Park Profile: Katie Dixon

Katie Dixon is the Interim Executive Director of Socrates Sculpture Park. With over two decades of experience working at the intersection of the arts, architecture, and urban planning, Dixon has created cross-sector partnerships and new artist-led programming for a broad range of arts, culture and civic organizations. Her work is based in collaborative research and centers consensus-building and cooperation among many different publics, institutions, government agencies and funders.

From 2014 to 2021, as the CEO of Powerhouse Arts, Dixon established the vision for a new artist-led institution and led the redevelopment and transformation of the former BRT Power Station in Brooklyn, which was named a New York City Landmark in 2019. Dixon and her team conducted intensive workshops and consultations with artists to develop the institution’s programming, organizational structure and physical planning. Powerhouse was a response to the needs for production space, fabrication expertise and support for artists working in traditional materials that is rapidly disappearing in New York City. In addition to the institutional development, Dixon led all aspects of programming and rehabilitating the 170,000 square-foot facility designed by architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.

Dixon served as the Director of Special Projects at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from 2011 to 2014 where she established public art programming initiatives in the neighborhood, including works by KAWS and David Byrne. With BAM’s executive team, she also led capital and program planning efforts to grow and expand the institution. Prior to BAM, she was the Chief of Staff at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs leading special initiatives for the Commissioner, as well as, overseeing the agency’s $700 million capital funding portfolio. From 2007 to 2010 as the Director of Planning and Development at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, she led the site development, arts program planning and administration of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District.

Dixon holds B.A. in Architecture from Yale University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. She lives with her husband and daughter in Red Hook, Brooklyn.