New Staff at Bakehouse: Andrew McLees and Krysten Ortega
Andrew McLees, Grants and Communications Manager
Andrew McLees, Grants and Communications Manager, is an arts administrator, marketing specialist, community organizer, musician and creative practitioner with extensive experience developing holistic engagement strategies for mission-based nonprofit organizations.
Prior to joining Bakehouse Art Complex as Grants and Communications Manager, Andrew worked as Senior Marketing Manager at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, where he provided strategic communications and marketing leadership in advance of opening the museum’s new permanent home in the Miami Design District in 2017. At ICA Miami, Andrew developed the foundational communications, marketing, and social media strategies for the organization, and contributed toward introducing regional audiences to the work of renowned artists including Thomas Bayrle, Terry Adkins, Sondra Perry, Betye Saar, and Alex Bag, among many others. In 2018, he expanded the museum’s digital production to include a new platform for original scholarship, artist documentaries, extended-reality experiences, video games, web3 platforms, and podcasts. Andrew participated in the 2019 Knight Foundation Technology Initiative for Innovation in Museums, where he and a team of museum professionals from across the country explored new advancements in technology and how digital transformation and online engagement informs the future of cultural institutions. Andrew has guest lectured on arts ecosystems at the cutting edge of technology and community engagement at both Homework Gallery, Miami (2021) and DMINTI’s online metaverse platform (2022).
A lifelong resident of South Florida and a passionate advocate for accessibility and human-centered design, Andrew is committed to raising public awareness and appreciation of the arts across disciplines and inviting audiences of all ages and abilities to experience the transformative power of contemporary cultural production. In addition to his administrative duties, Andrew is an Eagle Scout, a musician, and the forthcoming artistic director of body ov work, a marketing platform for amplifying the work of emerging experimental artists and musicians launching in 2023. Andrew is a founding member of the 229 Warehouse Collective, a performing arts space based in Little Haiti dedicated to providing vulnerable artist communities with safe space for creative expression. Since 2004, he has played an instrumental role in presenting renowned international recording artists to South Florida, including Psychic TV featuring arts activist and innovator Genesis P-Orridge, Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance, Hiro Kone, Kim Gordon, Greg Fox, Dreamcrusher, Silver Apples, Wolf Eyes, Eartheater, Royal Trux, and many more. Andrew currently lives in Miami Springs, FL, along with his fiancé, Melissa, and their tiny shih tzu, Echo.
Krysten Ortega, Programs Assistant
Krys Ortega, Programs Assistant, recently joined Bakehouse staff as Programs Assistant. She is a recent graduate of Williams College with dual degrees in Art History and Political Theory. At university, Krysten interned at Williams College Museum of Art and participated with the Agents for Creative Action (ACA), where she produced a range of exhibitions and public programs. In addition, Krys brings extensive hands-on experience facilitating arts and community programming from her time interning with the Advancement Department at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Exhibition and Programs Production department at MoMA PS1, New York; as well as a summer workshop program at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. She currently lives and works in Miami.