Shelly McGuinness has served as Executive Director of Artists Alliance’s (AAI) since it began operations in1999. As an arts administrator with training in the visual arts, Ms. McGuinness has overseen AAI’s tremendous growth and has worked to gain local, national and international recognition for its cohesive leadership on behalf of the visual arts community.

Ms. McGuinness’ vision and dedication have propelled AAI to the forefront in advocacy for the preservation of affordable working space for artists in Lower Manhattan and capacity building for similar community organizations.

Prior to her work with AAI, she served as Director of Programming and Administration at the Washington Square Church (WSUMC) Performing Arts Center, tripling the annual income, and increasing ten fold access to affordable performance space for a multitude of theater, dance and performance art. As a member of the Board of Trustees of WSUMC, she also oversaw the preservation and care of the historic property.

From 1982-1985, Ms. McGuinness served as Coordinator of the School of Sacred Arts, an institution designed to educate students in the lost arts of Tibetan Tanka Painting, Byzantine Icon Painting, Medieval Manuscript Illumination, as well as to coordinate a host of lecture series on Buddhism, Christianity and the Kaballah, with noted scholars including Robert Thurman.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Ms. McGuinness attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and received her Bachelors degree in Art from the State University of New York in 1994.