Teaching Artist

Chicago Artists Coalition helps people connect with opportunities including calls for artists, jobs, and available studio space

Awakenings seeks teaching artists to plan and facilitate art workshops for our community of survivors of sexual violence. Reporting to the Programming Director, Teaching Artists will be expected to facilitate 1-3 workshops per month, plus the administrative hours required to prepare for it. There will be a mix of workshops designed and already offered by Awakenings, as well as teaching-artist-developed workshops.

Awakenings will provide trauma informed trainings specific to working with survivors, as well as trainings related to current workshop offerings and mediums before the teaching artists begins facilitating Awakenings workshops. This training period is paid.

This is a taxed, part-time position with a very flexible and low-time-commitment schedule meant for someone who wishes to prioritize their creative goals and practice. We estimate that the teaching artist will work an average of 10-15 hours per month, with the potential for more. Flexible weekday & daytime availability required.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Work with programming staff to create art workshop outlines across all programing branches (public, partner & cohort)
• Work with programming staff to create supply lists, post-workshop guidelines, and other materials required for workshops
• Facilitate art workshops at Awakenings, partner sites across the city, or sometimes virtually. In-person workshops typically include:
• Space set up (on or off-site)
• Participant support during group work time
• Group sharing
• Passing out and collecting feedback surveys
• Clean-up
• Complete post workshop follow ups such as reflections, reviewing survey data and logging hours
• Engage with your network to grow Awakenings’ reach
• Other admin support as needed in conjunction with the rest of staff

Desired experience:

• Must have an active and public art practice, ideally with a specialty in one or two artistic modalities (does not have to include modalities currently offered in programming)
• Must have experience facilitating art workshops
• Experience working with youth a plus
• Excellent internal communication skills
• Compassion, patience, and boundaries when facilitating workshops
• Organized
• Self-starter and comfort with independent work
• Comfort and desire to work with survivors

Rate: $25/hr.

LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC applicants are encouraged to apply.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis

Instead of requiring a cover letter, we are asking applicants to email a resume and answers to the following to info . (pdf format required)

Questions format:
Firstname-Lastname- (example: Jinx-Doe-)

Each question has a 300-word limit.

• Tell us how you feel about our mission! We are looking for individuals who are passionate about helping survivors of sexual violence heal through the arts.
• The Teaching Artist will work and communicate directly with survivors of sexual assault, which requires skills like active-listening, sensitivity, and mindfulness. While Awakenings will provide guidance and training for this communication, tell us about a time you practiced these skills in a workshop setting and what you learned from the experience.
• Awakenings understands the potential emotional toll of engaging with the topic of sexual violence on a regular basis and works hard to maintain a work environment that internally applies these trauma-informed principles. Describe the ways in which you approach a healthy work/life balance.
• Awakenings often has multiple projects underway at the same time. Tell us how you organize yourself, manage your time, and prioritize tasks. Feel free to give an example.
• What relevant experience might not be apparent to us based on your resume?