Teaching Artist

Teaching Artist

Art making is a vital part of the Museum's educational mission of transforming lives through art. Colby College Museum of Art Teaching Artists report to the LInde Family Foundation Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Programs, and collaborate on specific programs with other education department staff. Teaching Artists work with the Linde Family Foundation Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Programs to develop and teach age-appropriate, curriculum-based studio art activities for visiting schoolchildren and families.

Teaching Artists work closely with the Museum's staff to support visits by roughly 3,000 Maine school children each academic year. They also work with the Mirken Coordinator of Campus and Community Collaboration to lead campus and community partnership programs for a wide variety of ages, both onsite and at offsite locations. Teaching Artists play a critical role in creating a dynamic, positive, welcoming, and enriching experience for visitors, in collaboration with museum staff and volunteers.

Located in Waterville, Maine, the Colby Museum opens access to art and artists for the Colby community, for Maine residents and visitors, and for audiences beyond, creating a forum for experimentation, research, dialogue, and connection. We grow and use our stellar collection in ways that activate the power of art to expand imagination and forge new connections, fostering a more open, creative, and compassionate society.

We teach to inspire and open possibilities, so that students at Colby and other visitors can become more curious, nimble, and able to contribute within a changing world, in keeping with Colby's dynamic liberal arts mission. We incubate art scholarship and practice in ways that explore and expand how the idea of America is understood and how art is made, interpreted, and shared.

We are committed to our audiences, including the Colby College community, residents of Waterville and the broader Maine region, national and international visitors, and the artists, scholars, and partners with whom we collaborate.

Essential Functions

• Teach hands-on art lessons and lead art-making activities in the Museum's Mirken Education Center, with the goal of engaging participants in activities that ask them to make connections to their art-looking (gallery) experience and to think like artists - making choices and developing their art-making skills and techniques.
• Under the direction of the Linde Family Foundation Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Programs, develop studio lesson plans that meet curricular goals, incorporate inclusive teaching practices, and advance the mission of the museum.
• Under the direction of the Education and Engagement staff, develop art-making activities for community partnership programs, both onsite and at offsite locations, with the understanding that the projects need to work for a variety of ages and incorporate inclusive teaching practices. This may include outreach programs, open studio time, co-curricular activities, and other outreach programs.
• Assist other departments as needed and assigned.
• Track progress, achievements, and challenges, and share with museum staff.
• Work cooperatively with fellow Education staff, and other museum colleagues to ensure that everyone feels welcome, respected, creative, and energized.
• Prepare and organize materials; including making studio art materials lists in collaboration with museum staff.
• Maintain clean equipment and a tidy studio space, reporting any issues to the education and engagement department
• Attend regular training sessions.

Position Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; professional coursework or post-secondary education are a plus
• A strong artistic background combined with the ability to translate that into effective and engaging lessons for different age groups.
• Proficient with a variety of art media and techniques that are appropriate for K-12 students or having demonstrated a willingness to learn.
• Knowledge of and curiosity about artistic traditions and art history.
• Strong oral communication, interpersonal, and public communication skills to interact with all levels of…