OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
about this position:
Along a less than 1 mile radius on Gilbert St, stretching past both sides of Iowa City's downtown and along UI's central campus, sit the three historic houses of Public Space One (PS1): the epicenter of eastern Iowa's artist community. These spaces inhabit: Iowa's only community printshop (IC Press Co-op), the PS1 Northside gallery, nine private artist studios (4 at PS1 Northside, 5 at PS1 Close House). The Close House also houses: the main hall (for intimate music and stage performances, recurring community exhibitions, workshops), multiple libraries (including the Center for Afrofuturist Studies reading room, IC Poetry, and LGBTQIA Archive & Library), a second floor dancehall (growing IC's social dance scene for the past 3+ years), and a visiting artist apartment. These locations are home to all PS1 programs and workshops and are a creative nucleus for art action in Iowa City and the extended region.
As a proudly artist-led organization, we are seeking to hire an Operations Director with a background and interest in community-driven art to join the PS1 Directors Circle and help us maintain and thrive in our sprawling 12,000+ sq ft of dedicated community art space. The Operations Director will be primarily responsible for the physical "life" of all PS1 spaces.
This job has its perks and challenges, such as:
PERKS:
30 hours a week, with flexible scheduling and built-in autonomy and work environment supportive of creative practitioners
competitive healthcare benefits, including vision & dental
dynamic and vibrant artist community (something new/fun/weird is always around the corner)
opportunity to build and shape the next era of our beloved institution
CHALLENGES:
we believe in group work, so social skills, communication, thoughtfulness, and collaboration are crucial
we work with intention so expect staff to be fully engaged and dedicated (i.e., this is not a sit-back-and-wait-for-things-happen kind of job… our work hours are full and we take initiative to make our organization better!)
we are scrappy artists, economically frugal, and non-traditional in our approaches; strong candidates will be able to "go with the flow,” thrive in questioning default structures, and balance many approaches to art organizing with a history of artist-led institutional success
Does this sound like you? View the full position description and instructions to apply here.
Review of applications will begin Monday, March 9, 2026.
Questions? Please contact info@publicspaceone.com.
