Toward Common Cause Community Engagement Intern

This internship is part of the University’s Jeff Metcalf Internship Program. Please review the Metcalf Interns’ Responsibility Notice to learn more about program requirements for Metcalf interns.

The intern supports the full range of K-12 arts education engagement and educational programs. This position provides essential support in liaising with partner institutions across Chicago on the Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40 project around community engagement.

·      Help support K-12 student engagement at the museum for academic year ’20-’21, including:

o  Support Museum Educators as they work in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers and administrators to provide arts enrichment experiences

o  Design, develop, and distribute resources for remote learning built in response to the Take Care exhibition at the Smart Museum and the intern’s areas of expertise and interest

o  Work with a cross-campus group of arts organizations to make interdisciplinary arts learning accessible for K-12 educators.

·      Collaborate with artists and organizations to help produce a citywide, artist-led initiative about art and environmental advocacy

o  Work in support of our flagship teen program to develop events and programming in anticipation of Toward Common Cause, especially with artist Njideka Akunyili-Crosby and the Chicago Housing Authority

o  Facilitate citywide engagement of the Chicago Fundred Initiative: A Bill for IL by artist Mel Chin

o  Collaborate with exhibiting artists and organizations to produce educational outreach that expands access to the experiences

Applicant must be a University of Chicago undergraduate student. Background in Art History, Visual Arts, community engagement, museums or related fields preferred. Must be reliable, attentive to detail, highly organized. Must possess the ability to see projects through to completion. Must be able to work well with others and independently. Must have a passion for supporting community and civic engagement, as well as an ability to communicate with a variety of audiences from K-12 students to teachers and parents to artists and civic leaders.

This opportunity will begin in Fall 2020 with the potential for a continuation during Winter and Spring 2021; undergraduate intern should anticipate giving approximately 10 hours/week of time to this opportunity; given the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that most of the associate’s work will be done remotely (if things change and in-person/on-site work is required during the associate’s tenure, this will be discussed and worked out with the student based on their location, availability, and comfort with such work).

This internship is made possible by generous funding from the College at the University of Chicago, specifically through the Careers in Journalism and Creative Writing/Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (CIJCW/ACE) Program. As an integral component of this internship, the selected student will be required to work with the Smart Museum’s Academic Engagement Coordinator and the CIJCW/ACE Program Director to plan, present, and moderate a 45 minute Zoom program, open to current and prospective UChicago students, to discuss their work with their supervisor/mentor and how it relates to career options in the Humanities. This will take place at a time discussed with and agreed upon by the student and their supervisor/mentor at the Smart Museum.

Applications will be submitted via handshake

Application Deadline: October 25, 2020 by 11:59pm

Anticipated Start Date: November 2, 2020