In a May 14 email to supporters, Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR) Board Chair Karen Heagle and Founding Executive Director Chris Bogia announced that Chris would resign as Executive Director in early fall 2020, after 10 years of running the program for emerging artists. FIAR was the world’s first-ever LGBTQ artist residency, and was created by Chris along with curator Evan Garza, and Secretary and Treasurer Rod Sayegh, who is Chris’ life partner.
Chris forged FIAR partnerships and co-hosted events with the Leslie-Lohman Museum, Printed Matter, the Bureau of General Services: Queer Division, Visual AIDS, Dirty Looks, Dieu Donne, Positive Women’s Network, and Rethinking Residencies. “Leading FIAR has been the most fulfilling experience of my professional life. Before, I’d always had full-time jobs alongside my studio practice and these responsibilities prevented me from doing residencies where I could expand my community of peers. FIAR was a wish—a backyard rocket ship I was building to blast out of my day job world to a new kind of creative life,” Chris wrote.
Chris added, “I hope the work I’ve done inspires more artists who have the desire to amplify the voices of their fellow artists and communities. Service is a beautiful thing. I love Fire Island, I love the artists I’ve had the pleasure to champion, and I am ready to see what happens next for me and for FIAR.”
FIAR is beginning the search for the person who will succeed Chris when he steps down in the fall. He will continue to be a presence in FIAR and told Fire Island Q News, “I am looking forward to supporting FIAR as a member of the board and of course I’ll be around a lot next summer, helping with the transition.”
Contact FIAR through its website www.fireislandartistresidency.org .