Workman Arts invites instructors and mentors to propose accessible and inclusive online and in person arts education courses and professional development support programs for our Fall 2025 and Winter/Spring 2026 Arts Education & Professional Development Support Programs.
This year, we are introducing two different program streams so please read the information below carefully before submitting your proposal to see which category your proposal falls under.
Workshops/courses across various arts disciplines in which participants will create artwork that will be refined and polished in order to be ready for inclusion in a professional arts portfolio and/or for submission to art exhibitions, festivals, literary publications, etc,. Pitches for advanced/intermediate level classes are appreciated.
Safe, facilitated gatherings for marginalized artists to come together in order to learn new skills and create art. The goal of these gatherings/workshops is to decolonize the process of creating art. Instead of focusing on an end product, the focus will be on the creative process and on crafting space for traditionally marginalized individuals to express themselves and professionalize in accordance with their traditions and cultures.
These workshops may also culminate in performances, shows, exhibitions, publications, etc., but the focus will be on ensuring that folks from priority groups are given space to freely create. One creative incubator will be scheduled per term. The incubator topic may be in any artistic discipline or multidisciplinary. Priority groups include BIPOC, LGBTQ+, gender minorities, Neurodivergent folks, Disabled folks, and other marginalized groups.
Examples of Arts Education stream courses may include but are not limited to the following range of disciplines:
Large webinar style course where the instructor will provide a preliminary overview of a professional development topic such as grant writing, branding, publishing, social media, marketing, etc,.
Mentorship programs that will allow artist-members to develop or enhance their skills in specific areas, such as grant writing; social media; marketing/promotions; literary publications; film or theater production; art sales and distribution, etc,. The mentor will provide artist members (individuals/collectives) with one-on-one mentorship sessions, up to 6 hours maximum per individual/collective.
Examples of professional development seminars/mentorship programs may include but are not limited to the following range of disciplines:
What is the Education Program Schedule?
Fall Term: October 20th, 2025 – December 12th, 2025
Winter Term: February 2nd, 2026 – March 27th, 2026
Spring Term: May 4th, 2026 – June 26th, 2026
Please note that all courses will take place Monday-Friday between 12PM and 8PM.
How long are courses/mentorship sessions?
Courses are 6 weeks in length and take place once per week for a duration of 2 hours.
Mentorship sessions can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. This will be determined by the mentor in accordance with the Education Manager and the mentees.
Where will I be teaching?
Arts Education courses may take place virtually via Zoom or in person (either on site at CAMH at 1025 Queen Street West, 32 Lisgar, or at a local arts space – locations TBD).
Professional Development seminar courses will take place virtually via Zoom. 1:1 mentorships may take place remotely via Zoom/ telephone, or in person (either on site at CAMH at 1025 Queen Steeet West or at 32 Lisgar).
What is the instructor fee?
The instructor fee is $350 per workshop for a workshop that is 3 hours or less. The total instructor fee for a 6 week term will amount to $2100. This fee is all inclusive which means that it also covers the mandatory instructor orientation at the start of term, and any curriculum/lesson prep and administrative labour required for instructing the course.
What is the 1:1 mentor fee?
Mentor Fee- $60/ hour x 30 hours
Administrative & Prep fee – $30/ hour x 10 hours
The total fee per term amounts to $2100. This fee covers 30 hours of mentorship and 10 hours of administrative labour and prep work. The mentor will be responsible for managing the sign-up and booking schedule and process directly with artist members.
The mentor will also be expected to attend a mandatory orientation at the start of term.
How many courses can I teach?
Instructors are assigned one course per term per the Education year (Fall 2025- Spring 2026).
*Please note that WA strives to provide all instructors with an equal opportunity to share their skills and knowledge with the membership.
How many participants are there per class?
Class sizes can range anywhere from 5 participants to 15+. If selected to instruct, you will work with the Education Manager to determine what class size is best for your particular course.
Does Workman Arts supply materials?
We have a modest budget for purchasing art supplies for participants who require them. Please inquire with the Education Manager if your course requires specialized equipment or art materials.
I find creating art very healing and beneficial to mental health. I’d love to share the healing benefits of art with the WA community. Can I propose an art therapy class?
No; please do not propose classes that are centred around art therapy. While creating art is inherently therapeutic, the aim of our classes is not to provide art therapy but rather to help professional artists with lived experience gain new skills and work on their career goals in a safe and supportive environment. Proposals that focus on healing/therapy or that are in clinical in nature will automatically be disqualified.
If you have any further questions about the application process, please connect with the Education Manager at Hanan_Hazime@workmanarts.com.
Are you interested in learning more about the application process? Join us for a one hour info session on April 22nd at 2PM EDT. The info session will also include a Q&A. Please submit your questions in advance to this Jot Form.
Zoom access info: automated captions will be turned on.
If you have any other access needs please reach out to the Education Coordinator at teyama_alkamli@workmanarts.com. Please note that this meeting will be recorded. To register for the info session please click here.
To submit for ARTS EDUCATION, please click here.
To submit for PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, please click here.
Workman Arts also invites applicants to submit their applications in the following format:
*This includes: an interview by phone or video conferencing (Zoom, Skype, or Meet), a voice recording (MP3 or WAV), or a video recording (MP4, AVI, or MOV)
Applicants who would like to apply by mail, orally, or with ASL services can get in touch with the Education Manager by May 5th to make arrangements. Workman staff or a peer support may be assigned to help the applicant complete the submission process.
Applications will be assessed on the content itself and not be judged based on the format of the submission.
Apply by the deadline (June 1st, 2025 by 11:59 pm EST)
Please note that due to receiving a large volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback at this time.
All applicants will be contacted regardless of results.
Workman Arts provides professional development and multi-disciplinary art workshops and mentorship opportunities for and by artists with lived experience of mental health and/or addictions issues. Workman Arts also provides member artists with community support, access to free studio space, materials, equipment, free art courses as well as professional development and presentation opportunities.
We recognize all forms of knowledge acquisition and invite instructors from all backgrounds to apply; academic experience is not necessary. We prioritize hiring artist-members or artists with lived experience. To learn more about our membership, click here.
Please keep in mind that programs are intended to provide participating artists with guidance and support in their own creative pursuits or the chance to contribute to a larger collaborative process (rather than be in service to an Instructor’s sole artistic vision or project). Also, please note that Workman Arts is a non-clinical arts organization and we will not prioritize applications that are situated explicitly within an art therapy and/or clinically-based framework.
Workman Arts is an equal opportunity organization. We welcome applications from racialized people, people with disabilities, and people of any sexual orientation and gender expressions. Please indicate in your application whether you identify under any of these groups.