Durham Art Gallery: Artistic Program Director

Artistic Program Director
Durham Art Gallery

The salary is to be determined based on the successful candidate’s experience. The position is salaried and full-time. Some evening and weekend work will be required. The Board anticipates a minimum of a one-year contract with the potential for renewal.

The application deadline is December 31, 2018. The start date is negotiable, but ideally within Jan 1 – March 31, 2019.

History & Mandate

The Durham Art Gallery was founded by community members in 1979. The Gallery moved from its original home into its purpose-built space in the early 1990s. The mandate of the Gallery has been to inspire, educate and delight people through contemporary art of all kinds.

Through the course of its history, it has expanded its community outreach and built collaboration with others arts based organizations in Ontario. The Gallery has recently completed a community outreach initiative to gain focus on the future direction as a significant endowment has been received from a community member.

Position Profile

The Durham Art Gallery is seeking an energetic individual to lead it forward as it enters a new phase of its life. This individual will have an ability to think critically about the Gallery, its mandate and how that mandate is being served at present and best served into the future. The individual will work closely with the Arts Administrator and the Board of Directors to deliver on the board’s mandate, which centres on contemporary art. A demonstrated ability to engage the community and growing the presence and capabilities of the Gallery will be tantamount to this person’s success.

The successful candidate will be charged with designing the artistic program, affecting the curatorial work and engaging the broader arts community of Ontario and Canada in order to elevate the standing of the Gallery and delight the community. The Artistic Program Director will have a comfort with all media and the ability to weave multiple media through the program’s content. The successful candidate will have a track record of mounting exhibitions of excellence which spark the imagination, educate and inspire.

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability in leading a creative, community-connected arts organization whose focus is on contemporary art and whose practice spans a range of artistic media. Engaging the community is an essential part of success to the Durham Art Gallery. Many local arts enthusiasts are available to support the mandate. The successful candidate will be able to engage and motivate community members and community partners, both governmental and non-governmental, to help build a successful arts organization.

Working with the Arts Administrator, the Artistic Program Director and their peers in the arts community will create an environment where linkages between contemporary art of all kinds, everyday life, the artistic merit of the programmed content, and engagement and enrichment of the local community are equally represented.

In conjunction with the Arts Administrator, the Program Director will be asked to take a responsible and ambitious approach to managing finances, including securing government grants and providing support to colleagues who are tasked with fund raising in the private sector.

Skills

• Develop and implement the long-term artistic vision for Durham Art Gallery programming including curating or overseeing the curation of DAG exhibits educational and public programming
• Excellence in written, verbal and interpersonal skills
• Ability to understand and work with external stakeholders (community, board, peers, colleagues) and develop solutions to those issues that are barriers to the Durham Art Gallery’s development as a hub for the arts in Grey-Bruce.
• Ability to recognize and seize opportunities that further the Durham Art Gallery’s mandate.
• Ability to create effective grant requests in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ability to build engagement and consensus amongst active and interested members of the Durham Art Gallery and the local community.
• Demonstrate effective decision making.
• Experience in working effectively within established budgets, including revenue, payables and monitoring and reporting on the financial health of the organization.
• Experience in working with a Board of Directors
• Demonstrate fairness and integrity in all matters that impact the Durham Art Gallery.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to travel to expand the reach of the Durham Art Gallery, and to gather input that the Gallery can synthesize into its own programming.
• Develop and maintain relationships with funders, sponsors and donors; liaising with arts councils and arts council officers, and report on DAG activities
• Publicly represent DAG in media interviews, public forums, professional speaking opportunities, panels, etc.;
• With the Arts Administrator, ensure long-term sustainability of the organization through fundraising (including grant writing) and developing and maintaining the annual budget

Education & Experience

Minimum BA in Fine Arts or Art History from a Canadian, American or EU university.
Minimum 3 years of curatorial work or programming work at a public, not for profit gallery.
Minimum 3 years of experience in grant writing.
Minimum 3 years of experience of preparing budgets, monitoring revenues and expenses.
Minimum 3 years of experience in implementing public relations and public programming in their community.
A strong track record in arts administration and in leading a community based contemporary arts organization

How to Apply

The Durham Art Gallery is committed to maintaining an inclusive culture and building a diverse workforce that includes women, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities who have traditionally been and are currently underrepresented in the Canadian workforce.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Interested candidates are invited to send a PDF of their current resume and a brief letter of interest in one document to LGlazier@durhamart.on.ca.

DEADLINE for applications: Monday, December 31, 2018 at 5:00 pm EST. Please no phone calls.Candidates selected for interview will be contacted by January 11, 2019.

Interviews will be held in Durham, ON and / or by Skype.