Gallery Educator

Gallery Educator

Status: Part time (28 hours per week)
Supervisor: Assistant Director
Pay: $19/hr
Start Date: Fall 2024
End Date: 1 year contract
Application Deadline: September 13

 

The Opportunity

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic Gallery Educator to join our team. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop and deliver art programs in an inspiring creative environment. They will have the opportunity to share their passion for art and education as they plan lessons and tours, teach fine art techniques, guide gallery visits, and lead activities both in the Gallery and offsite. Knowledge of visual arts techniques and/or teaching is an asset. Potential for full-time employment following completion of contract is a possibility.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery offers high-quality arts education and engagement programming for all ages and abilities, curriculum linked programs for local schoolboards, and virtual tours that are accessed regionally and beyond. Program participants at the Gallery interact with professional artists, develop visual literacy and critical thinking skills as they explore art history, engage with Indigenous and contemporary Canadian art in the gallery spaces, and learn about diverse art making practices. We are proud to offer meaningful and engaging arts education programming to meet the needs of diverse communities.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is uniquely positioned in Northern Ontario as a cultural institution with significant regional, provincial, and national profile. The Gallery has grown steadily over the last 45 years and is at a crucial stage of growth and advancement as we prepare to move into a purpose designed facility on Thunder Bay’s beautiful waterfront that will more than triple our operating and programming space.

 

Primary Areas of Responsibility

1.       Design & deliver tours or programs that allow meaningful interactions with art, including the planning of art making workshops related to exhibitions through researching artists, mediums, and intentions of exhibitions.

2.       Assist in communication with education partners throughout the region to identify trends, issues, needs and potential collaborations, building audience and cultivating new engagement for the Gallery.

3.       Liaise with the curator and programming staff to gather information on exhibitions and speak with guest curators, makers, and artists.

4.       Collaborate on planning and facilitation of community-based activities and projects related to exhibitions and programming while connecting with people of all ages and cultural backgrounds with emotional intelligence, understanding, and sensitivity.

5.       Research, plan, and execute curriculum-based tour activities and art workshops for students Grades 1-12 and provide opportunities to respond to artwork directly through inquiry and experiential activities.

6.       Assist in developing an annual program of art education, implemented in response to the seasonal interests/needs of the community.

Organize education partner related public events including the Annual Secondary School Art Show in the community gallery space.
8.       Create social media posts to promote programs and ensure successful engagement.

9.       Oversee the tour bookings and coordinate additional staffing as required.

10.   Manage art class registration lists and communications.

11.   And other duties as assigned.

 

Essential Skills

Passionate about art and learning, with some technical knowledge of visual arts mediums and practices.

Experience in planning and delivering engaging educational programs.

Comfortable with the public and able to lead large tours and art making workshops for groups of different ages and abilities, adapting the approach to the art experience as required.

Strong oral and written communication skills for engaging with program participants, educators, and others in a clear and appropriate manner.

Ability to collaborate and develop relationships with other organizations and community partners.

Excellent organizational skills.

Knowledge of digital platforms used to connect with audiences and deliver programming.

Flexibility, work on evening and weekends, may be required.

 

About Thunder Bay Art Gallery:

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges that we are located on the territory of the Anishinaabe peoples of Northwestern Ontario. We work and live on the lands of the Fort William First Nation who are signatory to the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850.

As the public art gallery for Thunder Bay and Northern Ontario, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery exhibits, collects, and interprets art with a focus on the work of contemporary Indigenous and Northern Ontario artists. The Gallery nurtures a life-long appreciation of the visual arts by:

presenting exhibitions of artistic and educational value to cultivate a depth of visual arts
experience for the public in Thunder Bay and the broader region of Northern Ontario;
supporting and enhancing the development of contemporary Canadian artists with an emphasis on (but not limited to) contemporary Indigenous artists and artists from Northwestern Ontario;
stewarding, conserving, and animating a permanent collection of art focused on the work of contemporary Indigenous artists and innovative cultural and artistic practice of Northwestern Ontario artists;
and, presenting public programming and outreach activities in order to build audience, increase reception, and expand understanding of the visual arts.
For over 45 years the Thunder Bay Art Gallery has steadily grown and is now the largest art museum in Northern Ontario. Today, we have more than 1600 works of art in our world renowned permanent collection and welcome more than 30,000 people through our doors each year. Every day, the Gallery provides school tours, hosts free public programs, and shares our space with community groups. We are a bustling cultural hub committed to contemporary Indigenous, local, and regional art.

Finally, we are in the process of preparing for the transition to a new purposed designed facility on Thunder Bay’s waterfront in late 2025. This new gallery will more than triple our exhibition and operating spaces. This significant addition to Ontario’s cultural infrastructure will provide $33 million in direct economic impact during construction. Once open, the Gallery’s operations will generate $2.2 million annually in direct and indirect impacts to the local and regional economy, as well as an estimated $7 million in annual visitor spending.

How to Apply

Applicants who are Deaf, have an exceptionality or disability, or who need support expressing interest or applying for this opportunity are encouraged to contact Valin Sacchetti, Administrative Coordinator at administration@theag.ca or call 807.577.6427

to allow for appropriate accommodation of your needs and to discuss alternate formats for submitting your application.

To apply for this position, please send via email to administration@theag.ca, a letter of intent, a current resume and the names of two references, under the subject line “Gallery Educator” addressed to:

Kamila Westerback, Assistant Director

Thunder Bay Art Gallery
PO Box 10193
Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 6T7

 

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is committed to employment equity and diversity and encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including women, people of any sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; Indigenous peoples; visible minorities and racialized people; and people with disabilities. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.