Dawn Delikat is a member of the Vilcek Foundation’s Arts Advisory Committee. The Arts Advisory Committee works collaboratively to provide expert guidance to the foundation on the development of exhibitions and programs related to arts and culture.

Delikat is the executive director of Pen + Brush, a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1894 to support gender equity and representation for women artists and writers. A passionate advocate for the democratization of art, Delikat is a frequent public speaker on arts and accessibility; she has been a guest speaker at POWarts and Sotheby’s on alternative markets and a contributor to David Gibson’s The Other Side of the Desk, Canvas Rebel, Artsy, and the Ivory Tower Boiler Room podcast, among others. 

“Until it’s just about the art” is an edict that defines Pen + Brush’s philosophy, and Delikat’s drive to build intersectional programs to highlight women, nonbinary, and genderfluid artists from a range of experiences. Since 2008, Delikat has worked with Pen + Brush to develop and update the organization’s strategic plan and program for the 21st century, with a focus on providing meaningful support and opportunities for undiscovered, up-and-coming, and under-supported women and nonbinary artists. 

Alongside her mentor, Janice Sands, Delikat coordinated Pen + Brush’s relaunch and expansion, moving the organization from its historic home to a prominent public-facing gallery and workspace in New York City’s Flatiron District. Delikat’s core goal is to provide resources and opportunities to the artists and communities the organization serves: Pen + Brush takes a modest 25% of the sale of artworks that they broker, a stark contrast from the 50%–60% on average that galleries’ commercial demands often require from sales. She has also established Pen + Brush’s programs with art fairs, bringing the work of Pen + Brush’s artist cohort to major audiences with installations at the SCOPE Art Fair in Miami.

Delikat honed her expertise in arts management through roles with Claire Oliver Gallery, as a manager of Ultra Violet’s Chelsea studio, as an exhibition installer with the Morris Museum in New Jersey, and as an exhibition facilitator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Delikat earned her master’s in art history with a concentration in museum studies at the City College of New York. She holds a BA in Art History from New Jersey City University, and an Associate of Arts in Studio Arts and Painting from the Union College of Union County, NJ. Prior to joining the Vilcek Foundation’s Arts Advisory Committee, Delikat worked with the Vilcek Foundation as an advisor and consultant, providing insight and counsel to Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel on a variety of projects and exhibition programs. Delikat curated and provided the introductions for two digital coloring books produced by the foundation: Be a Good Ancestor: The Michela Martello Coloring Book and This Is Who We Are: Color the Artists of Pen + Brush Gallery.