Part-time, seasonal position with fully-subsidized housing in Provincetown

The Fine Arts Work Center is an artist-led organization based in Provincetown. We support artistic freedom, nurture creative connections, and make possible artistic achievements important to the larger culture.

The Work Center is internationally known for an acclaimed seven-month residency program granting fellowships to 20 emerging writers and artists, as well as an open enrollment Summer Workshop Program, an online writing program 24PearlStreet, and an extensive series of year-round cultural events and exhibitions.

The Fine Arts Work Center is seeking a part-time, seasonal Culture and Belonging Specialist to support our flagship Summer Workshop Program, from June 12th to August 27th, 2023. This position would provide key support for our efforts to create an anti-racist, inclusive environment at our Summer Workshop Program.

Our ideal candidate has expertise in creating inclusive spaces for diverse groups of people; is knowledgeable about and has experience with implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices; is expert in facilitating conversations on difficult issues and mediating conflict between individuals; and has high emotional intelligence and stellar communication skills.

This position would require an average of 10-15 hours/week of paid work over 11 weeks (for a total of approximately 130 hours), including advance planning and post-program reflection. The total fee for this is $4,000, for a pay rate of approximately $30/hour.

The selected candidate will receive fully-subsidized housing on the Fine Arts Work Center’s historic grounds in Provincetown from June 12th to August 27th, 2023, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of waived tuition for two Fine Arts Work Center workshops, pending registration availability. Workshop tuition is valued at $800 per workshop.

This opportunity is perfect for a candidate with their own creative practice who dreams of a summer surrounded by the beauty of Cape Cod, the vibrancy of Provincetown, and by fellow artists working on their craft during our open enrollment Summer Workshop Program.

Responsibilities

Before the Summer Workshop program begins:

• 
  Review all DEI-related materials and offer suggestions for their improvement
• Work with the Program Director to develop and conduct a kick-off training for summer program staff to increase understanding of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) issues and anti-racism practices.

• Work with staff to support the success of students and faculty from communities systematically underserved by FAWC.
• Work with staff to assist any faculty who requests support developing workshop guidelines to govern workshop participant interactions.
• Lead the DEI component of Orientation presentation on Sunday evenings.
• Organize and staff brown-bag lunches or other impromptu get-togethers in support of students and faculty from systematically marginalized communities.
• Hold open office hours in order to 1) provide assistance to faculty members who have challenging situations in their workshops and 2) meet with students who are experiencing difficulties with fellow students or their instructors.
• Be part of a rotating on-call team that will respond to situations that may occur after-hours.
• Communicate with staff about situations or behaviors that go against our Community Guidelines.
• Observe staff, students, and faculty in all kinds of gatherings, looking for ways to improve the inclusivity of the environment.

• Participate in a formal summer 2023 debrief meeting with the Program Director and Summer Workshop staff.
• Submit a brief summary (approximately 2 to 3 pages) of observations and program recommendations for establishing best practices and improving the inclusivity of the summer workshop program.
• Help staff develop communications with faculty around their successes/challenges in DEI-related areas.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectivelywith people from systematically marginalized communities.

• Knowledge of and experience with diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and anti-racism practices.

• Well-versed in cultural humility in order to interact with a wide range of individuals, including staff, faculty, and students.

• Experience in peer support, crisis management, and conflict resolution.

• Strong administrative abilities and excellent interpersonal skills.

• Strong written communication skills and proficiency with public presentations.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently on concurrent projects.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse individuals in a team-oriented environment.

The Fine Arts Work Center was founded in 1968 by a group of public-spirited artists, writers and patrons, including Stanley Kunitz, Robert Motherwell, Myron Stout, Jack Tworkov and Hudson D. Walker, among others. They envisioned a place in Provincetown, the country’s most enduring art community, where artists and writers could live and work together in the early phase of their careers amid the unique natural beauty of the Outer Cape.

Programs
Since its beginning the Work Center has awarded 1,000 Fellowships and has become one of the premier residencies of its kind. The Fellowship Program runs annually for seven months off-season (October 1-April 30). The Fellowships provide housing, work space, stipends and each other to 20 Fellows selected annually from an applicant pool of some 1,600 emerging artists and writers from the United States and abroad. Work Center Fellows have gone on to number among the most accomplished artists and writers working today, winning MacArthurs, Guggenheims, Whitings, Pollock-Krasners, Tiffanys, Tufts, Prix de Romes, National Book Awards, and eight Pulitzer Prizes.

The extraordinary success of Fellows’ work during the last 50 years is testament to our founders’ vision – that time, space, freedom, and talented peers and mentors are the ideal catalysts for creative growth.

In addition to its flagship Fellowship Program, the Work Center offers open-enrollment workshops in writing and visual arts. Building on a tradition of creative excellence, the Summer Program offers workshops taught by faculty who are among the most respected in their fields and over its history has drawn some 5,000 students. 24PearlStreet connects the Work Center with a global literary community by offering engaging online writing workshops led by nationally recognized poets and writers.

In collaboration with other arts organizations around the country and abroad, the Fine Arts Work Center also hosts one- to three-month Collaborative Residencies for mid-career artists and writers. The Work Center’s Returning Residency Program encourages former Fellows, Collaborative Residents and workshop participants to return to Provincetown during the Work Center’s spring and fall shoulder seasons.

Central to our mission is a continuing contribution to the vitality of arts in Provincetown. The Work Center offers workshops to public school children and seniors taught by Fellows-in residence. Our programming also offers 100 public events, bringing 10,000 annual visitors to Provincetown for readings, artist talks, and exhibitions by nationally recognized artists and writers.

In all of this, the Work Center’s focus is giving creative people the opportunity to work and study in a community of their peers. Hundreds of emerging artists and writers come to the Work Center each year to do this. The Work Center plays a significant, transformative role in their lives as artists and writers.

People
The Work Center operates with a staff of 13 full- and part-time employees, several seasonal employees and interns, numerous volunteers, and consultants in marketing, tech support, and bookkeeping. Each year over 125 faculty members, all working artists and writers, teach the summer and online workshops. The FAWC Board of Trustees has 45 members, and includes artists, writers, business and community leaders, patrons, collectors, and supporters.

The Program Committees and juries for the Fellowships are comprised of internationally recognized artists and writers. Fellows are accepted entirely on the basis of the excellence of their work. Past jurors include Louise Bourgeois and Martin Puryear for the visual arts and Grace Paley and Mary Oliver for writing.

Place
The Work Center is located in Provincetown, the nation’s oldest art colony. Provincetown offers an environment renowned for its beauty and artistic heritage. Surrounded by dunes and beaches, it provides the idyllic setting for artistic inspiration, creativity and learning. With its unique natural environment and exciting cultural opportunities, Provincetown has inspired artists for generations.

The Work Center is situated on Pearl Street near the commercial center of town on the site of the historic Days Lumberyard, where studios have been offered since 1914 to the likes of Charles Hawthorne, Edwin Dickinson, Ross Moffett, Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler, among many others. The location of the Fine Arts Work Center on this historic compound provides a communal experience among the Fellows and other residents that is a hallmark of its programs.

Work Center facilities include 30 apartments, 13 large working studios/classrooms, a state-ofthe- art print shop, a woodworking shop, a digital media lab, a Fellows lounge, a computer lab, a large common room, an art gallery and administrative and program offices.