Ellen Lake is an artist and arts administrator calling the Bay Area, California home since 1995. Working alongside Mayumi Hamanaka at Kala Art Institute since 2008, Ellen and Mayumi shifted into leadership roles as co-directors of the organization in 2021 when co-founder Archana Horsting retired. With over 15 years of experience working in the arts and non-profit organizations, Ellen focuses at Kala on development, strategic planning, financial management, community partnerships, public art collaborations, and artist residencies. She is passionate about supporting artists, nurturing a productive and thriving arts organization, and building creative communities.
Ellen is also an interdisciplinary artist with a BA from Amherst College and MFA from Mills College where she experimented with painting, video, sculpture, and installation. Her work continues to explore the evolution of technology, archives and collections, returns time and again to painting and process, and ranges from public art to site-specific installation.
Ellen is the recipient of many grants, awards, and residencies, and in the past five years has furthered her art practice through artist residencies at The Studios at MASS MoCA, Vermont Studio Center, and Rauschenberg Residency at Captiva.
