Centrum Foundation
Artistic Director
Port Townsend Writers Conference
Job Description
Updated: 07/27/2026
Centrum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization located in Port Townsend, Washington, envisions a future where anyone from anywhere can nurture their creativity in an environment that is supportive, challenging and uplifting – building a world of greater connection and inclusion through the arts.
The Port Townsend Writers Conference (“Conference”), founded in 1974, just one year after Centrum opened its doors at Fort Worden State Park on the Olympic Peninsula, remains a cornerstone of Centrum’s writing program and realizing Centrum’s vision.
Artistic Directors are vital to this realization. They are leaders and practicing artists in writing, publishing, and teaching. They work collaboratively with Centrum’s Program Manager for Writing, helping to set the overall artistic tone for the Writers Conference by playing a vital part in stewarding the Conference's culture of community. They select faculty, recruit fellows for the Conference’s fellowship program, and they are a voice during the Conference, emceeing evening faculty readings which are open to participants and the regional public.
Contracts for Artistic Directors are negotiated for up to 5 years, subject to annual review.
Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with Centrum’s Program Manager for Writing (PM) to invite faculty who are accomplished writers and teachers to lead workshops and provide lectures and readings at the Conference;
- Collaborate with PM to communicate budget and logistics to faculty. PM is ultimately responsible for establishing budgets and informing the Artistic Director (AD) what resources are available to contract faculty. The PM and AD must be committed to working within budget;
- Collaborate with PM about physical spaces available at Fort Worden State Park for lodging, food, and programming. PM is ultimately responsible for finalizing Conference schedules, booking facilities, and contracting vendors for food and entertainment;
- Collaborate with PM to advance the fellowship program, identifying fellows to attend the Conference.
- Collaborate with PM to ensure faculty invited to the Conference have a quality experience. Duties include advising PM on faculty housing assignments and assisting PM to address any disagreements with or between individual faculty members or faculty members and participants which might arise during the Conference;
- Where opportunities arise, support PM to raise funds for faculty honorariums, scholarships, and fellowships for participants to attend the Conference. PM and Centrum’s development team are ultimately responsible for fundraising for Centrum programming;
- Be a present, physical presence at Conference (travel and meals provided);
- Host evening faculty readings during the Conference, introducing faculty readers and curating the cultural tone of the Conference through the course of the week; and
- Champion Centrum’s Writing Program and the Conference, encouraging faculty to teach and participants to attend.
To apply, please submit your cover and CV or resume for consideration.
CONTACT: Eric Greenwell
(541) 263-1617
egreenwell@centrum.org
Welcome to Centrum's Local Artist Studio Space Residency!
Beginning in mid-2024, local artists residing in Jefferson County, WA can be considered for Centrum's Local Artist Studio Space Residency program. This is a workspace residency only and does not include lodging. This application serves as a way for Centrum to gather contact information for those looking solely for short-term studio space access. It is not a juried program.
At times, we have available studio space due to cancellations or other factors. We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to local artists in need of workspace. One of the benefits of participating in the Local Artist Studio Space Residency program is that every Tuesday morning residents meet at our Residency Lounge to talk about their work, learn about Centrum, Fort Worden, and Port Townsend, and most importantly, connect with each other. It's a wonderful opportunity to meet visiting artists in residency coming from afar, and truly embodies Centrum's key ethos of creativity in community!
We look forward to including you in our roster of local artists interested in studio space!
Details and logistics of the Local Artist Studio Space Residency
1. Interested parties apply through this application portal to be included in a Local Artist registry for those interested in studio space as it becomes available
2. Depending on availability, on a monthly or quarterly basis Centrum staff will email out if there are studio spaces available with dates and studio space specifications.
3. Those interested can email back indicating they would like to use the studio(s). If there is more interest than availability, names will be chosen at random from a hat.
4. Local artists cannot do more than one residency per year.
5. Studios range from $50 - $100/week with limited scholarships available.
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Centrum's residency programs are aimed at providing artists, writers, and creatives in all disciplines permission to relax, to focus, and/or re-invent their practice as needed. We believe that residencies are a central part of any artistic practice and that magic happens when you take time to reflect and focus on what matters most. We also believe that community matters, and that being in residence alongside others expands networks, fosters collectivity and friendship, and helps our arts ecosystem thrive. We encourage all applicants to read all about what Centrum Residencies offer here.