​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Phoenix Office of Arts and C​​ulture​​​​​​​

​Position closed

What you'll do

Do you enjoy the company of senior citizens, do you have family members or friends that you admired who are part of the disability community and you’d love to help these traditionally underserved groups in the arts? If so, HeARTsy is the right fit for you!​ 

HeARTsy is a space to be creative, while growing your creative skill set and network. As an artist, you will learn unique art techniques which have taken our group 46 years to learn.​

In this dynamic position, the Education and Programming Assistant will gain comprehensive experience providing arts education, writing grants, and maintaining office operations and social media for a small non-profit.

They should be familiar with a variety of art methods, enthusiastic to learn, have a great positive energy, have patience with others, be creative and have fun.

They will work directly under our Executive Director, our sole staff person, who is often pulled from task to task daily. The ability to work independently is a must while the assistant gains a comprehensive and holistic understanding of how to run an organization.

Classes are held both during the day & evenings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We teach 2-3 weeks/month. On our 'off' weeks, we prep art kits, write grants, research/create new lessons, update social media and package arts materials for shipping.

Specific responsibilities

• Help conduct online research for custom art lesson creation and to find demographics and statistics for grant applications
• Help develop new art lessons, create samples and step by step direction to be taught in classes
• Ability to help students live in a classroom (assisting the lead teacher) with step by step lessons, in an energetic, clear and wellpaced manner while creating a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Responsibilities will include filming, taking photos, helping students with final evaluations, and helping one on one where needed.
• Help in an assembly line style processing of arts kits for hundreds of kits each month
• Experience with Instagram, Facebook YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn and the ability to help grow our followings in all platforms.
• Manage our monthly program calendar by adding events and images to our meetup group, facebook pages and websites
• Basic website administration and ability to add to/edit our current godaddy website.
• Help with art materials management such as re-packaging, storage, and creating an inventory spreadsheet.
• Manage evaluations and assist in adding feedback from all monthly students into pre-made google sheet evaluations after each class.​

Desired qualifications

• Flexibility to work rotating shifts including daytime, weekends, evenings. Each week will be different!
• Time management and excellent communication skills
• Social media experience
• Online research experience
• Basic website administration with Godaddy.com
• Experience with IMac Computers and google docs
• Superior organizational skills with attention to fine details a must.
• Working towards a BFA or BS in Art or Art Education or related fields a plus
  
• Must have a car or other form of personal transportation
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Executive Director Tina Ferguson

Tina Maria Ferguson is a practicing and teaching artist. She is also a Masters Degreed Architect. Tina is the founder, owner and head teacher of the 12 year old award winning senior art education company, Artsy Smartsy, which brings monthly art classes in all art mediums to seniors of all ages and abilities. She is also the Executive Director of HeARTsy, a non-profit 501.c3 which brings FREE art classes to low income seniors and youth & adults with developmental disabilities. Tina was the recipient of the 2019 “Phoenix Mayor’s art award” and the 2018 Mesa Maker fest “Social Impact Award” for her creative work with these underserved populations in Arizona.

One of Tina’s Montessori based, dementia focused, lesson plans was also awarded an honorable mention from the “International Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners and Center for Applied Research in Dementia”. Artsy Smartsy began in Minnesota and pre-COVID served over 500 seniors in Minnesota & Phoenix assisted living, memory care, veterans homes, group homes, Parkinsons day programs, etc. Half of her students suffer from Parkinson’s and Dementia. HeARTsy, began in 2018 and was developed when multiple low income groups would reach out asking for art classes but they had no budget. These were the groups that Tina believed needed therapudic health and social benefits of art classes the most. HeARTsy is mostly grant funded but also blessed with thousands of private donations from the community as well so that classes are free.

Tina values honest, down to earth communication where the teacher and the student are the same. Each day she values her students and the gifts they bring to her life. Tina’s lifelong practice of art making started with a mother as an artist. Together they have taken advanced art classes, workshops and retreats all over the world in all mediums.​

HeARTsy

HeARTsy’s ED Tina Ferguson was the winner of the 2019 Phoenix Mayor’s Art Award, and the 2018 Mesa Maker’s Fest Social Impact Award for they work she does with HeARTsy in the community. HeARTsy serves hundreds of students from 15-105 each month in all art mediums! 

HeARTsy is dedicated to bringing age and ability appropriate fine art programming to underserved populations who would typically lack the funding, transportation and ability. Through our virtual arts program and art kits, students will benefit from the many health benefits of FINE arts programming, become empowered, engaged and enlightened on multiple mediums of art while also building long term, meaningful friendships.

Due to COVID-19 and the increase in social isolation, depression, anxiety, suicide and cognitive decline in the underserved populations we serve, our art kits and virtual classes are even more necessary for our communities in 2021!

To learn more about Heartsy, visit their website at http://www.beheartsy.com​.

The Phoenix ArtCorps is a student employment program from the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture  that seeks to provide students with​ the comprehensive skills, mentorship, and experience ​they need to launch their arts and culture careers. Over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year​, each student works 400 hours for $17/hr (around 15 to 20 hours a week), with additional stipends and professional development opportunities. To apply, students must be current or recently graduated undergraduate students at a community college, university, or other institution of higher education based in Phoenix (or live in Phoenix themselves). Applicants must be at least 18 years old. There are no other enrollment requirements. Students do not need to be majoring in the arts or similar fields to apply. To learn more about the program and browse positions, visit our website at http://phoenix.gov/arts/artcorps​. ​​​​​​​​

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