Leadership

Johnny Thornton, Executive Director
johnny@artsgowanus.org

Johnny Thornton (he/him) is an artist that lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Connecticut, he spent his childhood in Johannesburg, South Africa, before moving to Tucson, Arizona, where he studied Fine Arts at the University of Arizona. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Parsons the New School for Design in New York City. Thornton has had work exhibited throughout the United States and is part of several collections. Currently, Thornton works out of his art studio in Gowanus and is owner of Established Gallery in Brooklyn. In 2019, Thornton became the Program Director of Arts Gowanus and in 2020 took on the role of Executive Director.

Pam Wong, Special Projects Director
pam@artsgowanus.org

Pam Wong (she/her) is an arts writer and curator. She was previously a local news reporter covering various Brooklyn neighborhoods including Gowanus. She curates the art programming at the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse.

Emily Chiavelli, Programs Director

Emily Chiavelli (she/her) is a Brooklyn based artist and photographer. Her work has been exhibited at The Museum of the Moving Image, The International Center of Photography, Foley Gallery, and Carriage Trade Gallery, as well as nationally. With a history of working at various nonprofits, after graduating with an MFA from ICP-Bard College in 2020 she began volunteering at Arts Gowanus, and has since become the Program Director.

Joshua Goodridge, Curatorial Assistant
josh@artgowanus.org

Joshua Goodridge is a senior at Brooklyn High School of the Arts majoring in visual art. His primary mediums are painting and drawing, and he’s interested in curation and event production.

Tiane Goines, Artist in Residence
tiane@artgowanus.org

Tiane Goines (they/them/she/her) is a young, Black, fat, and gender non-conforming artist from Brooklyn, NY. Goines graduated from La Guardia Community College and holds a Associate’s degree in Fine Arts.

Goines is an active participant of Gowanus Mutual Aid. The Mutual Aid group in Gowanus, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, is made up of different people from and living in this area and it gives us all an opportunity to organize in ways that makes real change in people’s lives. Goines recently became the Artist-in-residence for Arts Gowanus, a non-for-profit organization in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

Mark Yarm, Press/PR
press@artsgowanus.org

Mark Yarm is the features editor at Input, a site about tech and culture. He's written for a wide variety of publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Wired, and is the author of Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, a Time magazine book of the year.