Gallery Educator

Job Summary

Viewing and discussing art is a vital part ofthe Museum’s educational mission of transforming lives through art. As the individual welcoming our youngest visitors to the Colby College Museum of Art, the Gallery Educator will play a critical role in creating a dynamic, positive, welcoming, and enriching experience. Reporting to the Linde Family Foundation Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Programs, the person in this role will collaborate cross-departmentally to develop, implement and teach age appropriate, curriculum-based gallery experiences for about 3,000 Maine K-12 school children each academic year.

The ideal candidate is curious, punctual, friendly, detail oriented, and adaptable to changing situations. The position is 6 to 15 hours per week, primarily Tuesday - Friday, 9am to 1:30pm.

• Design and implement arts-integrated gallery experiences for K-12 audiences.
• Greet and manage museum visit logistics at the campus museum and downtown at the museum’s Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center.
• Work closely with staff and teaching artists to coordinate the logistics of a museum visit, which typically includes a gallery experience, studio project, and lunch.
• Lead or Co-Lead tours, workshops, and professional development programs for area K-12 educators.
• Provide support for existing and new educational programs.
• Facilitate interactive in-person and virtual tours for schools.
• Lead art activities in area schools, in collaboration with classroom teachers, for a multiple-visit program for 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade students.
• Assist with data collection and evaluation of participant feedback.
• Participate in scheduled training sessions and become trained in all exhibitions and programming.
• Conduct independent research on artists and artworks in Museum exhibitions and the Museum’s Permanent Collection.
• Ability to work occasional weekends and/or evenings.
• Follow policies and procedures to ensure a safe work environment.

• Bachelor’s degree with 2+ years of recent and relevant experience or any equivalent experience and education in Art History, Studio Art, Classroom Teaching, or Museum Studies.
• Experience in the development of arts-integrated education programs, art-making workshops, and curriculum is preferred.
• Familiarity with gallery-based discussions that combine visual arts and academic subjects focused on contemporary art and utilizing visual thinking and inquiry-based learning strategies preferred.
• Relevant engagement and/or administrative experience preferred.
• Strong oral communication, interpersonal, and public communication skills to interact with all levels of visitors, staff, and trustees.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to complete clear, concise, and accurate reports and other documentation.
• Highly motivated, flexible, and comfortable with all audiences.
• Strong attention to detail and problem solving skills with the ability to handle situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Able to work independently as well as in a team, exercise judgment, establish priorities, and complete projects with minimal supervision and to adjust as new projects are assigned.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Word, Excel) and Google Suite (e.g., Mail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides); proficiency and/or ability to learn Airtable, Adobe Creative Suite, Event Brite, Survey Monkey, Workday, and others specific to Colby College.

• To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.
• The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.
• There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to…