ARTWorks Program Manager

The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) is recruiting a Program Manager for its Artist Residency and Training Seminar Series (ARTWorks), an annual fellowship focused on career sustainability for emerging artists. Fellows are preferably Queens-based, identifying as BIIPOC (Black, Immigrant, Indigenous, People of Color).

During ARTWorks, six artist Fellows regard their practice as a small business, identifying entrepreneurial and professional goals and generating a long-term plan to accomplish them. In doing so, Fellows receive the practical knowledge to navigate the aesthetic and socioeconomic complexities and substructures of the New York art world. Through fiscal and technical support, Fellows learn the business of art as they expand their professional network. The Program Manager plays a critical role in guiding and stewarding the fellowship.

For the Program Manager, this role includes organizing an in-person Seminar Series for the Fellows, which engages together as a cohort. Seminars explore topics chosen by the Program Manager in close consultation with the Fellows. Topics and speakers may include established and emerging artists from Queens, NYC, and beyond; curators, conservators, exhibition designers, and researchers; MBAs, MFAs, CPAs, managers, and agents; gallerists, collectors, academics, and appraisers; journalists, editors, and critics, and observers, supporters, and influencers in NYC’s contemporary visual art scene. Seminar topics from the past have included artist copyright, trademark, and contracts; building relationships with collectors; establishing one’s artistic legacy; working with commercial galleries; career insights; grant writing and writing about art; wellness and artmaking; using social media and other marketing tools to promote one’s work; taxes and accounting for artists; and art handling basics.

The Program Manager additionally facilitates the relationship between the cohort and an established artist serving as their Artist Mentor, with peer-to-peer, group, and/or one-on-one guidance and feedback provided regularly. The Program Manager may invite Fellows from previous cohorts for talks and additional guidance and support. At the conclusion of ARTWorks, the Fellows participate in a two-month public group exhibition at JCAL. (The curator of the exhibition is a separate role from that of the Program Manager.)

Standards and Skills:

• Minimum BFA/BA in Art, Art History, Arts Education, Arts Administration, or similar major;
• Minimum 3 years in nonprofit arts or arts-adjacent setting, ideally at major/emerging institution(s);
• Demonstrable track record of personal and/or professional achievement in visual arts;
• High EQ, including strong interpersonal and deep listening skills;
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite, all social media, and at least one fundraising database or CRM;
• Experience operating efficiently and collaboratively within tight-knit teams;

Founded in 1972, JCAL is a multidisciplinary urban arts center based in Southeast Queens. Our mission is to offer quality visual and performing arts programs, and to provide accessible education programs to encourage participation in the arts. We operate out of two landmark buildings: the Jamaica Arts Center, with five floors of galleries, artist studios, rehearsal spaces, flexible spaces, a studio theater and office space; and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, a 400-seat, flexible proscenium theater with offices and other spaces. In June 2024, JCAL adopted a new five-year Strategic Plan that establishes the following core goals:

• Activate JCAL as a creative home for Queens and a singular cultural anchor for New York City.
• Deliver a balanced continuum of programs that “super-serves” artists, learners, and audiences.
• Build brand and reach via simple, memorable, consistent messaging amplified through deep community partnerships.
• Engage, empower, resource, and equip the whole of the organization for the purpose of revenue generation.
• Promote shared responsibility and leadership at every level of the organization.