Ryan Learning Center Facilitator

The Art Institute of Chicago shares its singular collections with our city and the world. We collect, care for, and interpret works of art across time, cultures, geographies, and identities. We are a place of gathering and learning, committed to fostering an inclusive understanding of human creativity.

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Learning Center (RLC) is a platform for culturally responsive experiences that bring young people and the adults around them into dynamic and inspiring encounters with art. We celebrate curiosity and creativity, with the conviction that meaningful experiences with art and with the museum enrich people’s lives, connect people to one another, and build confidence and the capacity to imagine, create, and make sense of the world.

With an enduring commitment to equitable access, the Ryan Learning Center team engages children, teens, families, students, and educators through a wide array of programs, partnerships, and resources. These include guided gallery experiences, studio workshops, youth leadership opportunities, festivals and events, neighborhood-based engagements, and professional learning experiences. We serve all museum audiences through our free and accessible public learning space, the Ryan Learning Center.

Through these experiences, learners can confidently engage with the museum as a resource, be critical thinkers and imaginative creators, and animate the museum as a place of insight, expression, and community.

By focusing on Chicago learners and centering civic partnerships in our work, the Ryan Learning Center activates and amplifies the museum’s civic role and strategic priorities to serve Chicago audiences; expand our presence within neighborhoods; and cultivate a visitorship that reflects our city.

As part of the Creative Spaces team, the RLC Facilitator actively teaches and contributes to the production of artmaking programs and installations in the Ryan Learning Center that enable the museum to be a creative, welcoming, inclusive, and accessible place for families and multigenerational audiences. In this part-time role, the RLC Facilitator acts as a daily captain in the Art Exchange, the museum’s public hub for learning and creativity for audiences of all ages.

They are responsible for supporting the successful operation of Creative Spaces by facilitating welcoming artmaking experiences for families, maintaining the space and daily operations, and coordinating staff responsibilities and administrative needs as appropriate. In addition to captain shifts in the Art Exchange, the RLC Facilitator contributes to the development, refinement, and administration of Creative Spaces programs and installations.

2-3 shifts per week (back-up facilitator 1-2 shifts per week) in the Art Exchange, the Ryan Learning Center’s multigenerational, public learning space.

• Daily maintenance, cleaning, opening and closing procedures, provides instruction and guidance for engagements, and supports the direction of volunteers, part-time staff, and interns working in the Art Exchange.
• Provides assistance, maintenance, and coordination support for Ryan Learning Center creative installations including the Trott Family Gallery, Multisensory Gallery, the McCormick Gallery, and the Art Exchange.
• Participates in professional development and community-building with staff to sustain current teaching practices, maintain awareness of museum collections and exhibitions, and ensure adherence to logistical procedures.
• Contributes to the training and coaching of volunteers and interns, as needed.
• Contributes to the development of artmaking experiences by testing and providing input to staff who lead program development.
• Implements a…