In a surprise announcement, Headlands Center for the Arts has named Louisa Gloger as the next executive director of the 42-year-old Marin artist-in-residence program. Gloger, who is currently executive director of the Bolinas Museum, will begin her new role on Nov. 1.
Prior to today, Headlands had not announced the job opening. Gloger told KQED the Headlands board sought her out for the role. At the Bolinas Museum, board members will step into temporary full-time roles while they launch a search for their next executive director.
Current Headlands Executive Director Mari Robles has held the position for nearly four years; she was hired after an international search in 2020. The nonprofit thanked Robles for the “passion, commitment and heart” she brought to the organization.
Robles confirmed that she is staying in the Bay Area. “We faced a lot, including COVID closures and a changing arts landscape, but I’m very proud of my time at Headlands,” she told KQED. “I think Louisa’s an amazing leader and I’m excited to see what her chapter will look like.”
Robles’ tenure was marked by the creation of two new fellowship programs, a rebrand and new funding sources, but also by layoffs and fundraising shortfalls. In February 2024, Headlands laid off five full-time staff members in a move Robles referred to as “cocooning.” There are currently 13 staff members listed on the organization’s website.
“It’s been a difficult year, but I feel like we have been working together,” Robles said. “We are in the midst of our fall cohort of residents. We have continued to put on exhibitions like the one we did with Simone [Bailey], so I think the whole staff feels very proud about what what we’ve been able to present even with the slimmed-down staffing model.”
Gloger acknowledged that the landscape is tough for nonprofits right now, citing the closure of the San Francisco Arts Institute and California College of the Arts’ recent layoffs. “This year, whether it’s the election or the insecurity of people with what’s happening in our world, fundraising really has shrunken back,” she said.
But Gloger is optimistic that she has the leadership and fundraising experience to bring stability to Headlands, after nearly three yearsat the Bolinas Museum. While there, she curated the notable shows Helina Metaferia: All Put Together and Arleene Correa Valencia: Llévanos Contigo / Take us with you, grew the museum’s permanent collection and increased staff numbers. Gloger also currently serves on the board of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.
In December 2023, Headlands signed a new 30-year lease with the National Parks Service, which owns the campus of former military buildings, now converted into studios and residences. That agreement includes significant financial requirements to maintain and repair the buildings the art center occupies. In 2023, Headlands’ operating budget was $5.2 million, up from $4.1 million in 2022. Robles told KQED in February that approximately 40% of these added expenses came from the unexpected cost of lead remediation in the studio building; they also repainted the gym last year. Both represented deferred maintenance on the campus.
“I’m looking to come in and be thoughtful and pragmatic,” Gloger told KQED. “I want to make sure that artists are our priority. Our priority is not going to be fixing up buildings. We’re going to be really focusing on programs. We’re going to be focusing on community engagements.”
Gloger says she’s good at raising money for things she wholeheartedly believes in. “I have dedicated my life to the arts,” she explained. “We’re all part of this, and we need to contribute if we want to keep the artistic spirit and ethos of the Bay Area alive.”
Headlands Center for the Arts will host its fall open studios on Sunday, Oct. 27, 12–5 p.m.