Jobs/Artist Opportunities

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (www.muralarts.org) is the nation’s largest public art program of its kind. Since its inception in 1984 the Mural Arts Program has created 3,500 community-driven murals and provided thousands of under-served youth and adults with award-winning arts education programming.

The Mural Arts Program seeks a motivated Development Associate who will work closely with the Institutional Giving Manager and the Vice President for Development to prepare and submit grant proposals and reports to foundation, corporate, and government resources, with a primary focus on corporate giving. The Development Associate will be responsible for writing and editing assigned grant proposals and reports for timely submissions. This person will also be required to complete additional writing and editing assignments for the department as needed, including newsletter articles, flyers, postcards, press releases, and public relations materials, and will be expected to perform a variety of special assignments under the direction of the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. This position is also expected to support the Communications Department in the execution of special events and fundraisers, and at times serves as a representative of the organization at various meetings and events.

The ideal candidate will be an exemplary writer, as grant writing and the writing and editing of concept papers, proposals, reports, publications, and marketing materials are critical functions of the position. Candidates should be self-starters who can work well in an extremely fast-paced and deadline-driven environment. The ideal candidate will also have the ability to manage multiple tasks and respond quickly to requests. Meticulous attention to detail, excellent writing, and strong communication skills are essential. Candidates should have proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel. Candidates should also be willing to work extended hours when necessary.  Bachelor’s degree and two years of grant writing experience are also required. Previous experience with nonprofit fundraising, and some professional experience with copy editing and/or public relations, is preferred.

To Apply: Send cover letter with resume and three writing samples. Please send these application materials as email attachments to Kristina Palmer, Vice President for Development, at resumes@muralarts.org with “Development Associate” in the subject line. NO CALLS PLEASE. Applications are encouraged by May 31, 2012. The Mural Arts Program is an equal opportunity employer.

Application Deadline

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 4 p.m.

Overview

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program was recently awarded a planning grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program to explore the public art/public history potential of research into the city’s once powerful and innovative textile industry.  As part of this project, Mural Arts is pleased to invite Philadelphia-based artists/designers/makers who are able to demonstrate a commitment to investigating history through their art-making and who have a genuine interest in exploring the history of Philadelphia’s textile industry to apply for a summer 2012 artist residency.  Selected artists will work with Mural Arts staff, curatorial committee and one of six local textile or textile-related manufacturers.

The end goal for each of the six artists/designers/makers selected to participate in this summer 2012 residency program will be to develop a proposal for and pilot a public art project that will reflect their experience and research, provide context for understanding of aspects of industrial, creative and social history, and demonstrate the potential and feasibility of the project for full development.

In October 2012, participating artists/designers/makers will present their project proposals before a selection committee comprised of historians, curators, educators, artists, and manufacturers. Mural Arts is committed to pursuing funds to support the full-scale production in 2014 of selected project proposals.

Selected artists/designers/makers will receive a residency fee of $3,000 and up to $800 to pilot their project idea.

Textile and textile-related manufactures participating in this residency program are still being finalized, but may include the following industries: dye, weaving, winding, fabrication, textile printing.

Project Timeline

Application Process

• Application package due:  Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 4 p.m.
• Artist/designer/maker interviews and final selection:  Late May through week of June 4

Residency

• Series of three workshops with residency program’s six participating artists/designers/ makers and textile and textile-related manufacturers and Structure and Surface’s Advisory Committee:  Late June
• Artists in residence with textile and textile-related manufacturers: July-September 2012 (specific dates and times to be determined by Mural Arts and those participating in each residency)
• Presentations of project proposals:  Early October 2012

Application Content and Requirements

Please submit the following materials either on CD or electronically:

1) Letter of Interest in Residency: Please explicitly reference a) history-based work and process you use for creating this work and b) background and/or specific interest in textiles and textile and/or industrial history.  (2 page maximum)

2) Current resume that outlines your professional accomplishments as an artist and relevant past experience. Please include complete contact information (including mailing address, phone number, and email address).  (2 page maximum)

3) Images of Past Work: Six images of recently completed work relevant to this specific opportunity. Images must be formatted as JPEG at a resolution of 150 dpi and no larger than 1.5MB per image. CD should be labeled with your name and complete contact information.

4) Image List and Description: List of submitted images that explain the projects and the images. Each image description must clearly indicate the corresponding image (labeled 1 through 6).  Please include date, material and other pertinent information regarding each work.

5) Three professional references who can speak to relationship of your projects to purpose, production value, and adherence to schedule and budget. Please include complete contact information and note how each contact is related to your work.  (1 page maximum)

Please note that CDs will not be returned.

Application Deadline

Applications must be received by Mural Arts no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, May 18, 2012. This is a receipt deadline, not a postmark deadline.

Email notification of receipt will be provided once application is received. All applicants will receive email notification once the six artists/designers/makers to participate in this summer 2012 residency have been selected.

Application Address

Please submit materials via mail or email to:

Judy Hellman
Director of Special Projects
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
1727-29 Mount Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
ATTN: Artist Residency

OR

judy.hellman@muralarts.org with subject line of email stating: Artist Residency: (your last name, your first name)

If you have questions, please contact

Judy Hellman
Director of Special Projects
City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
215-685-0725
judy.hellman@muralarts.org

About Mural Arts Program

The Mural Arts Program unites artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts began in 1984 as part of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network’s effort to eradicate the city’s graffiti crisis. Artist Jane Golden was hired to reach out to graffiti writers and redirect their energies to constructive public art projects. In addition to addressing the problem of graffiti, our collective mural-making processes proved to be a powerful tool for generating dialogue, building relationships, empowering communities, and sparking economic revitalization. In 1996, the Anti-Graffiti Network was reorganized and the Mural Arts Program became its own entity. Soon after, the nonprofit Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates was established to raise additional funds for the program, making Mural Arts a unique public/private partnership between city agency and nonprofit.

Today, Mural Arts is regarded as a pioneer among arts organizations, with an international reputation for artistic excellence and social innovation. While creating more than 3,500 murals and works of public art, we have fine-tuned a respected method for community engagement, created a model for art education that couples classroom learning with work on major public art projects, allied with city agencies and area nonprofits to bring attention and solutions to some of the city's most entrenched social challenges, and created an arts-based restorative justice strategy that uses mural-making to build bridges between inmates and the communities they have harmed.

To learn more about Mural Arts please visit muralarts.org.

Structure and Surface is funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program.

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program unites artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Since its inception in 1984, Mural Arts has created more than 3,000 community driven murals and provided thousands of under-served youth and adults with award-winning arts education programming.

City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program – Summer Assistant Teaching Artist

Mural Arts’ award-winning Art Education program provides year-round art instruction uniquely tied to the muralist tradition at no cost to Philadelphia’s youth ages 10 to 22.  We partner with school and neighborhood sites throughout the city, with the goal of addressing the needs of youth living in underserved communities. 

Our program invites students to take risks in their art, give voice to their experiences, and illustrate the world as they see it.  Teaching artists provide instruction and advice while encouraging students to bring their stories, voices, and interests into class projects that range from independent small-scale pieces to group artwork. Through their involvement with major public art projects, Mural Arts students become deeply connected with the process of personal and community transformation, and are able to see first-hand how they are capable of instigating positive change in their communities. The qualities they acquire in the process - leadership, creativity, commitment, conflict resolution, and enthusiasm for learning - are essential for success in higher education and within the work world.

An innovative curricular framework created by a staff of art educators and faculty of teaching artists guides students to achieve local, national, and 21^st century competencies and expands their creative, critical thinking, and literacy skills.  We challenge youth to set high goals for themselves and help them see learning as a necessary and relevant process with clear connections to their lives, communities, and interests.  When they enter our program, students become members of a community of young artists and learn that art can open doors.  Students are empowered to share their work by participating in exhibitions, speaking at mural dedications, developing portfolios for submission to local and national art competitions, and applying for scholarship and internship opportunities. 

The Art Education Department’s summer session runs for six weeks – starting July 2, 2012 thru August 10, 2012 – five days per week, 8:30AM-12:30PM or 1:00-5:00PM.  

In order to best serve the varied needs of our students, the Mural Arts Program’s Art Education Department seeks passionate and creative art educators who are committed to working in partnership with young people. We seek individuals who are excited about mentoring youth, eager to collaborate with fellow artists, and able to work in an energetic environment that demands flexibility, dedication, innovation, and enthusiasm.

Assistant Teaching Artist Positions

Assistant Teaching Artists support lead teaching artists in classroom management and the execution of lesson plans.  They inspire and guide students in creating individual works of art, designing indoor murals, experimenting with digital media, and working alongside professional artists on large scale public art projects.  Assistant teaching artists are responsible for taking and recording class attendance, collecting complete student applications, photographing class work, and supporting lead teaching artists in complying with the necessary paperwork and deadlines for Philadelphia Youth Network’s summer funding requirements.  The position also requires attendance at three evening instructor meetings for business and professional development.

Qualifications:

• 1-2 years teaching experience with under-served youth and/or middle and/or high school students; 
• Knowledge of art history and art-making techniques;
• Ability to engage youth with multiple learning styles and multiple intelligences;
• Willingness to work collaboratively and in partnership with parents, program managers, lead teaching artists, student advocates, and artists;
• Access to reliable transportation;
• Up-to-date PA Child Abuse Report, PA Criminal Background Check, and FBI Check upon interview.

Compensation

$15 per hour, 20 hours per week

To Apply

Submit a cover letter, resume, and 5-10 samples of your own artwork to arted.resumes@muralarts.org with “Assistant Teaching Artist” as the subject line.  Deadline to apply: May 28, 2012.  NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

 (PDF of this Call)

Deadline

Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Introduction

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is launching a Visiting Curators Initiative that will help us chart new artistic directions and build our capacity to pursue them. Curators and related professionals with interdisciplinary background in contemporary art, public art and urbanism are invited to apply for residencies that will carry a stipend of $25,000.

Mural Arts is a dynamic organization that, over the past twenty-five years, has built a highly successful track record in community-based public art. Our projects have

expanded the practice of muralism, in terms of aesthetic approaches, media/materials and community engagement. We have engaged wide audiences in some of the most urgent

civic and social issues of the day, and provided paths forward for countless youth, communities and artists.

As the world now looks to Mural Arts as a leader in mural-making, and as Philadelphia looks to us as one of its most vigorous voices for public art, we want to lead a broad conversation that situates our evolving body of work (and the practice of mural-making in general) in the context of contemporary art, public art and American urbanism. Through this conversation – which should engage our artists, leadership, staff, community stakeholders and funders – we seek to strengthen both the conceptual and pragmatic basis of our work.

Over the next two years, Mural Arts will recruit and engage up to three curators (or related professionals) whose role will be to facilitate this conversation. Visiting Curators will have opportunities to work side-by-side with Mural Arts’ staff, leadership and stakeholders in activities such as research, project consultation and development, artist recruitment, and public programming.

Each Visiting Curator will receive a stipend of $25,000, with additional funds for travel and research, and dedicated workspace in the Mural Arts offices and studios. Applications are due Wednesday, April 25, at 4 p.m.; interviews will be June 5, 2012, in Philadelphia; and curators can begin work starting on or after July 1, 2012.

Who We Are

Mural Arts, launched in 1984 as part of Philadelphia’s anti-graffiti initiative, has become a national leader in transforming communities through public art. Our mission is to unite artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural- making, of creating art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Our founding director, Jane Golden, is one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic civic leaders, and is known around the world for her passion for muralism and her belief that “art saves lives.”

Over the years Mural Arts has completed more than 3,000 murals around the city, and as a result, Philadelphia is often called the “mural capital of the world.” Our work extends far beyond our vigorous programs in community mural-making and art education: We collaborate with city agencies that are greening the city’s stormwater system and revitalizing commercial corridors; we manage special initiatives with people who are recovering from addictions and people who are returning to society from prison; and we foster creative and technical exploration through our muraLAB.

Mural Arts accomplishes this with a permanent staff of 50 – including artists, project managers, development and marketing staff, and crews – as well as hundreds of part-time artists each year. We operate out of offices and studios in Philadelphia’s Fairmount section, and satellite studios and workshops throughout the city.

Mural Arts recently completed a strategic plan, which included a vigorous internal and external self-assessment. Our plan challenges us to advance the practice of muralism and produce art that is timely and relevant in its own right, while staying true to mural- making’s roots in social justice, giving voice to marginalized communities and providing a stage for the exploration of issues relevant to people’s lives and the future of urban communities.

Mural Arts has already completed a number of projects that have helped us explore how we can grow in this manner:

• Steve Powers’ Love Letter (2009) encompassed fifty murals located along the WestPhiladelphia elevated line, pushing our work to a new urban scale.
• Dread Scott’s Or Does it Explode (2009) involved multimedia – light boxes and soundscape – to portray the hopes of youth in front of Philadelphia’s Family Court.
• Meejin Yoon’s Light Drift (2010) explored interactive media and drew hundreds of people to the Schuylkill waterfront the three nights it was presented.
• Eric Okdeh’s Families Interrupted project (2011) included workshops to promote dialogue and provide creative solutions to governmental officials and policymakers and continue the conversation about the impact incarceration has on families.
• We are working with developer Goldman Properties to establish an outdoor street-art gallery in the Midtown Village area of Center City; pieces have been completed by Kenny Scharf (2011) and AVAF (2011).
• Our “Restored Spaces” initiative (ongoing) is an experiment in community-based art practice that organizes communities, artists and city agencies around issues of sustainability.

In addition, we currently have projects in development with artists such as Haas+Hahn, Rigo23, Katharina Grosse and Studio Orta, and we are actively cultivating numerous emerging Philadelphia artists.

As a result, Mural Arts is at a fascinating crossroads. We want to draw energy and inspiration from the practice of contemporary and public art, while remaining true to our roots and working in a way that is deeply grounded in our mission of community service and social transformation. We want our Visiting Curators to help us chart a course that addresses this essential challenge, which we hope will define our work in new and exciting ways for decades to come.

Expectations and Outcomes

We expect that each Visiting Curator will play a catalytic role in our work, stimulating discourse about our artistic philosophy, helping us identify and strengthen connections to the most relevant currents in the worlds of contemporary and public art, and modeling ways of working that help us internalize this reflective dialogue on an ongoing basis.

We expect that each Visiting Curator will bring a fresh and critical perspective to the daily conversations that occur at Mural Arts about our ongoing projects, long-range planning, and overall artistic direction – and help our leadership make stronger, strategic and increasingly bold decisions.

We expect that each Visiting Curator will help us identify artists and propose projects that will expand our creative reach, expose us to new practices for audience engagement and broaden our public audience.

We expect to create a unique environment in which curators can explore their own career development within the context of the artistic programming of a dynamic public and community-based art organization.

Responsibilities

Visiting Curators should be prepared to spend a significant time working in Philadelphia and at Mural Arts for a period of at least six months between July, 2012, and December,

2013, although we recognize that curators might maintain other professional or academic

commitments during their engagement.

We would develop a specific timeline, work plan and deliverables with each Visiting

Curator once he or she is selected. Activities and outcomes could include:

• Become familiar with Mural Arts’ body of work, and help to contextualize ongoing and future projects within the practice of contemporary art, public art, community- based art and urbanism.
• Facilitate discussions about artistic practice and curatorial practice, particularly in the context of the public realm; these conversations should involve internal audiences (staff at all levels, including artists) and external audiences (curators, artists, arts professionals, funders, civic stakeholders, interested public), in various internal and public forums.
• Identify important artistic directions for Mural Arts to consider; assist with key steps necessary to develop those directions, such as identifying project opportunities, recruiting and selecting artists, and planning projects; advise on aspects of producing projects, such as community involvement.
• Collaborate and coordinate with Mural Arts’ strategic planning, project management, community outreach and development staff in all aspects of the work.
• Prepare a final report, in the form of a white paper, that summarizes the activities of the residency, observations and conclusions, and recommendations for artistic directions, projects and artists.

What We Will Provide

Mural Arts will provide the following resources to each Visiting Curator:

• A stipend of $25,000, payable in regular increments.
• Dedicated workspace, with access to computer, Internet and telephone, in our offices and studios.
• Access to staff at all levels, to internal planning meetings, and to “artist quarterly” meetings.
• Use of Mural Arts galleries (Fairmount, downtown) for exhibition and meeting space, if necessary.
• Introductions to arts resources in Philadelphia (artists, collaboratives, museums, galleries, educational institutions) as necessary.

For curators from outside Philadelphia:

• Assistance in finding temporary housing. For curators from outside the U.S.:
• Guidance in obtaining appropriate visas. (Mural Arts cannot assist with payment of U.S. visa fees or with any legal fees. Candidates from abroad are encouraged to investigate visa issues before applying.)

Qualifications

The residency is open to established or emerging curators, or other professionals in the fields of art, design and urbanism. Candidates can be from the U.S. or abroad, but must be willing to make a substantial professional and creative commitment to Mural Arts for a period of approximately six months.

Candidates for the residency should demonstrate:

• Educational, scholarly or professional background in fine art, public art, curating or a related field in art, design or urbanism.
• Professional experience in curating, producing, planning or creating projects in the public realm, independently or under the auspices of an independent arts organization, public art agency or similar organization.
• A working knowledge of current and evolving approaches to art in the public realm, particularly in terms of how artists, arts organizations, stakeholders and funders are shaping new work.
• Ability to write about and critically evaluate art in the public realm.
• Ability to work within a diverse, dynamic organization, and to establish the range of professional relationships necessary for success.
• Eagerness to engage with all aspects of Mural Arts’ mission.

Selection Process

Stage One. Individuals who are interested in this opportunity should submit a letter of interest describing how they would approach their work with Mural Arts. The statement should address the following questions:

• What topics in contemporary art, public art, community-based art and urbanism interest you? How would those interests provide a foundation for your work with Mural Arts?
• How would you help Mural Arts understand the position of our body of work, and of muralism in general, in the context of contemporary art and public art and community-based art?
• What are your interests in Mural Arts, and what would you expect to gain from this experience?
• How would you describe the role of a curator, in regard to supporting the artistic growth of an organization like Mural Arts?

Submissions are due Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Mural Arts staff and Selection Panel members will review all of the Stage One submissions and identify finalists.

Stage Two. Finalists will have a chance to talk with Mural Arts staff who are leading this effort, and will be expected to develop initial concepts about how they would organize their time as a Visiting Curator. This would not be a formal proposal, as we would develop a specific work plan with curators once they are selected, but it would be the basis of discussion during an interview with our Selection Panel.

Panel members will interview the finalists on June 5, 2012, in the Mural Arts offices in Philadelphia. The panel will develop a short list of candidates for the approval of the Mural Arts Executive Director.

Throughout this process, Mural Arts is being advised by a panel of national art professionals – an independent curator, a museum curator, a producer from an independent public art/visual art organization, an academic and an artist. This panel has helped shaped this RFQ; it will review Stage One submissions and recommend finalists; it will review Stage Two submissions, interview finalists and recommended candidates for selection; and it will help assess the Visiting Curators Initiative once it is complete.

Submission Requirements

Individuals who are interested in this opportunity should submit the following material, by email only, no later than 4 p.m., Eastern Time, Wednesday April 25, 2012.

1. A letter of interest, maximum 600 words, focusing on the topics outlined in the “Call for Proposals” section above.
2. Your curriculum vitae or resume.
3. A list of three references.
4. Up to three relevant samples of writing, exhibitions or projects you have produced. Finalists may be asked to provide additional examples of past work.

Send proposals to the attention of Todd W. Bressi, Interim Director of Strategic Initiatives / Coordinator of Artistic Planning, at  todd.bressi@muralarts.org. The subject line of your email should read: “Visiting Curators Initiative: (your last name, your first name)”

For Further Information

To learn more about Mural Arts, visit our website, muralarts.org. To view our collection, visit muralfarm.org.

To learn more about this opportunity, contact Todd W. Bressi, our Interim Director of Strategic Initiatives / Coordinator of Artistic Planning. Initial inquiries should be sent by email to:  todd.bressi@muralarts.org

Mural Arts seeks a marketing intern to assist the Marketing Department with the development and execution of the organizational marketing plan. This is an unpaid internship available for those interested in college credit and people looking to bolster this portfolio. The marketing intern will assist in creating the organization's communication vehicles, website editorial content, and produce promotional materials to insure public engagement with work.
Hours: 20-25 hours per week (occasional weekend hours required) | 6 month commitment required

Responsibilities

• Write blog entries, edit newsletter stories, manage e-blast details, create collateral content
• Manage print collateral mailings and distribution
• Create e-blasts, e-invites and website content
• Assist in the production of all promotional events
• Work closely with graphic design team to produce collateral materials
• Coordinate research on how marketing campaigns perform

Qualifications

• Strong writing skills required - ideal position for a college newspaper reporter
• Enthusiastic self-starter
• Academic background and/or experience in marketing
• Team player, flexible schedule, and punctual
• Have a passion for the public art
• Seeking an individual looking to build on their current portfolio

To Apply
Email cover letter, resume and one writing sample to: kevin.slattery@muralarts.org
(Please indicate Marketing Internship in the subject line)