staff.

Our staff is made up of curators, artists, educators, filmmakers, designers, writers, and community organizers dedicated to bringing socially-engaged art to public spaces and communities throughout New York City.

Micaela Martegani
Founder & Director

Shona Masarin-Hurst Director of Operations and Strategy

Sarah Esmi
Engaging Artists Fellowship Leader

Dylan Gauthier
Associate Curator

Madison Markham
Communications and Programs Assistant

Elana Engelman-Lado
Development Manager

Jeff Kasper
Strategic Consultant/Advisor

board of directors.

Our executive board is made up of passionate individuals who are dedicated to fulfilling the mission of More Art.

Jeffery Jones
Secretary

Micaela Martegani
Member

Christopher Goble
Member

Lynne Whitman
Treasurer

Mona Ghasemi
President

James Walker
Member

Kate Shaw
Member

Susanna Mancini
Emeritus

John Ryan
Emeritus

Johanna Ottolinger
Member

Chiseche Salome Mibenge, PhD
Member

Mauricio Barberi
Member

board of advisors.

Suhaly Bautista
Margaux Caniato
Ofri Cnaani
Anne Edgar
Deborah Fisher
Jim Furlong
Anna Gaskell
Micaela Giovannotti
Claudia Gould
Floor Grootenhuis
Tom Huhn
Mary Jane Jacob
Janine James
Michael Joo
Martina Kenworthy

David Ling
Maria Niro
Paul Pfeiffer
Ernesto Pujol
Melissa Rachleff Burtt
Silvia Rocciolo
Tim Rollins (In Remembrance)
Susan Sandler
Dread Scott
Lori Sherman
Barbara Suhr
Serena Trizzino
Nico Wheadon
Betty Yu

Micaela Martegani

Executive Director & Chief Curator

2005 – present

Micaela Martegani has been involved with art since an early age, and has worked as an art historian, curator, and advisor. In 2004 she founded More Art as a way to help make contemporary art more accessible to the general public. She believes that art has great connective potential because it offers ways of communicating that are direct yet non-threatening. Art can change people’s outlook on life, and, in particular, it can have a fundamental impact on the most vulnerable or neglected members of our society.

Micaela Martegani

Executive Director & Chief Curator

2005 – present

Micaela Martegani (she/her) has been involved with art since an early age, and has worked as an art historian, curator, and advisor. In 2004 she founded More Art as a way to help make contemporary art more accessible to the general public. She believes that art has great connective potential because it offers ways of communicating that are direct yet non-threatening. Art can change people’s outlook on life, and, in particular, it can have a fundamental impact on the most vulnerable or neglected members of our society.

Shona Masarin-Hurst

Director of Operations and Strategy

2022 – Present

Shona Masarin-Hurst (she/her) is the Director of Operations and Strategy for More Art, where she oversees the nuts and bolts as well as the visioning of the organization. From 2019-2022 she was More Art’s Curatorial Director. As a cultural producer, her objective is to develop programs that create space for artists and arts administrators to build supportive and equitable communities. Most recently, she worked with the CUE Art Foundation as Programs Director, and has held positions with Flux Factory and Millennium Film Workshop. Born and raised in Australia, Shona maintains an active artistic practice as an experimental filmmaker. She has received funding for her work from the Jerome Foundation, The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts, the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Her work has been presented at Danspace Project, Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center, Crossroads Film Festival at SFMoMA, and the Knockdown Center, amongst others. She holds a BFA in film and video from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Sarah Esmi

Engaging Artists Fellowship Leader

2022 – Present

As an artist of Iranian descent, Sarah Esmi’s (she/her) work includes experimental theatre, collage, movement, and poetry. Sarah began her career as an experimentalist during a Fulbright fellowship in Spain, where she learned to direct theatre in a bilingual rehearsal environment at Garaje Lumière. A few credits include directing Tongues by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin in Madrid, assistant directing the world premiere of Wax Wings, later named Instinct, by Matthew Maguire, producing Nowruz at Cloud City Art Space in collaboration with Ajam Media Collective, and publication in Calyx, The Dime Show Review, The San Pedro River Review and The Rising Phoenix Review. She is also the co-founder of counterclaim productions.

Sarah is eager to draw from her background in public interest law and current work as an abolition artivist to serve Engaging Artists Fellows and the community.

Dylan Gauthier

Associate Curator

2022 – Present

Dylan Gauthier (he/him) is a New York-based curator, artist, and arts administrator. Gauthier joins More Art as Associate Curator having over two decades of experience working for non-profit and for-profit art ventures in New York City. From 2018-2022, he was Program Director and Curator of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Project Space, a 501c3 non-profit gallery. While at EFA Dylan also ran SHIFT: A Residency for Arts Workers and inaugurated the end_notes publication series that published 12 catalogs as part of an expansive program of exhibitions, commissioned artist projects, and public events.

Gauthier is also a practicing artist who works through a research-based and collaborative practice at the intersections of ecology, architecture, landscape, and social change. Gauthier is a founder of the boat-building and publishing collective Mare Liberum and of the Sunview Luncheonette, a co-op for art, politics, and communalism in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Gauthier received his MFA from Hunter College, CUNY (‘12), and has taught courses on emerging media and expanded cinema in the Film and Media Studies department at Hunter College, and courses on systems, sustainability, and water-based art practices at Parsons. He lives in Jackson Heights with his wife and frequent collaborator, the poet and artist, Kendra Sullivan, and their son Demitri.

Madison Markham

Communications and Programs Assistant

2021 – Present

Madison Markham (she/her) works in independent artist management, web + graphic design, and art book + exhibition production. Her first love is art history, particularly that of contemporary + modern art, and she is currently pursuing her MA in Art History at Hunter College. Madison works with emerging, self-taught, and underrepresented artists in an effort to challenge the decided norms of the contemporary art world and market and act as a support for those artists and communities widely overlooked. She is elated to be a part of the More Art team and continue to support + share opportunities with underrepresented artists and communities.

Elana Engelman-Lado

Development & Special Events Manager

2022 – Present

Elana Rosa Engelman-Lado (she/they) is a New York-based educator, researcher, art adminstrator and thing-maker. She holds a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from Columbia University and an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch, where she completed an artist book and audiovisual installation titled Water Bodies: the L.A. River and the Edges of Things. Elana previously worked with More Art as a Programs & Communications Assistant. She also works as a teaching artist and educator with organizations including the New York Botanical Garden and More Art. Her interests include collage, water, historiography of land and sound, social and spatial control, and environmental justice. Her projects combine archival research with creative practice utilizing collage, audio-visual installation, book arts, academic and creative writing. She is currently working to integrate elements of performance and social practice in her work.

Jeff Kasper

Strategic Consultant/Advisor

2019 – Present

Jeff Kasper (he/him) consults with More Art on special projects, including More Art’s recently published book, More Art in the Public Eye (2019). From 2015-2019 he was More Art’s Director of Engagement. He is a social practice artist, integrated designer, researcher, and educator. His work has been exhibited and presented as public programs in museums, cultural spaces, and universities in the United States, Canada, Germany, Russia, and the Czech Republic. In the past Jeff has worked with various nonprofits focused on community arts, design education, sustainability, and social justice as well as conducted independent research at various institutions in North America. He holds a degree in urban studies and a MFA from CUNY where he held fellowships in the arts and public service management. He is currently Assistant Professor of Design at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Jeffery Jones

Secretary

2014 – Present

Jeffrey is a native New Yorker, a lawyer, and is the managing agent for Little West 12^th Street Realty, L.P., a property owner in the Meatpacking District. Jeffrey believes art can not only enrich lives, but can also be a powerful tool for engagement and social change. In order for art to make the most impact, it must reach a wide audience. Jeffrey joined the executive board in 2014 to help More Art bring more art to more people.

Micaela Martegani

Member

2008 – Present

Christopher Goble

Member

2018 – present

Christopher Goble is currently the Senior Vice President and General Manager for Gap Outlet. He oversees all aspects of the Gap Outlet business including merchandising, design, production, inventory management, marketing, visual merchandising, and stores. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Purdue University in 2002 and completed an Executive Leadership Program at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School in 2013. Originally from West Lafayette, Indiana, Christopher is a new resident of New York City as of August 2017. He is passionate about the arts and making art accessible to the public.

Lynne Whitman

Treasurer

2016 – present

Lynne Whitman is a seasoned business leader with a passion for helping companies grow. As an analytics consultant for Dun & Bradstreet, she works with businesses to expand their capabilities and improve their performance. Lynne has broad strategic, operations and marketing expertise, having consulted for a diverse set of companies and industries, ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Lynne is a strong believer in the impact of art on society and is thrilled to be involved with More Art.

Mona Ghasemi

President

2020 – present

Mona is a creative sales executive with over fourteen years of experience in top performing roles in technology consulting and sales working with Fortune 500 companies. Mona has a deep cultural understanding having grown up in Iran and immigrated to the United States as a teenager; she speaks multiple languages and is an avid traveler. Mona has lived in New York for the past fifteen years and is closely connected to the artist community, given her interests in the arts. She joined the MoreArt Board in 2020 to help advance corporate engagement and strategic partnerships. She has a strong belief in the power of art to change people’s perspectives.

James Walker

Member

2020 – present

James is currently the Senior Commercial Director for Digital Technologies at Mars Inc.. He has previously held a number of business leadership roles for Fortune 500 companies in the US and Europe. A British national, James moved with his wife from London to New York City in 2015. He joined More Art in 2020 because he wants to help make art accessible to all – bringing thoughtful provocation, inspiration, and joy.

Kate Shaw

Member

2020 – Present

Kate is currently a People and Culture Partner at Macquarie Group where she has worked in numerous HR roles both in their Sydney, Australia and New York offices. Kate has lived in New York since 2017 and was delighted to have joined the More Art Board in 2020 as a means to help connect more people to art. She enjoys and wants others to experience the power of art in sharing culture and ideas.

Susanna Mancini

Emeritus

2008 – 2015

Susanna Mancini has been a lawyer for many years and is now a passionate mediator. She loves being part of More Art whose amazing growth she witnessed from its infancy. More Art’ s commitment to make art accessible to people from all walks of life truly resonates with her. Art enriches life, and it should do so for as many people as possible in as many venues as possible.

John Ryan

Member

2009 – 2018

Previously the Director of Retail at Kartell and the Managing Director of Matta, John Ryan has worked in the marketing and management of creatively-driven businesses most of his career. Once an aspiring theater artist, John has been a fan and supporter of More Art from the very beginning and joined the executive board in 2009 to help the organization make the most of its potential to introduce the vitality of the arts to as many people as possible.

Johanna Ottolinger

Member

2022 – present

Johanna has worked in international business across multiple geographies for 20 years, with most time spent within Fortune 100 companies. Born in New York City, Johanna attended Columbia University and completed her Business Law degree at Sankt Gallen, Switzerland in 2008. She gained her CSR certification in 2013. She most recently lived in Berlin, Germany before returning to the New York area with her family. Johanna directed a foundation in Indonesia during a year-long sabbatical, which focused on children’s welfare and education. She has additionally worked on various workforce development and mentorship initiatives across continents, focusing her efforts on marginalized or under-represented minorities. She joined the MoreArt Board in 2022 to help drive public-private partnerships and awareness of social issues through art and creative expression.

Chiseche Salome Mibenge, PhD

Member

2023 – present

Chiseche is a human rights lawyer and educator. For over two decades she was affiliated with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights Research, the City University of New York and Stanford University.

She is the author of Sex and International Tribunals: The Erasure of Gender from the War Narrative (Penn Press) and various articles on gender based violence and armed conflict. She is the co-editor of the book series, Human Rights Interventions (Palgrave MacMillan) and serves on the editorial boards of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, the Journal of Human Trafficking and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and The Feminist Press. She serves on various other advisory boards, including, The Rustin Fund and the Global Interfaith Network for People of all Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions.

She is a memoirist and her short works have been published by literary journals including The Evergreen Review, The Columbia Journal and Taint Taint Taint. Currently, Chiseche is the Director for Gender Initiatives at Episcopal Relief & Development.

Mauricio Barberi

Member

2023 – present

Mauricio is a digital-savvy marketing & growth strategic advisor to VC/PE firms and their portfolio companies; corporate and nonprofit board member; and school trustee. As CMO of specialized B2B technology leaders – such as CMiC, GTNexus, BlueCherry Software, Mobius and C3i Solutions – for over two decades, he has helped middle-market SaaS innovators realize their potential by building, leading and energizing high performance teams on a worldwide basis; developing and launching disruptive technology-centric products and services; and driving breakthrough revenue growth. Earlier in his career Mauricio led client engagements with Accenture’s business strategy practice and developed state-of-the-art electronic test systems for Schlumberger in Silicon Valley. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a SB in mechanical engineering from MIT. Mauricio was born and raised in Cali, Colombia, moved to the US to finish high school, has enjoyed photography for the past four decades and is fluent in English, Spanish and French. He is passionate about the visual arts and their application as a platform for promoting emerging talent, engaging with local communities and expanding the dialogue around social issues. Mauricio is enthusiastic about contributing to the fulfillment of More Art’s mission by applying his experience as a career marketing and communications executive and as an experienced trustee and board member.

staff and board.

staff.

board of directors.

board of advisors.