Emerging Indigenous Curator - Sustainable Craft Exhibition Series
L’sipukt-Sydney, Mi’kma’ki-Nova Scotia
Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design
18-month contract position
32 (paid for 37) hours per week
Salary $60,000 (Contract total, 1.5yrs/18 months)
On the job training will be provided to the successful candidate
Benefits include paid holidays, vacation, paid sick leave, extra paid time off from December 24-January 2 and health benefits. The organization is currently piloting a four-day work week (Monday to Thursday).
Preference will be given to Indigenous applicants, with priority given to members of the Mi’kmaq community.
Who We Are
Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design is in Unama’ki, the land of fog, the unceded and traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq. At the Centre we strive to honour and uphold the Treaties of Peace and Friendship made with the Mi’kmaq by celebrating the ongoing tradition of beautiful and creative craftsmanship of the First Peoples of this land.
We are a for impact charitable organization and an integral and leading force in the educational, promotional, and economic development of the craft sector on Unama’ki-Cape Breton Island with a membership of over 300 individuals and organizations throughout the Island.
Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design encourages applications from IBPOC, 2SLGBTQI and Official Language Minority individuals. Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. Diversity at the Centre means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected, and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in all its work. We work proactively to be fair and equitable in practice and to build diversity into our teams, creative communities, programs, and services.
The Role
Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design (the Centre) is seeking a driven and creative Emerging Indigenous Curator for the 2023 Sustainable Craft exhibition and programming series. The Emerging Indigenous Curator will help to build upon existing research into the theme, and work collaboratively with the dynamic and creative team at the Centre.
The successful candidate will assist with the final artist selection for four (4) thematic group exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, and a virtual Speaker Series, with the goal of creating a community of sustainable practice within the Unama’ki-Cape Breton Island craft sector. Additionally, the Emerging Indigenous Curator will be expected to lead the artist outreach, produce written exhibition content, as well as reports and budget management, with the full support of Centre staff. On the job training will be provided to the successful candidate.
This is an excellent opportunity for a recent graduate OR passionate individual who is seeking a career in the arts to develop public programming, exhibition curation, and writing experience within a supportive and collaborative working environment. It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to work from Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design in L’sipukt-Sydney, Mi’kma’ki-Nova Scotia.
Job Description:
● Guided by existing in-house research and supported by Centre staff, select artists for exhibitions, talks (in-person and virtual) and workshops for the following themes:
o Craft & Climate
o Indigenous Futures
o Craftivism
o Food, Craft & Community
● Conduct outreach to selected artists
● Assist with the development of workshops, symposia, and program frameworks
● Assist with the technical requirements for exhibitions (set up, lighting, tear down)
● Assist with recruiting participants for workshops, seminars, etc.
● Work collaboratively with local partners to ensure thoughtful and equitable participation
● Connect with and engage local knowledge-holders who can inform the development of locally relevant programs
● Complete regular exhibition and programming reports to track engagement over time and in advance of final funding report
● Assist with writing for essays and toolkits based on learnings and outcomes of the exhibition and programming series
Qualifications:
● Experience and/or keen interest in craft with a focus in curating craft
● Strong critical thinking skills
● Effective and thoughtful communication abilities – both written and oral
● Experience and/or keen interest in working with diverse communities and developing community-based programs
● Ability to convey ideas clearly and concisely through written content
On the job training will be provided to the successful candidate.
About Sustainable Craft 2023
Sustainable Craft is a year-long exhibition series with four distinct seasonally aligned thematic approaches. Each theme offers opportunities to explore the wealth of sustainability knowledge in Unama’ki-Cape Breton and beyond through craft and community programming that blend learning and participatory elements. Sustainable Craft will focus on Atlantic Canada, with globally applicable outcomes.
How to Apply
Please submit your application no later than Friday, October 28th, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. to:
Lori Burke, Executive Director lori@capebretoncraft.com
Applicants can apply via the following options:
• Cover Letter and Resume
• Audio file or link (no longer than 90 seconds in length)
• Video file or link (no longer than 90 seconds in length)
• By mail: Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design, P.O. Box 1686, Sydney, NS B1P 6T7
• In person, Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design, 322 Charlotte Street, Sydney, NS
If you want to submit an audio or video file, please format with your name and the content type in the file name. For example: Lori Burke_Cover Letter. We will accept MP3, MP4, MP4a, MOV, and/or Google, YouTube or OneDrive links for audio or video formats. If you want to submit in another format, please contact us.
All applicants will receive a confirmation of receipt, if you have not received one, please email lori@capebretoncraft.com.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
The position has an expected start date between November 28th, 2022, and January 3rd, 2023.
Vaccine Requirements
Any offer of employment will be conditional on the provision of valid proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 (Information on proof of vaccination can be found here: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/vaccine/#proof-of-vaccination), with the exception of cases where an individual has a valid and documented exemption in accordance with Nova Scotia Human Rights (https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/vaccines-workplace-and-other-public-sp...).
