ArtWorks, an equal opportunity employer is strongly committed to building and retaining a diverse team that creates an inclusive workplace which harnesses each voice to collectively advance ArtWorks’ mission.
Job Title: Civic Artist-in-Residence
Salary: $25,000 (25hrs/wk)
Job Type: Part Time Exempt
Location: ArtWorks Administrative Office, 2460 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206
Reports to: Director of Community Impact
Start date: July 26, 2022
Job Description
ArtWorks is launching its first year-round Civic Artist Studio, which will lead community engagement and outcomes for New Monuments. The Civic Artist Studio will provide youth (ages 18 – 24) with consistent employment for an entire year. To lead this new program and studio, ArtWorks will employ a talented Teaching Civic Artist-in-Residence with expertise in art production, community arts, engagement, and equity and justice work. The Civic Artist-in-Residence will work with Junior Civic Artists to conceptualize, design, and produce, community engagement activities, the activation of public spaces, and works of art. Moreover, the Artist-in-Residence should be a high energy and organized individual with the ability to inspire and be inspired by young people. They should be able to engage young people in the design and production process by breaking down steps to help them uncover their best ideas and strengths.
About the New Monuments Initiative: Monuments make a public statement about the ideas, values, or individuals a community thinks their society should remember or honor. ArtWorks, along with partnering community organizations, will work to ensure that Cincinnati’s statement is one of equity, justice, and truth-telling. The New Monuments initiative will aim to reimagine and rebuild commemorative spaces that celebrate and affirm the historical contributions of the many diverse communities that make up the United States. New Monuments can take the form of prototypes, outdoor art exhibitions, and mixed media materials. They are more than memorials, historical markers, and public statuary, but also storytelling spaces, civic spaces to gather and make meaning. Through this work ArtWorks plans to host public dialogue and reflection and re-center voices, stories, and narratives to include those who have often been denied historical recognition to inform the creation of new monuments in Cincinnati.
The key phases of New Monuments that the Civic Artist-in-Residence will lead are:
1. Engagement, Research, and Inventory (September 2022 – March 2023)
2. Monument Creation and Activation through a Call-to-Artists (April – October 2023)
Key Responsibilities:
Community Engagement, Design, Production, & Studio Management
• Design, in collaboration with the Junior Civic Artists, a plan to engage the public around monuments, including community engagement structures and art outcomes from those engagements.
• Collect, organize, analyze, and synthesize data collected through engagements to inform a Cincinnati monument audit and final report that will be shared with the public.
• Facilitate community engagements including artmaking, public think tank discussions, and more.
• Lead the creation of art that is informed by community engagement and/or fosters engagement. Examples could include educational art prints, pop-up galleries of community driven monument designs, etc.
• Create a partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools or other youth institutions to involve youth in engagement activities, historical learnings, and visioning of new monuments.
• Identify, create, and implement strategies and systems for studio management, maintenance, and file/spatial organization.
• Develop a team workflow, communicate expectations and timelines, and monitor budget.
• Facilitate design processes amongst the Junior Civic Artists.
• Troubleshoot and communicate problems that arise during engagements or art production promptly.
• Facilitate a Call-to-Artists and provide Artists with findings and research from the Engagement, Inventory, and Research phase. Provide some production support to chosen artists from the call
Youth Workforce Development
• Create and communicate clear expectations to Junior Civic Artists by making project goals, action plans, schedules, files, and materials accessible.
• Design curriculum that strengthens Junior Civic Artists understanding of community engagement, the design and production process, creative problem solving, and interpersonal communication skills (among team members and as part of the community engagement and relationship building process).
• Identify training opportunities, workshops, field trips, activities, etc. that inspire Junior Civic Artists.
• Build a relationship with each Junior Civic Artists through active conversation and one-on-one instruction, ensuring their professional development.
• Track Junior Civic Artists attendance/lateness, approve hours worked, and evaluate performance.
• Compile Junior Civic Artists stories/qualitative data and ensure their participation in completing any evaluations and surveys.
Qualifications and experiences:
• BFA preferred, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years experience leading and managing community-driven public art projects from start to completion
• Experience leading, mentoring, and managing a team of diverse experiences and talents
• Experience developing curriculums
• Proficiency in digital design software – Illustrator, Photoshop, Coral Paint, and Procreate
Required skills and abilities:
• Set priorities, develop work plans and schedules, and report progress
• Strong written and verbal communications skills
• Solve problems and make decisions that improve team/organizational effectiveness
• Curious about facts and trends; a continuous learner
• Adhere to ethical behavior and business practices, including managing sensitive and confidential information with integrity
• Commitment to ArtWorks’ mission, vision, values, culture and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Plan
• Core competencies: relationship builder, thrive through collaboration, champion diversity, embrace change, and approach opportunities with creativity.
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite
• Must be willing to work outside of normal business hours when needed
The Payoff:
• Be part of an amazing mission and make a mark in transforming the Greater Cincinnati region with public art, building community, and investing in young artists
• Be part of a dynamic team that embraces a growth mindset
• Be part of a collaborative, creative and flexible work culture that is people centered.
• Join a team that values diversity, equity, and inclusion in community-centered work that creates positive change. Read our full commitment here.
To Apply:
Apply here. Please include cover letter, resume, 10 portfolio samples, and references. For the portfolio samples, please include large scale and community-based projects that you have worked on and artwork of your own design. Please combine all images into one PDF document no larger than 4MB. Upload using the additional materials button.
About ArtWorks
ArtWorks is an award-winning Greater Cincinnati nonprofit that transforms people and places through investments in creativity. The organization collaborates with community organizations and residents, businesses, governments, foundations and nonprofits to build creative works of art that bolster the region’s global reputation as an arts destination. ArtWorks employs professional artists who inspire and mentor diverse teams of youth, ages 14-21, helping them build 21st century career-readiness skills. These teams have completed more than 14,000 public and private art projects in its 26 years, including more than 200 permanent outdoor murals.
