Paul Sacaridiz has been named the new director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle.
An artist, educator and administrator, Sacaridiz is a professor and chair of the Department of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He replaces longtime director Stuart Kestenbaum, who retired at the end of May after 27 years.
When Sacaridiz assumes the role of Haystack director in September, he will bring more than 16 years of experience in higher education and administration, as well as leadership in not-for-profit arts organizations.
He’s a former Haystack student. In a statement, he said, “As a student attending a session over 25 years ago, the experience left an indelible mark on me as a young artist and provided a window into a world that valued making, materiality, beauty, passion, risk and failure.”
Haystack is an international studio program offering summer workshops to craftmakers and visual artists.
Sacaridiz is a fellow with the National Council of Arts Administrators and a recent inductee to the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva, Switzerland. He has served on the board of the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and was named president-elect of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. His awards include the 2013 Romnes Faculty Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Joyce J. and Gerald A. Bartell Award in the Arts for recognition of his outreach and public service involving the larger community.
In a statement, Haystack board chair Lissa Hunter said, “Paul joins the staff at Haystack at an exciting time in its 65-year history. The school is a world leader in craft education and research as a result of the stewardship of Stuart Kestenbaum. …. Paul brings the skills, passion and experience to continue the core mission of Haystack while being open to the possibilities that the future will certainly bring.”
Sacaridiz will move to Deer Isle with his partner, Jennifer A. Lapham, and their two children, Ezekiel and Oona, this summer.
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