Director of Live Programs

THE BROAD

The Broad was established to make contemporary art accessible to the widest possible audience. Founded in 2015 on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, the museum offers free general admission and presents an active program of special exhibitions and innovative live events, all within a landmark building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Welcoming around 900,000 visitors per year, The Broad is a bustling public space and serves as home to the Broad collection, one of the world’s leading collections of postwar and contemporary art, which continues to grow as new artists and artworks are added. The museum is also the headquarters of The Broad Art Foundation’s worldwide lending library, which has been loaning collection works to museums around the world since 1984. An expansion of the museum will open before the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, creating even greater public access.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Broad is seeking an experienced and ambitious Director of Live Programs (DLP) to define, develop, and produce accessible and rigorous live programming that transforms how audiences encounter contemporary art, opening fresh and imaginative channels through which to understand the Broad collection and its exhibitions.

Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) with a dotted line to the Founding Director, the DLP will activate The Broad through programming that is fresh, unexpected, and wide-ranging – unafraid of disrupting typical hierarchies around popular and experimental, and evolving in response to the cultural moment and the museum’s mission to attract a wide audience.

The DLP will lead The Broad's live programming in meaningful dialogue with the museum's special exhibitions and growing collection, through performance, music, comedy, dance, film, literature, community-engaged and socially driven projects, and other live formats.

This work will create innovative entry points to contemporary art for visitors of all backgrounds, building on The Broad’s profile as an authentic and thoughtful leader in museum-based performance and as a site of experimentation, dialogue, and shared experience. The role joins the team at a pivotal time, as the museum prepares to launch a transformational expansion.

To achieve this, the DLP will oversee execution at the highest production quality with resourcefulness and creative problem-solving, meeting ambitious strategic revenue and mission targets, balancing operational realities, and working closely with internal and external event producers, consultants, and contractors and vendors.

The ideal candidate is deeply embedded in culture, bringing firsthand knowledge of what is emerging on the ground in LA and beyond to their vision for programming. They have a well-developed point of view, with the flexibility to adapt it in service of the institution’s mission.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and steward the overall vision for The Broad's live programming as the museum prepares to open its expansion in 2028. Ensure that live programming is in meaningful dialogue with the museum's special exhibitions and collection as well as responsive to the cultural moment and the evolving interests of the museum's diverse audience.
• Maintain a clear and ambitious curatorial point of view that positions The Broad as a leader in the field, doing work that is fresh, unexpected, and constantly seeking to set The Broad apart.
• Balance popular accessibility and experimental ambition across the programming slate, identifying opportunities to create entry points to contemporary art for audiences who don't consider themselves museumgoers.
• Stay deeply embedded in the cultural landscape, attending performances, events, and exhibitions; building and maintaining relationships with artists, curators, and producers in Los Angeles and beyond; reading widely and tracking emerging trends across performance, music, live media, comedy, and adjacent fields.
• Prioritize access for disabled artists and audiences from the earliest stages of program development, treating accessibility as a creative and curatorial consideration rather than a solely logistical one. Work proactively with artists, production staff, and disability community members to design programs that are fulfilling for every attendee.
• Bring in guest curators and outside perspectives from Los Angeles and beyond to expand the range of voices and relationships the program draws on, always with authenticity, integrity, and a clear connection to the collection.
• Oversee the execution of all live programs at the highest production quality, ensuring that artistic vision and production standards are mutually reinforcing and achievable within resource constraints.
• Lead the creative and production vision for all public-facing events, including exhibition openings and expansion events; set the experiential standard for what each event looks and feels like.
• For institutional events such as exhibition openings and celebrations related to the museum’s expansion, serve as the creative and artistic lead, conceiving of the performance or experiential dimension that makes each event memorable.
• Manage at least one direct report, providing mentorship, clear direction, and support for their professional development.
• Develop and maintain an annual programming budget that accounts for all talent, production, and related costs, with the flexibility to adapt as museum priorities and exhibition programming evolve.
• Manage budgets with rigor and resourcefulness, identifying creative solutions that preserve artistic ambition and meet ticket revenue targets.
• Work collaboratively with Curatorial, Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience teams to ensure that programming is integrated into the museum’s broader institutional priorities, calendar, and audience engagement strategy.
• Other duties as assigned.