West End House is hiring: Visual Arts Coordinator in Boston
West End House, Boston, MA, United States, 02298
Come join one of the most dynamic youth development organizations in Greater Boston! We are seeking individuals who believe deeply in the potential of young people and the power of our mission.
West End House has been deeply rooted in the Allston-Brighton community since 1971 after urban renewal destroyed its original home in the West End neighborhood, where it was founded in 1906. Our programs continue to evolve with new, expanded efforts ensuring equitable food access for all, mental wellness and trauma-informed programming, and a career pathways initiative, complementing our long-time high-impact programs in academic success, college pathways, visual and performing arts, leadership and career development, and sports, fitness, and nutrition. West End House is one of the most diverse youth agencies in Boston whose members come from 23 of the 30 Boston zip codes. Our staff is representative of the young people we serve. We are bold in our commitment and efforts to become an anti-racist, equitable organization and welcome candidates with a passion for this work.
Youth need to grow in a holistic, well-rounded manner and one of the ways in which we seek to facilitate this is through our visual arts program. By instilling an appreciation for visual arts and encouraging the creation and showcasing of diverse self and team-made exhibits, we aim to provide youth with channels to productively express themselves, gain confidence and explore artistic career avenues during their journey at the West End House.
As the Visual Arts Coordinator, you will work with a diverse community of youth and help them define and express their artistic selves through media such as drawing, photography, painting, clay, installation art and more. You will be a leader and subject matter expert in your domain and develop a high-quality, results driven program. By organizing events and projects, you will provide opportunities to showcase youth’s creations and celebrate their artistic development. A key part of your role will also be to partner with prominent art institutions and local artists to create channels for interested youth to develop their understanding of visual arts, refine their skills and find recognition through academic and career pathways. You will use your talents working with young people to build close-knit relationships that will help youth remain engaged in programming. These relationships, in combination with reflections from program data, will enable you to adapt and grow the program to create the best outcomes for young people.
You will be the primary staff member in charge of visual arts instruction and report directly to the Director of the Arts.
Key Responsibilities
Teaching and Mentoring
- Lead West End House's Visual Arts program; develop and facilitate high-caliber Visual Art classes and activities at various skill levels for all West End House members in a wide variety of visual arts disciplines such as painting, drawing, and ceramics.
- Maintain and expand partnerships with art institutions around the city including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
- Provide opportunities to showcase and celebrate youth’s skill development and creative expression through on-site events, seasonal exhibits, and off-site shows.
- Act as a catalyst for change; continuously focusing on quality and improvement to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality programs.
- Maintain and expand a system of assessment of artwork to ensure advancement of skill level.
- Build long-term, trusting relationships with the youth.
- Create, revise, and implement program curriculum in collaboration with Director of the Arts.
- Create opportunities to expose members of all ages to visual arts, engage members in high-quality art programming, and advance dedicated members to higher levels of artistic skill.
- Alter instructional design based on emerging trends and ensure that the key goals and objectives of the program are met.
- Manage and provide feedback to assigned volunteers and peer leaders.
- Collect & submit youth participation numbers, surveys, and other information to ensure that organizational decisions and plans are informed by relevant on-ground data.
- Implement/adhere to Boys and Girls Clubs of America membership and safety requirements.
- Adopt responsibility for protection and care of program equipment and facility; report all issues in a timely manner to facility manager.
There are a multitude of ways to grow professionally, and we know that people gain skills through a variety of experiences. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. With this in consideration, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below:
- Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent experience considered.
- 2+ years' experience facilitating a visual arts program facilitation or youth development work.
- Expertise in creating and implementing visual arts curriculum; gallery or art history experience or knowledge a plus.
- Proven track record of building trusting relationships with youth through empathy and robust communication skills.
- Strong classroom management and program facilitation skills.
- General project and people management experience is a strong plus.
- Demonstrable knowledge of youth psychology is a strong plus.