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Job: MPCAS Curator

Position: MPCAS Curator 

Project: Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen

Reporting to: Programming Team

Hours: 15 hours per week. Occasional evening and weekend work. Flexible schedule. This is a 1 year contract position.

Remuneration: $27.00/hr

Start date: July 1, 2023

About the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen and grunt gallery:
The Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen (MPCAS) is a 7m x 4m outdoor urban screen located at the intersection of Kingsway and Broadway in Vancouver on the side of the Independant building, a mixed use commercial and residential tower. The screen is maintained and programmed by grunt gallery, and aspires to enrich and engage the public through the presentation of media art that reflects the diversity, historical richness and creative capacity of the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

Through an annual submission call, commissions, co-productions and partnerships, the screen features works for and about Mount Pleasant and the people who live here alongside programming that connects these local issues to global practices, ideas and concerns. The MPCAS is a place for media and interactive content both home-grown and far-flung, presented through the distinctive lens of the neighbourhood.

grunt gallery has been a part of the Mount Pleasant community since 1984 and has seen tremendous changes over this period. During the past 40 years the area has gone from one of Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhoods to one of its richest. This transition hasn’t been easy and the social costs of thirty years of gentrification have been intensifying, particularly with the Broadway Plan and incoming skytrain stations reshaping the area. MPCAS has been born of this tension and we seek to acknowledge both the Mount Pleasant that is being forced out and the new communities coming into being.

General Description of the Position: 

The MPCAS Curator works with the grunt programming team and Program Director, as well as  community partners to develop contacts and strengthen relationships between the MPCAS and its partners in the community.

The MPCAS Curator is a planner, implementer, and relationship builder who is responsible for maintaining existing programming and developing new initiatives that reflect the multiple and diverse communities in Mount Pleasant. They will take the lead in the curatorial vision of the screen, coordinating our annual submission call while cultivating partnerships with other art organizations and local festivals year-round. We expect this to take the shape of developing new projects and applying for funding opportunities to support them and in in-kind exchanges with community partners.

We are looking for a candidate who prioritizes developing local relationships and familiarizing themselves with the neighbourhood’s history, businesses, community organizations and art communities. They will work with grunt staff to develop strategies that bring community content to the screen, promote visibility and encourage broad access.

The MPCAS Curator is expected to work independently, but will play a key role in the grunt programming team, alongside the Program Director, curatorial staff and the technical manager.

Required Competencies:

Collaborative
Reliable
Committed
Independent
Community Minded
Resourceful
Creative
Flexible
Social
Communication

General Responsibilities: 

  • Work with staff and committees to develop strategies and enhance contacts within the Mount Pleasant community in conjunction with the MPCAS’s vision for programming and the neighbourhood.
  • Design and implement a curatorial vision that builds strong, long-term, and loyal relationships with audience members, supporters and communities.
  • Develop programming for the MPCAS engaging heritage and cultural communities as well as community groups, seniors, youth and more.
  • Continue to develop relationships with partners and collaborators from the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as well as the wider Indigenous communities of Vancouver.
  • Collaborate and communicate with neighbourhood organizations to develop activities that promote the MPCAS’s presence (eg. community events and festivals such as Car Free Day, and organizations such as the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, Tonari Gumi, the Native Education College and many others). Previous partnerships have included limited run screenings with the Capture Photography Festival, VQFF, Room Magazine and other community based programming.
  • Create content around programming and community engagement for the MPCAS’s social media and website. Collaborate with grunt’s Communications Manager as required.
  • Update the MPCAS website and internal content management system.

Required Skills and Education: 

  • Awareness of and experience working within the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
  • Strong knowledge and commitment to bridge-building within diverse community frameworks.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to target outreach materials to varying audiences and age groups; ability to listen, and bring strong awareness of interpersonal/ intercultural dynamics.
  • Good understanding of artist-run culture.
  • Ability to (or interest in developing skills to) write grants, and find alternative funding support for innovation.
  • Post-secondary education or experience in community engagement, public programming, communications, activist organizing or arts-related disciplines is an asset.
  • Some knowledge of media art practices and production requirements.
  • Familiarity with Media and Video Arts.
  • Some knowledge of public art (and public messaging in relation to art in the public realm) an asset.
  • Some experience with social media content creation and CMS/Wordpress.
  • Familiarity or interest in project development and management.
  • Ability to perform well in a team environment and collaborate with others.
  • Strong organizational skills, able to identify and prioritize tasks with minimal supervision, work independently, and take initiative.
  • Resourceful, hands-on and pro-active.
  • Proven ability to act in an assertive but professional manner and to represent oneself and an organization in a positive manner.
  • Ability to work flexible hours.

Ethics and the Workplace: 

  • The MPCAS curator must be invested in open communication and collaboration.
  • Acknowledging that most accepted definitions of professionalism have racist origins, the MPCAS curator will be able to be present and engage in their work in a manner that is dedicated and as consistent as possible.
  • We envision this role as one best served by working artists and creatives with their own on-going practices to consider this role; we hope to develop a working relationship wherein artists can exist both as artists and arts workers, and will be in conversation with the successful applicant on what grunt can do to support their on-going career.
  • As a junior position, we strongly encourage emerging artists and curators to apply.

To apply: Please send cover letter and resume to Whess Harman by email at whess@grunt.ca

Application Deadline: May 26, 2023 @ 5:00 pm PDT

 

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Job: grunt gallery Program Director

Job Posting

Position: Program Director

Location: grunt gallery

Reporting to: Board of Directors

Term: Full-time, permanent 35 hours/week. Some evening and weekend work. Flexible schedule.

Start Date: July 15, 2023

Click here to access a PDF of this job description.

Audio recording of this job description coming soon.

About grunt gallery:

Formed in 1984, grunt gallery is an artist-run centre located in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver, BC. grunt gallery has built its reputation on innovative programs that showcase current and past work by contemporary Canadian and international artists. Working with a wide range of collaborators, grunt gallery confidently supports interdisciplinary projects, performance, media works, publications, websites, artist talks, research residencies, mentorships, publicly-sited projects and socially-engaged initiatives alongside gallery-based exhibitions. grunt gallery continues to provide space for artistic agency, diverse perspectives, unruly practices and community connection. The gallery operates a wide variety of programming and initiatives, including those stemming from the Exhibitions, the Archive, Accessibility and Public Engagement, Events and Special Projects.

grunt has experienced significant growth over the last three years. Our programs have expanded and our staff team has grown at the same time as we continue to reflect on our role in community, and our commitment to anti-oppression work in the arts. Working at an increased scale and scope while prioritizing social justice, community engagement and creative access/accessibility initiatives, the organization seeks to create opportunity and impact in this region, in keeping with the priorities and guidance of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh host Nations.

We are looking for a Program Director who shares this sense of commitment, and who can embrace the complexities of working strategically in the public realm alongside the quieter work of relationship, self-reflection and collaborative leadership. We continue to do the work of articulating our emergent approach to arts-work, and we invite your vision into the organization at a key moment in our development. We understand new leadership may come from places we can’t predict, and we hope this opportunity can include those who, upon first glance, may not see themselves in a directorship role. We have a strong history of supporting Indigenous, Disabled/ Sick/ Mad, BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ artists and creative thinkers into leadership, and we offer investment in this imaginative potential.

The Program Director has a strong background in the visual arts community, with extensive knowledge of the local art community, and will work collaboratively to deliver the curatorial vision of the organization. The Program Director is highly motivated to build relationships with funders, foundations, donors, members, artists, and patrons.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable working with a talented and empowered staff team to ensure the core values of the organization are integrated at every level. The Program Director upholds the organization’s values and artistic vision and leads strategy for the organization. The Program Director is committed to anti-oppression and trauma-informed work, accessibility initiatives, fair treatment of artists and cultural workers, and supports and values emerging artists and emerging practices.

Required Competencies:

Creativity
Community
Collaboration
Commitment
Budget Development
Communication
Flexibility
Negotiation
Networking
Reliability
Grant Writing
Mentorship
Accessibility
Conceptual Thinking
Equity

Responsibilities:

  • Works in a co-directorship model with the Operations Director to provide artistic, strategic, operational and financial direction to the organization, ensuring the needs of the organization are met effectively and collaboratively.
  • Upholds the artistic vision of the organization and works closely with staff to determine the artistic and strategic direction of each department, build narratives for grant writing and seek funding to support a variety of projects.
  • Works collaboratively with the Curator, artists and partner organizations to determine and facilitate exhibition-based programming and special projects.
  • Responsible for long-term strategic planning of the organization.
  • Provides financial management and oversight, including budget forecasting and tracking, investment management, and long-term financial strategy.
  • Responsible for extensive grant writing for operations and special projects.
  • Responsible for developing key connections, partnerships and collaborations inside and outside the arts community in order to support and build the annual operations and programming plan.
  • Builds grunt’s community reputation via networking, development and community engagement.
  • Develops and maintains relationships with public and private funding sources, and has a strong interest in donor development and fundraising.
  • Reports directly to the Board of Directors and attends monthly board meetings to provide strategic, financial and programming updates.
  • Supports and leads the staff team, putting grunt’s shared values, mandate, and public image at the forefront.
  • Other duties as required.

Required Skills and Education:

  • Passionate about collaborative leadership, organizational development, artistic visioning, strategic planning, partnership building and networking within the visual arts community.
  • Excellent understanding and experience of working within the visual arts community and with artists.
  • Familiar and comfortable navigating local, national and international art communities.
  • Excellent understanding of artist-run centres and non-profit policies and requirements.
  • Ability to uphold and drive grunt’s vision.
  • Post-secondary education in an arts related field or a combination of relevant education and work experience must be demonstrated.
  • Proven ability to develop, maintain and work within departmental and operational budgets with demonstrated cost-savings experience.
  • Proven track record of successful grant writing.
  • Shared organizational values.
  • Experience working in community and embodying the role of ‘storyteller:’ able to synthesize complex ideas and rich histories for broad audiences.
  • A collaborative and attentive leader who is able to lift up and support a talented and empowered staff team.
  • An understanding that grunt is a “people-centered” work environment that respects a variety of working styles that uphold and align with grunt’s values, and thrives on communication to allow for creative autonomy and decision making amongst staff.
  • A working intercultural skill-set to effectively work with diverse groups of people including staff, board, artists and community members, and a history of engagement with Indigenous and LGBTQIA2S+ people.
  • Commitment to accessibility initiatives beyond an accommodation mindset.
  • Exceptional communication and coordination skills to ensure all aspects of complex projects are carefully planned and can be effectively understood by collaborators.

  • Must be highly organized, detail oriented, committed to quality and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
  • Ability to work flexible hours.

Remuneration: $70,000 per year with additional benefits:

  • Following a 90-day probationary period, enrollment in employee benefits program
  • Annual travel/research budget
  • Annual professional development budget
  • Hybrid office/work-from-home model
  • Three weeks paid vacation
  • Additional paid days off during office-wide closures (one week in August; two weeks in December)
  • Ten sicks day annually

How To Apply:

Please forward your cover letter and C.V. to: meagan@grunt.ca

Preferred file format is PDF.

Please email meagan@grunt.ca should you require any accommodations for this application process or to discuss your access needs.

Application Deadline: Friday May 19, 2023 @ 5:00 pm PDT

grunt gallery welcomes, encourages, and is actively seeking applications from members of equity deserving communities such as (but not limited to) people from racialized communities, Indigenous peoples, persons with Disabilities, women, gender-diverse and LGTBQIA2S+ people, and others with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities.

It is our hope that this position will encourage working artists, or creatives with an on-going practice, to consider this role. We hope to develop a working relationship wherein artists can exist both as artists and arts workers, and will be in conversation with the successful applicant on what grunt can do to support their on-going career.

grunt gallery is located on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ/selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations of the Coast Salish peoples.

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Hillary Wood Memorial

You are invited to grunt gallery’s memorial for Hillary Wood (December 25, 1948 – March 2, 2023), a dear friend, founding member, and beloved presence in the Vancouver arts community. All are welcome.  

The memorial will take place at grunt gallery located at 350 East 2nd Ave, Unit 116 in Vancouver (street parking available) on Sunday April 30th, 2023, from 1pm – 4pm. Remarks at 1:30pm, open to all. Drinks and light refreshments provided.

There will be a virtual gathering option as well. Please click here to join via Zoom, and enter the passcode 156732 for access.

grunt will prepare a slideshow presentation with images of Hillary and her artwork. If you have any digital images you would like to contribute please email them to Dan Pon, dan@grunt.ca. If you have any hard copy images you would like digitized and included please email Dan to make arrangements as soon as possible. You are also welcome to send quotes, memories, or other written tributes which will be included as text slides to the email above.

Masks are encouraged and provided on request.

 

Image: Hillary Wood with Joe Haag, Aiyyana Maracle, Edmund Melynchuk, Kempton Dexter, Barbara Seamon, Polly Bak, Phillip Beeman, and Glenn Alteen, For the Life of Art March/Arts Awareness Day, 1993. Photo by Pat Beaton.

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Tactile Residency

grunt gallery Tactile Residency 2022-2023

The tactile residency is a dynamic opportunity that provides space for participants to explore non-visual and tactile (touch) responses to works in the grunt gallery exhibition space and archives. grunt gallery offers the tactile artist residency as a co-learning opportunity for its staff and community to explore how tactility can exist and play-out within predominantly visual spaces where touching and interacting with work is discouraged, forbidden, or not considered. For this prototype year,  we welcomed two local artists, Johnny “Tiger” Tai and Jen Yakamovich, as tactile artists-in-residence to engage with us in conversation around what it means to be non-visual within a visual arts community.

For the past season, we have been in conversation about the artists’ practices, what it means to be paid to work behind the scenes, and how to share knowledge without it being extractive; something that is common when institutions reach out for insight from the Disabled community. This program was designed to encourage artist growth and confidence, while being in conversation about the real barriers facing non-visual artists within visual arts spaces. We have benefitted as much, if not more, in having access to working Disabled artist, and hope to continue this program next year. In particular, inviting our residency artists to our accessibility committee and programming meetings has allowed us both to have candid conversations about access, but also provides artists a behind-the-scenes look at the structures within artist run centres so as to inform artists of what happens when they apply or submit work to exhibition spaces.

In April 2023, grunt gallery will be hosting a closed conversation, facilitate and lead by Carmen Papalia, around navigating the visual arts world non-visually. Invited participants from the Blind, Non-Visual, partially sighted, and low-vision communities will gather to discuss. Following this closed event, an edited transcript will be provided to the participants, and should we receive consent, the transcript may be shared more widely.

Building on the knowledge that has been shared by Jen and Johnny in this inaugural year, we hope to continue to support the growth of local Disabled and Blind, DeafBlind, Low Vision, and Partially Sighted artists and community members in an inclusive and supportive way.

Johnny Tai  (1982) is a Blind, partially deaf, emerging artist, musician and martial artist currently living in Richmond, British Columbia. He was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada in 1989. He went blind due to Steven Johnson syndrome at the age of three and lost hearing in his right ear shortly thereafter. His first foray into art was at a young age, recreating everyday objects (vacuums, tables, animals, etc) out of Lego, clay and other materials. In adolescence, he branched out with aluminum etchings and three-dimensional works in clay, wood and soapstone, leading to a scholarship from the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design (ECU) in 2000. He studied Psychology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) and received a Social Work degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2006. Due to his visual and hearing impairment, tactility is a core function of how he navigates the world. His current artistic practice focuses on tactile drawings on metal, and in making music. You may visit his website at johnnytiger.com

Jen Yakamovich (1993) is a drummer, composer, and improviser currently living and working on Coast Salish territories (Vancouver). Drawing from creative music and movement lineages and the environmental humanities, she  explores the relationship between sound, embodiment, and social ecology. She performs under the solo moniker “Troll Dolly.” She regularly plays drums for Niloo Farahzadeh, Walgrin (Tegan Wahlgrin), and Miguel Maravilla.  You may visit her website at jenyakamovich.com

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Annual General Meeting 2022

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Visible Art Society (dba grunt gallery)

 

DATE: Thursday September 29, 2022
TIME: 6:30pm
LOCATION: Online
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86067695351

Meeting ID: 860 6769 5351

ADDRESS: #116 – 350 East 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 4R8, Mainspace Building

Please join us for a fast and fun Annual General Meeting of the Visible Art Society (dba grunt gallery) by Zoom.  We will be meeting for the following purposes:

  1. Presentation of the 2021 – 2022 audited financial statements
  2. Board of Directors’ report
  3. Program Director and Operations Director reports
  4. Election of the society’s officers

Click here to access the 2022 AGM package. 

As a member, you are invited to attend virtually and vote.  If you are not a member, please go to grunt.ca and sign up for our newsletter by 5:00pm on September 28, 2022. There is no cost to membership.

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Cree & D

After many trials and several travels in the great iron birds that skim across the skies and over the canopy towns in the realm of Ministik—wait, wherefore and what-now is Ministik? We’re thrilled to invite you into a new project written by Jessica and Ben Johns. Cree & D has been percolating in the background like the healing tonic of a strong, home-brewed yarrow kombucha. Written in the style of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, this is a story of love, family, and of course adventure, as these aunties work to preserve the hard won and tenuous peace treaty between the six nations. There’s also Butterball, Auntie Darlene’s werepug familiar.

The first episode of Cree & D launched in August 2022! This campaign follows the story of three cuzzins—Auntie Vera, Auntie Darlene and Auntie Mac—as they search for Kokum Cardinal’s stolen staff and work to preserve the peace in the realm of Ministik. Listen on the player below or follow our channel on PodBean: click here!

Cree & D is produced by These Ones (formerly known as Together Apart) and supported by grunt gallery on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. We record on Treaty 6 at FAVA studios. Art by Abbey Riddle. Music by Matthew Cardinal. Voices by Ben and Jessica with Emily Riddle and Matt Ward.

Image by Abbey Riddle.

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Ho Tak Kee: New Commissioned Work & Artist Talk

One part fairy tale, one part cooking show and one part Cantonese school, Ho Tak Kee by Leung Yiksea 梁亦詩 and Karin Lee 李嘉慈 is an assembly of fragmented memories and imagined conversations of a local wonton house that was lost to fire one Christmas day. The Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen is located on the site of the former Ho Tak Kee Wonton House, and many elements of this project were inspired by conversations with the Ho Tak Kee family and artists in the area who frequented the eatery. This settler story is emblematic of many newcomer/family-run eateries. Click here for details about this new work on the MPCAS.

On Saturday May 28th, join us online for an artist talk with Leung Yiksea 梁亦詩 and Karin Lee 李嘉慈 in conversation with Vanessa Kwan regarding Ho Tak Kee, commissioned by grunt gallery for the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen. For this presentation we will be screening the work online before the discussion, but if you have the opportunity, please go see the work on the screen at Kingsway and Broadway, as intended! Ho Tak Kee screens throughout the week—click here and scroll down for the MPCAS programming schedule—and will be screening for the full day on Saturdays and Sundays in May and every Sunday in June.

This event will be presented on Zoom, with auto-captioning and a live transcript by otter.ai.

Click here to join the event.

[Image description: a family-sized bowl of wor wontons topped with vibrant green bok choy is centred on a glass lazy susan, on a red-and-white gingham tablecloth. To the left of the bowl is a tray of condiments: soy sauce, chili oil and an diner-style ketchup bottle. To the right are four empty rice bowls and a ladle.]
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Low-Sensory & Voice-off Gallery Hours

We are offering and experimenting with low-sensory and voice-off exhibition visiting hours.

On Thursdays from 12-7 pm (newly extended!), our exhibition Manager, Kay Slater, will offer a low-sensory and/or voice-off experience to visitors wishing to visit the space and our exhibitions.

What this will mean:

  • We will ask visitors to come scent-free on Thursdays (no perfume or scented body products—paint your nails a few days before visiting!)
  • You can choose to be voice-off and not converse with our gallery staff. You will not be approached unless you approach us (or if you are in need of assistance). Kay is hard of hearing and will require mask-wearing (mandatory) visitors to communicate by writing, ASL, English sign, or to step outside and remove masks so they can lip read (English or French).
  • Any sound or media pieces will be sound off or low-volume for visitors. Transcripts and captions will be available for all works.
  • Overhead, exhibition lights will be dimmed, still providing safe passage through the space.

If you have any suggestions, additional requests for a low-sensory day, or would like us to anticipate your visit with additional consideration, please email us at access@grunt.ca – we welcome your feedback!

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Call for Submissions: Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen

We are currently accepting submissions for the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen, until February 7th, 2022! We welcome contributions from artists, collectives, curators and other community members, organizations and community festivals. Generally speaking, submitted works should be 10 minutes or less and could include (but are not limited to) still images, time-based media, animations, performance works, archival video, interactive pieces, GIFs, experimental video, and curatorial/screening proposals.

The curatorial vision for the Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen is centralized on the broader theme of PLACE. Initially, this focused on the literal geographical perimeters on the stolen, unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, as a part of one of so-called Vancouver’s earliest neighbourhoods. This theme has also evolved to encompass a continuing community and network of makers holding deep knowledge of the area’s histories, holding visions of the future, and holding ground as the landscape rapidly shifts in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. Topics have included identity, language, housing, city streets, food, neighbourhoods, landmarks, loss, memories, narratives of the past, and potential futures.

The MPCAS will continue to honour it’s initial framing of PLACE; as a community screen we are beholden to how we are on the land and how we wish to reflect the communities we envision this screen to be for. We also invite and encourage submissions which speak towards the ambiguity of place–of displacement, diaspora, digital and contested space, as well as artists whose work has been inextricably shaped by their time in the communities of this PLACE.

Click here for details and submission forms!

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