Museum Educator, School Programs

Description

Position Title : Museum Educator, School Programs

Position Type : Part-Time

FLSA Classification : Non-Exempt

Branch : Learning & Engagement

Department : School Programs

Reports to : Director of School Programs

Position Summary

The Museum Educator plays an essential role in providing students and teachers with a high-quality in-gallery and digital tour experience.

The primary responsibility of the Museum Educator is to inspire and guide learners to make personally relevant connections in, through, and about the arts;

they prioritize learners’ identities, personal voice, and moments of choice-making.

The Educator demonstrates a commitment to addressing educational inequities, and the scarcity of empathy and social imagination through curricular connections to the Museum’s collection.

The core programmatic areas connected to this role include : The Walker School Tour Program, My Museum Art Kits, Crystal Bridges in the Classroom, and other programs as needed.

Under the direction and supervision of the Director of School Programs, the Educator will facilitate discussion and activities rooted in culturally responsive teaching methodologies.

The Educator will work closely with the School Programs Coordinator and the School Programs Assistant to review tour reservations, scheduling, and provide project support.

This position requires an understanding of antibias teaching practices, strong facilitation skills, and empathy.

Responsibilities / Essential Functions :

• Plan and facilitate explorations of art in the galleries, offsite or via video conferencing platforms
• Assist in the development of new digital engagement projects including tours, video content, and audio recordings, etc.
• Manage designing and building of art kits with basic needs materials in collaboration with partners and artists
• Attend and engage in Cohort meetings including professional development trainings as requested
• Report on programs including numbers, participant feedback, observational notes on curriculum and program structures
• Work with the School Programs Coordinator and School Programs Assistant to ensure all tours are adequately covered; act as a host including greeting, lunch staffing, and etc.
• Contribute to research and writing of interpretive materials, including education resources
• Remain current on educational trends in museums and educational policy

Skills and Abilities :

• Experience in mediating and facilitating conversations with a wide range of people including from different cultural backgrounds, age ranges, abilities and attitudes
• Demonstrated knowledge of social justice standards and critical practices for anti-bias education
• Knowledge museum education theory and practice
• Knowledge of STEAM education and learning activities
• This position requires availability of 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday
• Ability to think on one’s feet and improvise and adapt to a range of situations in the moment as a form of problem solving
• Experienced and effective public speaker, with outstanding facilitation skills
• Highly organized and efficient with all details and tasks
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently, as well as within a team
• Ability and willingness to work weekends and evenings, as required
• Ability to effectively multitask in a fast paced environment
• Flexibility, creativity and a good sense of humor
• Fluency in another language is desirable

Education and Experience :

• Bachelor’s degree in art education, art history, studio art, education, museum studies, or equivalent degree / experience required
• Demonstrated knowledge of American art history required; knowledge of social justice, architecture, nature, and wellness
• Minimum of three years’ experience teaching a range of ages in school or community setting
• Three years’ experience in leading tours, facilitating programs or public speaking

Licenses and Certifications :

Ability to obtain Arkansas driver’s license preferred

Physical Demands and Work Environment :

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This position requires the capability to move and be present in the galleries for extended periods of time and navigating through the different Museum buildings and on the trails and grounds.

Position requires good eye / hand coordination, bending and stretching for gathering of teaching materials, and physical stamina to lift and carry supplies.

Vision abilities required by the job include close and distant vision.

The majority of work will be performed in museum spaces, with meetings and trainings taking place in various spaces throughout the museum.

When not in the office, the employee will be spending extensive amounts of time in the Museum buildings, grounds, galleries, and library.

The noise level in the Museum work environment is usually low to moderate.

About Crystal Bridges

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature.

We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding American art.

Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and chair of the museum’s board of directors, Alice Walton.

Since opening to the public on 11-11-11, the museum has welcomed more than 5 million visitors and garnered 15,000 membership households.

Some 280,000 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost.

Crystal Bridges takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie.

A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house the galleries and amenities such as a restaurant, museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, and a library featuring more than 50,000 volumes of art reference material.

In addition to the museum’s architecture, a Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was preserved, acquired, and moved to the museum grounds in 2015, and a rare Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome was installed in 2017, both providing access to American architectural masterworks in a natural setting.

Sculpture and walking trails link the museum's 120-acre park to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A new entrance, elevator tower, and pedestrian bridge was added to the north side of the building in 2017, increasing access to the museum’s north lawn and newly enhanced North Forest Trail.

More than 600,000 visitors a year utilize the museum’s five miles of walking trails.

Crystal Bridges’ permanent collection spans five centuries of American artworks from early American to the present, and is always free to view.

Crystal Bridges is committed to telling broad and inclusive stories by acquiring and showcasing the highest quality works by artists underrepresented in art history and conventional museum frameworks. Works such as Asher

B. Durand’s , Gilbert Stuart’s and Georgia O’Keeffe’s are displayed alongside contemporary artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Maya Lin, Fritz Scholder, Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and Amy Sherald represent some of the finest achievements in American art.

The collection continues to grow, while the museum also offers temporary exhibitions that complement the collection and can also reveal art’s connections to equality and justice.

Crystal Bridges provides year-round programming for all ages. In 2019, more than 800 public programs and events were offered, including lectures, performances, classes, and continuing education for K-12 teachers.

Crystal Bridges stays connected online with the full collection available via eMuseum, an award-winning app, a podcast called Museum Way, all available for free, and many of the museum’s lectures such as the Distinguished Speaker Series are on Crystal Bridges’ YouTube channel.

An online-learning initiative provides opportunities for students and teachers with arts-based courses, as well as SmartHistory with arts history videos and essays.

Crystal Bridges also offers two research fellowship programs. The Tyson Scholars in American Art program encourages and supports full-time scholarship that seeks to expand boundaries and traditional categories of investigation into American art and visual culture.

The Reese Teacher Fellowship provides for research into the development of interdisciplinary connections between American art and core curriculum subjects of language arts, history, social studies, and the sciences.

In addition, Crystal Bridges administers the awarding of the Don Tyson Prize, an unprecedented award recognizing significant achievements in the field of American art.

Additional information about Crystal Bridges is available online at CrystalBridges.org.

About the Momentary

The Momentary is a new contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.

A satellite to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary presents visual, performing, and culinary arts. The mission of the Momentary is to champion contemporary art’s role in everyday life and explore the unfolding story of contemporary American arts in an international context by actively commissioning and exhibiting outstanding works that explore new ideas and inspire action.

The Momentary was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of Tom, Olivia, and Steuart Walton. The Walton Family Foundation is supporting this project as a way to enhance the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas.

The Momentary welcomes all with free general admission. Additional offerings include an artist-inresidence program, culinary experiences including an Onyx Coffee Lab, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, an outdoor festival space, and a gift store.

For more information, visit theMomentary.org. The Momentary is located at 507 SE E Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.