Building a Career in the Arts

Join us for a conversation that brings together leaders of arts institutions to reflect on the evolving cultural landscape of our artistic community.

This conversation will be moderated by Ernest Jolicoeur, Associate Professor and Art Gallery Director at Salve Regina University, and include Harry Philbrick (Executive Director of the Newport Art Museum), Curtis Speer (Executive Director of the Newport Artist Collective), and Christine Cocca (Executive Director of the Jamestown Art Center).

Panelists will consider timely and thought-provoking questions, including:

• What distinguishes a professional artist from an emerging artist—if anything at all?
• What excites you about the culture of the arts and among artists right now?
• Who is doing it right?
• AND MORE!

This conversation promises to offer valuable insight into leadership, institutional responsibility, and the future of the arts ecosystem. This series continues with exhibiting artists of Springboard on April 16th.

Ernest Jolicoeur is an Associate Professor of Studio Art and Director of the Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. In his academic role, he teaches courses that empower students as critical thinkers and creative problem-solvers, fostering visual literacy, experiential learning, and innovation across painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, woodworking, museum studies, critical theory, and exhibition design. His current research interests include memory studies, place studies, modernism, and phenomenology.

Jolicoeur holds a BFA in painting and printmaking from Rhode Island College and an MFA from the Yale University School of Art.

As an artist, he exhibits extensively nationally and internationally. His paintings and drawings have been featured in venues such as the Museum of Modern Art PS1 in New York, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and Brown University’s Bell Gallery.

Appointed as the Executive Director of the Newport Art Museum in September of 2025, Harry Philbrick has nearly 40 years of experience in the arts and nonprofit sectors. Most recently, Philbrick served as the interim director of both the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and The Fabric Workshop and Museum. Additionally, he founded Philadelphia Contemporary and served as the Director at The Aldrich for fourteen years. A Rhode Island native, he is excited to be home.

Curtis Speer is an artist and entrepreneur known for his distinctive photography and contributions to the art communities of Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island. His work emphasizes the artist’s hand, creating tactile images that blur the line between photography and painting and invite close engagement.

In April 2023, he founded CUSP Gallery in Newport at the corner of Spring and Bull streets. The gallery relocated to Washington Square in November 2024, reopening in a historic 1801 home. Under Speer’s direction, CUSP has become a hub for curated exhibitions, provocative visual art, and public installations.

Christine Cocca (she/her) is the Executive Director of Jamestown Arts Center, appointed in 2024. She brings more than 20 years of experience in arts management, strategic leadership, and international cultural exchange, with a focus on building dynamic artistic communities and expanding access to the arts.

Her career spans work in Providence, Rhode Island, and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She co-founded Black Goat Studios, facilitating more than 200 exhibitions worldwide, and has led artist residencies, educational programs, and international partnerships through Antena Projects and Yogyakarta Open Studios. She lives in North Scituate, Rhode Island, serves on the board of the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County, and is a member of Disrupting the Status Quo: Curatorial Agency in Rhode Island.