Workman Arts invites instructors to propose accessible and inclusive online and in person courses for our 2024-2025 Education programs. Instructors will develop and teach workshops and classes for our artist membership.
Workman Arts provides professional development and multi-disciplinary art workshops 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 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.
This year, we are introducing 2 different course streams so please read the information below carefully before submitting your proposal to see which category your proposal falls under.
I – CREATION STREAM:
A) Professional Arts Courses – 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,.
B) Creative Incubators for BIPOC – Safe, facilitated gatherings for BIPOC individuals 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 BIPOC folks are given space to freely create.
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Examples of creation stream courses may include but are not limited to the following range of disciplines:
- Literary Arts (e.g. poetry, prose, memoir, creative nonfiction, playwriting, etc,.)
- Visual Arts (e.g. painting (oil, watercolour, acrylic), sculpture, textile art, illustration, embroidery, beading, quilling, sewing, printmaking. etc,.)
- Theatre & Performance (e.g. acting for theatre/film, improv, comedy, etc,.)
- Movement & Dance (e.g. traditional dance, contemporary dance, etc,.)
- Music (e.g. singing, songwriting, music composition, etc,.)
- Media Arts (e.g. film, podcasting, sound art, digital art, etc,.)
- Photography (shooting techniques, accessible photography with a phone, etc,.)
- Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary (book binding, zine making, text-based collage, etc,.)
Pitches for advanced/intermediate level classes are appreciated.
II- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STREAM: Workshops/courses in which participants can develop or enhance their skills in specific professional development areas, such as (but not limited to):
- Literary Arts (e.g. traditional publishing, self-publishing, editing/revising, critique circles, etc,.)
- Visual Arts (e.g. exhibition 101, art installation, crafting artist statements, etc,.)
- Theatre/Performance/Dance (e.g. portfolio building, audition techniques, stage management, )
- Music (e.g. music production & editing, Garage Band/Logic, etc,.)
- Media Arts & Photography ( open source video editing, film financing, film festival strategy, sound editing, photo editing, etc,.)
- Arts Business & Admin (e.g. marketing, project management, intro to arts entrepreneurship, branding, legal side of business, etc,.)
- Arts Finances ( filing taxes for artists, grant writing, funding sources for artists, drafting budgets, etc,.)
- Multidisciplinary Professional Skills ( creating an artist CV, portfolio building, schedule management, navigating contracts/copyright laws, networking, etc,.)