I work where art, people, place, and systems meet.
I am a Philadelphia-area cultural strategist, nonprofit leader, curator, and researcher working where art, people, place, and systems meet. For more than 25 years, I have worked across the cultural field as a maker, educator, curator, producer, strategist, fundraiser, and organizational leader. I have built exhibitions, public programs, artist opportunities, community spaces, research projects, communications and development systems, place-based initiatives, and organizational strategies—often carrying work from its earliest questions through funding, partnerships, public engagement, implementation, and long-term stewardship.
My perspective comes from moving between scales: close attention to artists, objects, archives, and audiences; the operational realities of institutions; and the public systems that shape culture, place, and economic life. I bring those forms of knowledge together to help ideas become durable programs, organizations, and public value.
My practice began in the studio, where I learned to attend closely to objects, materials, memory, and the ways cultural meaning is made and carried. That foundation continues to shape how I approach artists, archives, audiences, interpretation, and the structures that determine whose knowledge is recognized and how cultural labor is valued.
In institutional and leadership roles at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, InLiquid, and the Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation, I have translated research and ideas into exhibitions, public programs, artist opportunities, fundraising and information systems, partnerships, place-based initiatives, and long-term organizational infrastructure. I work comfortably across staff, boards, funders, municipalities, artists, businesses, and community partners—aligning vision, resources, relationships, and implementation. Explore my approach to nonprofit strategy and organizational systems.
I live and work in the Philadelphia region.
Areas of Practice
Curatorial Practice
I develop exhibitions and public programs that connect artistic practice with interpretation, place, participation, and institutional context. My curatorial work often begins through sustained relationships with artists and expands through writing, education, partnerships, and audience engagement.
Creative Economy + Place
I build connections among artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, public spaces, and civic systems. This work has included artist opportunities, cultural facilities, local economic-development strategy, public programming, community partnerships, and long-term planning.
Research, Systems + AI
I help organizations move from questions to implementation through planning, research and evaluation, fundraising and information systems, communications, governance practices, organizational knowledge, and responsible AI adoption.
Artist Support + Education
I have supported artists at many stages through studio visits, exhibitions, residencies, commissions, workshops, teaching opportunities, professional development, and one-on-one advising.
Education
Certificate in Nonprofit Management
LaSalle University and the Foundation for Delaware County
Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Studio Art/Metal
Graduate Minor in Art History
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Metalsmithing + Jewelry
Minor in Art History
Maine College of Art
Résumé
Download Clare Finin’s résumé.
Contact
I am open to senior leadership roles, curatorial opportunities, advisory work, and selected project-based engagements.
Explore ways we might work together, use the Contact Page to discuss an opportunity, or connect on LinkedIn.