Amanda Brinkman serves as creative director and CFO of Pelican Bomb. Brinkman received her B.A. in Art History from the University of California, San Diego (magna cum laude) and her M.A. in Visual and Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (highest honors), and she has ten years of professional experience in the contemporary visual arts. She was the director of the arts education nonprofit International House of Blues Foundation San Diego, the symposium manager at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has worked in the curatorial departments of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, and the Sullivan Galleries.

Cameron Shaw serves as executive director of Pelican Bomb. Shaw received her B.A. in Art History from Yale University (cum laude with distinction in the major) and has over ten years of professional experience in the contemporary visual arts. Her articles, interviews, and essays have appeared in publications including Artforum.com, East of Borneo, Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB Magazine, and books on Chris Ofili, Marcel Dzama, and other artists. Shaw was research manager at David Zwirner Gallery, New York, and, in 2009, was awarded a Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for Short-Form Writing.

The Opportunity/Challenge

Pelican Bomb strategically builds infrastructure to support and sustain vibrant artist communities through four main programs: PB Reader – Pelican Bomb’s online art writing and criticism publication; PB CSA – PB’s affordable art sales and professional development program for artists; PB Roving – which extends PB’s online community by popping up around town for panels, workshops, lectures, and exhibitions; and PB Activation – offering businesses and event planners artist-driven space and marketing solutions.

The Impact

• Pelican Bomb’s publication is read in all 50 states and in 10 countries around the world
• Opened the exhibit Moviehouse NOLA at the Saratoga to 1500 attendees
• Raised over $200,000 to directly benefit New Orleans’ artists, writers, curators, and arts administrators