuts and a competitive grant environment that has squeezed arts nonprofits nationally. Board co-chairs Annie Lin and Risë Nelson have noted that the organization is in what they called a "privileged position" compared to many arts organizations, because it has time to conduct a careful search rather than rushing to fill the role in crisis mode.
In February 2026, the festival was nominated for USA Today's 10 Best Art Festivals Award, a public readers' choice recognition that reflects the event's growing national visibility.
The Search Process
The festival has hired a search firm that specializes in values-aligned leadership for arts and culture organizations, according to the New Haven Arts Paper. The board has not publicly disclosed the firm's name.
The position is a significant leadership opportunity for the right candidate. The executive director oversees the festival's programming, fundraising, staff, and community relationships -- and will be responsible for helping the organization navigate its path through a challenging funding environment while maintaining its national reputation.
Applications for the role are due March 9, 2026. Interested candidates should apply through the search firm's application process.
About the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas was founded in 1996 and has grown into one of the largest free performing arts festivals in the United States. The event typically takes place over two weeks in June, with performances, lectures, and events spanning Yale's campus and public spaces throughout New Haven.
The festival is organized as a nonprofit and is supported by a combination of private donations, foundation grants, government arts funding, and earned revenue from ticketed events. It has hosted notable artists, thinkers, and performers from around the world over its nearly three-decade history.
New Haven's arts sector, anchored by Yale University and a long tradition of independent cultural organizations, makes the city an unusual host for a festival of this scale, drawing visitors from across Connecticut and the broader Northeast.
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