Fall Teaching Artist Internship
Who We Are
Penland School of Craft is an international center for craft education offering residential workshops, residencies, community education programs, and exhibitions. Located on 420 acres in the NC Mountains, Penland has 16 teaching studios and 60+ historic and contemporary buildings. We are an equal-opportunity employer with a staff of 50+. Penland operates with a $54 million endowment and an annual operating budget of $8.4 million. We are located about an hour northeast of Asheville, NC. . Our mission is to make lives meaningful through making.
Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
We welcomes everyone and believes that equity, inclusion, diversity, and antiracism are essential to our mission. We want the Penland experience to benefit from varied ideas, world views, and personal experiences. We stand against all forms of discrimination and are committed to creating an environment grounded in our equity values.
Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian, and other people who identify as people of color or BIPOC individuals are encouraged to apply, as are people holding other marginalized identities related to gender, sexual orientation, ability, and class background
This position provides close exposure to the skills and teaching philosophy employed by Penland’s Teaching Artist Initiative. This position will support the program and gain the experience of classroom arts education. Work includes materials preparation, classroom setup and maintenance, teaching assistance, and administrative support. Program activities take place in Penland’s teaching studio at Ridgeway, and in four partner schools. Hands-on activities include a variety of bookmaking and painting processes, working with over 300 students over the course of the semester. The Teaching Artist internship position runs from early September through early December. The intern is expected to work 30 to 35 hours per week.
Responsibilities
Assist Penland’s Teaching Artist with the following:
- Materials preparation, including cutting book boards, paper, processing materials orders
- Assistance with hands-on classroom activities and teaching
- Assistance with program documentation, including photography, note taking, scheduling
- Assistance with classroom preparation, maintenance and cleanup
- Curriculum research, planning and writing
- Other duties relevant to TAI programming
Qualifications
Intern should:
- Have strong interest in education incorporating the arts, and a desire to work closely with an exceptional teaching artist
- Have some teaching experience, or equivalent education
- Have an interest in modeling one’s creative process in front of students
- Be self-motivated
- Possess outstanding written and verbal communications
- Possess strong organizational skills
- Have the ability to pay close attention to detail
- Have the ability to successfully manage multiple projects at one time
- Have the ability to work collaboratively in a diverse work environment
- Have an interest in exploring the natural world
- Be comfortable living in a rural environment
- Be diplomatic
- Have Windows software experience
- Be flexible with schedule
- Must bring own transportation to commute to program activities – mileage will be reimbursed
- Must be able to pass county school background screening
Physical Demands
This position requires the applicant to walk unaided up and down hills and over uneven terrain, bend, stoop, reach above their head, have use of fine and gross motor skills, and work in close quarters. The applicant must have normal visual acuity at near and far distance with correction and hear the spoken word with correction. The applicant must be fluent in English. The position demands frequent exposure to inclement weather. While performing the duties of this job, the applicant is regularly required to sit and to work at a computer. The applicant is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects, tools, or controls and to talk fluently. The applicant must occasionally lift and/or move heavy objects weighing up to 75 pounds.
Compensation
All housing and meals will be provided to the intern for the duration of the internship period. A stipend of $200/week will be provided. Informal studio space in Ridgeway classroom will be available during non-teaching/program hours.