Michi Jigarjian
Previously, Jigarjian served as President of Baxter St at CCNY for more than a decade, where she led the 138-year-old organization to become a key incubator for emerging lens-based creators. While there, she curated over 40 exhibitions, created a Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion task force, and established the Artist in Focus Fund.
A community leader, Jigarjian serves on Brooklyn Museum's board as Community Committee Chair, the National YoungArt Foundation's board with a focused role as its DEAI Chair, a trustee of the Art Production Fund, and a representative of the 7G Foundation. She also taught courses at Bard College, her MFA alma mater. Jigarjian is co-founder of New Draft Collective, her artistic practice, and the project-based publishing press Secretary Press. She has authored several books, including Writing as Practice, How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood, and has contributed to and edited the three-volume series Mold.
Jigarjian is a first-generation, bi-cultural Mexican-American who resides in New York City with her husband, Charles, and their three children, George, James, and Rose.
Michi Jigarjian is the CEO and Founder of Work of Art Holdings (WOAH), a female-founded art and culture firm at the forefront of redefining art’s role in fostering social impact and community engagement. She also serves as Managing Partner of 7G Group, where she spearheads socially responsible investment models to create sustainable long-term projects in underserved communities.
Drawing on her extensive experience and expertise in real estate, hospitality, and the creative industries, Jigarjian launched WOAH to develop innovative, sustainable solutions that unite art, business, and underrepresented communities. WOAH’s founding partnerships and projects are rooted in collaboration, impact, sustainability, community-building, and artist empowerment—building cultural ecosystems across sectors.
Prior to founding WOAH, Jigarjian played a pivotal role in the development of The Rockaway Hotel, a project that became a symbol of revitalization and artistic focus for the Rockaway Beach community. Named Best Hotel of 2021 by Travel + Leisure, the hotel gained widespread recognition for its commitment to arts and culture, a reflection of Jigarjian’s vision as its Creative Director and unique ability to merge cultural strategy with impactful, socially responsible development. As curator of the hotel's art collection, Jigarjian considers artistic dialogues, bringing together works by regional and international artists such as Derrick Adams, Tom Sachs, and Zoe Buckman that attract global visitors to experience Rockaway's vibrancy. She also established an award-winning swim program, a public art program, a workforce initiative, and a pilot transportation program through cultural partnerships to promote ocean safety, mitigate underemployment, and fill transportation gaps unique to the area. Pioneering projects include a 90-foot mural by Ivan Forde that speaks to the aquatic powers of the community's ancestral land and a 16,000 square-foot 360 degrees mural by Shantell Martin in the adjoining school's playground that is visible from the air, land, and sea.