Staff & Consultants

April Chalay, Executive Director

April Chalay (she/her) is an accomplished arts nonprofit leader, artist, and experienced director in the nonprofit sector. She received a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, where she developed a strong foundation in interdisciplinary fine art disciplines and conceptual development. She also has a Certificate in Human Resources Management from The ILR School at Cornell University, eCornell. She served as the Director of Operations at the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center and as Deputy Director at the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe before joining the staff of 516 ARTS as Finance and Grants Manager and moving into the role of Deputy Director in 2023. She has lived in New Mexico since 2013.

april@516arts.org

Olivia Amaya Ortiz, Curator

Olivia is a curator, a museum and arts professional, and a writer. She seeks to reconcile essentialist narratives of identity by advancing relationships to land, decolonial pedagogy, collaborative programming, cultural revitalization, and to the poetics of representation. Currently the Curator at 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, NM, Olivia has also worked to facilitate museum education, community outreach initiatives, artist programs, and public art projects for organizations such as New Mexico Arts, Santa Fe, NM; the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at the School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe; the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson. She is a contributing writer to the art publication Southwest Contemporary. Olivia holds an MA in Art Education from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and a dual-major BFA from the University of Arizona, Tucson. 

olivia@516arts.org

Daniel Ulibarri, Programs Coordinator

Daniel Ulibarri (he/him) is an accomplished professional photographer and arts educator. He holds dual major BA degrees in both English and Media Arts from New Mexico Highlands University. At 516 ARTS, he develops youth and educational programming, develops content, oversees interns, creates video interviews with artists and project videos, and in 2022 he curated the photography exhibition Nathaniel Tetsuro Paolinelli: Downtown at 516 ARTS, which received international media coverage. Born and raised in northern New Mexico, he has been a resident of Albuquerque since 2021.

daniel@516arts.org

About our founder: Suzanne Sbarge

Suzanne Sbarge founded 516 ARTS in 2006 in partnership with the McCune Charitable Foundation and directed the organization for 17 years, building it into a non-collecting contemporary art museum. Her leadership focused on fostering collaboration among artists, art forms, and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. Before 516 ARTS, she directed Magnifico Arts, Inc. and the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. She holds a B.A. in Art History and Studio Arts from Barnard College and an M.A. in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. Sbarge is a visual artist in addition to working as a graphic designer, curator, and arts consultant.