Seasonal Art + Nature Camp Instructor - deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Description

TITLE: Seasonal Art Nature Camp Instructor 

LOCATION: deCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA 

 PAYRATE 2024: $20/hour 

Minimum Age: 21 Years 

Start Date: June 15, 2024 

Who We Are: 

Artists, educators, tinkerers, and makers who thrive thinking outside the box and relish the freedom to explore materials and ideas. We channel inspiration from art on view, while authentically connecting with colleagues, campers, and families. 

DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum runs 2 camps each summer The Hive and Summer Studio for Teens. Both experiences are process/maker focused and inspired by the 30-acre Sculpture Park, nature on campus, and each participant’s imagination. 

THE HIVE runs for 5 weeks, July 8-August 9 and is designed for children ages 5-12 who are curious about the world around them and interested in exploring nature and contemporary artistic ideas through energizing and emerging collaborations. The goal for each uniquely themed week is to design and construct large-scale installations in deCordova’s Sculpture Park. 

SUMMER STUDIO FOR TEENS runs for 2 weeks, July 1-3 and August 12-16 for 13-16 year olds offering opportunities to refine and expand practical techniques, create meaningful connections, and develop confidence in each participant’s unique artistic voice. Each Friday, participants will showcase artistic skills with theme-inspired projects. 

For more information about our state-wide camps, please visit Trustees Camps. 

Who You Are: 

• Someone who is ready to imagine, play, and enthusiastically foster an inclusive collective of makers. 
• Someone who is creative, passionate, open-minded, knowledgeable in multiple disciplines and engaged with the world around them.  
• Someone who is genuinely curious, flexible, generous, kind, and patient with campers, colleagues, and families.  
• Any and all who consider themselves artists, carpenters, architects, scientists, naturalists, and makers of objects, ideas, images, and stories. 

A Day in the Life: 

The Hive day runs from 9:30AM–3:30PM and Summer Studio runs from 11:30 AM-4:30 PM with additional set up, clean up, and organizational time at the beginning and end of the day. Hive instructors participate in a mandatory weekly staff meeting on Wednesdays that runs until 5 PM. All camp staff are required to stay for team deinstallation of the weekly installation in the Park on Fridays. 

Pre-camp training sessions provide opportunities for readings & reflection, a Park and Studio tour, guidance and support on best practices to successfully meet the behavioral, intellectual, and safety needs of campers. Instructors are further responsible for working both individually and in collaboration with each other leading up to camp to develop curriculum and the initial concept design based on each week’s theme. This includes artist, exhibition, theme, and material research, lesson and project planning, remote and/or in-person team meetings, and studio set up. Hourly compensation covers all time spent during trainings, meetings, preparation, instruction, set up, and clean up. 

Instructors are responsible for a group of 10-14 campers. Hive Instructors mentor a high school age Junior Instructor, their group’s assistant. 

Essential Functions: 

• Directly supervise and manage the safety and well-being of campers  

• Collectively establish group agreements that ensure respect, inclusivity, and connection for all campers. Observe and regularly evaluate social/emotional/intellectual on-ramps to ensure equity in participation, growth, and belonging for all campers. Willingness to adjust as needed and seek support from camp director, behavioral specialist, and fellow instructors should challenges arise. 

• Demonstrate comfort and ability to work with traditional and unconventional art-making materials 

• Research and develop curriculum in connection with deCordova exhibitions and the weekly themes while preparing for the possibility of emergent curriculum shifts as camper interests evolve 

• Execute singular lessons and extended projects designed to encourage campers to investigate, discover, express themselves, and work together while immersed in art and nature to generate collaborative large-scale park installations 

• Directly supervise and mentor Junior Instructors (Hive Instructors only) 

• Communicate on-site with parents around camper safety, discipline, interests, passions, and needs. 

Qualifications

What We Need From You: 

Qualifications: 

• Full availability for camp staff training (May/June - some weekends/evenings) 

• A Bachelor’s degree in education, art, the sciences, the humanities, or other relevant course of study is required; graduate work in art and/or education a plus 

• At least 3 years of experience working as an art educator, classroom teacher, or informal educator with ages 5-16 

• A special interest in collaborative, interdisciplinary, place-based, progressive education and the intersections of art, nature, and science 

• The physical and mental wherewithal to teach indoors, outdoors, and in the Sculpture Park setting 

• A familiarity with deCordova’s educational philosophy 

Additional Requirements: 

• A satisfactory criminal background check (CORI and SORI) 

• Must have or be willing to obtain (training is available) Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR certification 

• Able and willing to work across a 30-acre site both indoors and outside in all types of weather 

• Must be able to lift 50 pounds 

• Must be at least 21 years old 

Please upload a resume summarizing your education and work history and a cover letter telling us about your interest and philosophy in working with children in art & nature in this position.  Please indicate if you would like to be considered for The Hive, Summer Studio, or both camps. 

The Trustees: 

The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) enjoy and care for more than 120 special places - roughly 47,000 acres - all around Massachusetts.  We are the oldest land conservation organization in the U.S. and the largest in the state. The centerpiece of the Trustees mission is to protect places of ecological, scenic, and historic importance. Since 1891, The Trustees has been on the ground in communities across Massachusetts, working to protect special places, providing loving care of our reservations, building creative new programs to engage people, and sharing our expertise with neighbors and partners. Our seasonal staff plays an integral role in ensuring that our summer visitors enjoy our extraordinary places and programs. 

About Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity at The Trustees 

Our commitment to Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity (DBIE) is deeply grounded in our mission to protect and share Massachusetts’ iconic places for everyone, forever. Together, we carry forth this belief by seeking to create inclusive spaces of belonging for Trustees staff, members, volunteers, and communities across the organization and our properties. We acknowledge that creating inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome will be a learning journey for the organization and for all of us as individuals.  

Equal Opportunity Employer 

The Trustees is a proud equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any protected status including, but not limited to, age, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, nation of origin, religion, or disability status and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ applicants. We aspire to reflect and effectively serve the residents and communities of Massachusetts, who are at the core of our mission.   

For more information on The Trustees, please visit our website.  

Salary : $20