Creative Time announces appointment of Ayesha Pirbhai as new Head of Development
August 5th, 2025
For Immediate Release
Pirbhai joins the organization from the Guggenheim. She will lead strategic fundraising efforts to support Creative Times public initiatives.
New York, NY – August 5, 2025 – Creative Time is pleased to announce that Ayesha Pirbhai has joined the organization as its Head of Development, where she will lead strategic fundraising efforts to support bold, public art initiatives. With a strong belief in artist-centered philanthropy, she brings experience in mobilizing resources at the intersection of culture, equity, and visual arts. Before joining Creative Time, Ayesha served as Manager of Individual Giving at the Guggenheim Museum, overseeing global donor groups and driving revenue growth through key initiatives like the Young Collectors Council. Her work there spanned large-scale fundraising events, major exhibitions, and acquisitions that elevated both artistic vision and institutional impact.
“We are thrilled that Ayesha Pirbhai will be joining us as our new Head of Development,” shared Creative Time Executive Director, Justine Ludwig. “I’m looking forward to working with her as we explore the ways that we can build community and momentum around our programs, support innovative artists projects, and engage with local, national, and global audiences.”
Ayesha’s career is marked by cross-sector innovation and a multidisciplinary approach. At Creative Time, she aims to expand the organization’s philanthropic landscape while fostering deeper connections among artists, funders, and the public.
“As a passionate advocate for socially engaged art, I’m thrilled to join Creative Time at a moment of bold vision and continued experimentation,” shared Pirbhai. “I believe fundraising can be a radical practice: collaborative, transparent, and transformative. I’m excited to use these practices to support artists whose work sparks dialogue, challenges systems, and reimagines the public realm.”
ABOUT AYESHA PIRBHAI
Ayesha Pirbhai is Head of Development at Creative Time. She previously managed global donor groups and the Young Collectors Council at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, while also focusing on support for major exhibitions and acquisitions. She has held a development role at the American Museum of Natural History, founded a fine art jewelry brand rooted in empowerment, and worked internationally as a culture writer and editor in Barcelona. Ayesha’s cross-sector background has resulted in a radical approach to fundraising, one that is collaborative, transparent, and transformative.
ABOUT CREATIVE TIME
Since 1974, Creative Time has commissioned and presented over 350 ambitious public art projects in partnership with thousands of artists and organizations throughout New York City, across the country, around the world—and even in outer space. Our work is guided by three core values: art matters, artists’ voices are important in shaping society, and public spaces are places for creative and free expression.
We are acclaimed for the innovative and meaningful projects we have commissioned, from Tribute in Light, the twin beacons of light that illuminated lower Manhattan six months after 9/11, to Kara Walker’s powerful sugar-sphinx at the Domino Sugar Factory (2014), and Pedro Reyes’ Doomocracy (2016), a theatrical haunted house of political nightmares at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and so much more. Though based in New York City, our organization touches millions, both nationally and internationally, through initiatives like the Creative Time Summit, which has been presented in a variety of locations including Venice, Stockholm, Washington, D.C., and Miami. We are committed to presenting important art for our times and engaging broad audiences that transcend geographic, racial, and socioeconomic barriers.
IMAGE: Portrait available on request. Photo © Diana Sinclair.
MEDIA CONTACT
THIRD EYE
Van Lundsgaard | van@hellothirdeye.com | 212-355-9009
CREATIVE TIME
Gloria Celeste Perez | gloriap@creativetime.org | 203-521-1786
