Kalaija Mallery Named Artistic Director of The Luminary
Kalaija Mallery Named Artistic Director of The Luminary
11.17.2022
The Luminary's Board of Directors and Interim Executive Director Stephanie Koch are pleased to announce the promotion of Kalaija Mallery, previously the Manager of Public Engagement, to the role of Artistic Director, effective immediately. Kalaija's promotion marks a new chapter in The Luminary's leadership model as she will be a co-director to the Executive Director.
Since joining the organization in early 2020, Kalaija has worked alongside The Luminary's team to respond directly to the arts community's needs. In her role as Manager of Public Engagement, she built space for community amid the pandemic's isolation by creating KNOW/HOW bookshop and collaborating with BlackCoffee. Her participation in neighborhood committees like the Cherokee Improvement District, stewardship of The Luminary's Advisory Board, and working directly with artists, practitioners, neighbors, and small-business owners to provide internships, residencies, workshops, and pop-up events at The Luminary all demonstrate her approach to lead from a position of listening to The Luminary's collaborators.
I value working immensely alongside Kalaija, and I'm thrilled to have her work in a new capacity as a thought partner. It's important to have a partner who can challenge, support, and inspire you, and Kalaija brings that quality of work into everything she does," said Koch. "She is committed to thoughtfully building community as she cultivates trust through her care, attention, and rigor. This promotion is a well-deserved recognition of all these qualities that make Kalaija a strong leader for St. Louis arts and beyond."
In addition to her work at The Luminary, Kalaija is a creative producer with an extensive background in DIY artist and gallery spaces as both curator and artist. In 2017, she founded Third Room Project in Portland, OR, and she currently co-operates Monaco Gallery in St. Louis, MO, where she curated the well-received exhibition Ryan Patrick Krueger: On Longing.