Please note: all ArtCorps student worker positions receive $17/hr before taxes and work 400 hours over the course of the semester (around 15 - 20 hours a week). To apply, you must be a current or recently graduated undergraduate student attending an institution in Phoenix or living in Phoenix yourself.
Ready to learn more? Keep reading to read the full job description, meet your supervisor, and apply for this position today!
Read the job description
The student worker will have the opportunity to coordinating events, create promotional materials and help with general store operations when not working on events, which includes tasks such as processing orders, customer service and inventory management. They will help with our initiative on building up our programming for readings. This will include reaching out to authors, publishers and publicists to request and schedule readings. They will also help with reviewing event submissions from community members and scheduling and setting up the event space, as well as help with coordinating our monthly events, such as our monthly open mic and type nights. The student will be working with myself, Chawa Magaña the store owner and our volunteer that helps with event coordination, Vanessa Martinez.
Bilingual (Spanish/English) is a plus. The student will need to have graphic design skills and a desire to work in a community focused setting. They will need to be able to help with the physical set up and breakdown of events which includes moving chairs and tables. They will need to be comfortable with public speaking. They will also need to be able to manage an event calendar with multiple monthly events.
Meet the supervisor
Chawa Magaña is the steward of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, a BIPOC owned and operated community space and bookstore located in central Phoenix that carries books in both the English and Spanish language, with a focus on literature by BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ authors. As a first generation Mexican American, Chawa is passionate about holding space for historically marginalized communities to be able to share their stories to create and imagine liberated futures and present joy for each other, and ultimately all of us who endure the consequences of a dominantly white supremacist, patriarchal and capitalist society. Literature is an accessible and very useful tool used in this work at Palabras and Nurture House, the collective arts focused space that Palabras resides in. Chawa believes in resource sharing and the power of giving one another the space and grace to be vulnerable, allowing for authentic strength, healing and compassion to inform and lead the work we do in our communities. When Chawa is not working, you can assume she is doing something related to plant medicine (she’s also an herbalist), books, nature or food.
I am interested in the student worker program because I believe that it will give a student the opportunity to get real life experience working in a community arts focused space. The student will have an example of what an inclusive arts space looks like and how to operate and contribute to spaces like these. They will also be given the opportunity to imagine and create community programming, which will give them the confidence to contribute ideas and input in their future workspaces.
About this organization
Palabras is a bookstore and community space with a mission to Promote cultural representation and liberation of historically marginalized BIPOC (Black Indigenous, People of Color, including all intersectionalities) through community engagement involving literature and the arts. Our vision is to be an example of what solidarity and community healing through creative expression, knowledge sharing, and active listening looks like and help to encourage others to start their own projects, creating a ripple effect of sharing, healing and liberation.
To learn more about Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, visit their website at https://www.palabrasbookstore.com/
About the program
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 cycle, 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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