Public Art Project Lead
(Term Certain Position One Year, Full-Time)
We acknowledge that the land we gather on, Mohkinsstsis, is the ancestral territory of the Siksikaitsitapi—the Blackfoot people—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations, as well as Treaty 7 signatories, the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Îyâxe Nakoda Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations. This land is also the home of Métis Nation Region 3. We recognize all Indigenous people of Turtle Island who call Treaty 7 home.
We acknowledge that there has been art, music, dance, storytelling, and ceremony on this land since time immemorial and it is in the spirit of this land and its people that we do our work.
Employment Equity Statement
Calgary Arts Development is an equal opportunity employer and employs people without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical, and/or mental abilities.
While remaining alert and sensitive to the issue of fair and equitable treatment for all, Calgary Arts Development has a special concern with the participation and advancement of members of designated groups that have traditionally been disadvantaged in employment: Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, persons with physical or mental disabilities, and members of the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community.
We are currently working remotely to reduce the risk of COVID-19 contact for our staff, but it is important to note that our office in the Burns Building downtown is unfortunately not fully accessible in the following ways:
- The Burns Building is not fully wheelchair accessible.
- We do not have accessible or gender-neutral washrooms—the closest ones are in the building adjacent to ours–Arts Commons.
- We are not presently equipped with technology that supports those with hearing or visual impairments.
While we seek to rectify this in the future, we feel it is important to be transparent about the limitations of our current facilities.
Who Are We?
Calgary Arts Development Authority is our city’s designated arts development authority. We provide grant investments to hundreds of arts organizations, individual artists, and groups. We value relationships, generosity, reciprocity, plain language, and curiosity.
We believe the arts have the power to build our city. Through the arts development strategy, Living a Creative Life, our vision is a creative, connected, prosperous Calgary where every resident has the opportunity to live a creative life. We foster a sustainable and resilient arts sector, and support arts-led city building.
Strong relationships are central to our work, and will be particularly central to this role. We honour artists and believe that art is a critical component of public good. We welcome new introductions and partnerships with artists and arts organizations as well as with others whose work may be outside the arts who are trying to make our city great through living a creative life.
Our team has been working towards creating shared environments where all people can feel safe, heard, and validated. A sensitivity to the lived experiences of diverse, marginalized, and equity-seeking people is very important as we continue valuing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in all aspects of our work.
Public Art at Calgary Arts Development
History
Calgary’s public art program was created in 2004 to deliver broad based public art programming, and the public art collection has been in existence and growing for over 100 years. Since 2004, the program has provided a broad variety of programming, permanent artworks, and conservation of public art assets on behalf of Calgarians. In the last five years, there have been broad-based discussions around the direction and priorities of the program.
A New Direction for Calgary’s Public Art Program
In September 2019, Calgary’s city council directed city administration to engage a third-party consultant to review a series of broad-based questions to determine if consideration of an external service model was an appropriate direction for the public art program.
In November 2019, city council publicly released a notice of motion, directing administration to move ahead on engaging the sector in the development of a request for proposal (RFP) for release in 2020 inviting proposals from external parties interested in managing the program.
After a rigorous engagement and reporting process, city council approved the transition of Calgary’s public art program.
On March 22, 2021, The City of Calgary announced Calgary Arts Development as the future operator for Calgary’s public art program.
Calgary Arts Development as the Future Operator for Calgary’s Public Art Program
Calgary Arts Development is focused on stewarding public dollars for public good.
Calgary Arts Development envisions a public art program rooted in meaningful engagement leading to a public realm that tells the story of who we are and what we value as a city. We envision public art that Calgarians can connect with throughout our city; a program that reaches everywhere and everyone.
As a much smaller organization than The City of Calgary, Calgary Arts Development is able to streamline the program and reduce barriers for local artists to participate, while also increasing engagement opportunities and transparency for Calgarians. Our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility will serve the program well, increasing access and representation from a wide cross section and variety of artists. We look forward to stewarding a public art program that reflects who we are and what we value as a city.
The City of Calgary will work with us to gradually transition oversight and implementation of public art projects and programs over the course of three years, with full transition expected to be complete in 2024.
The Role
We are recruiting for a full-time public art project lead to join our team. This is a new role, and will report to the public art projects manager.
The individual in this role will work closely with the public art projects manager to lead the implementation of specific projects in the public art work plan.
The individual in this role will manage multiple projects simultaneously through all stages of the projects. This encompasses all stages of a public art project from calls to artists, community engagement, request for qualifications, design, fabrication, installation, and any other elements that may require contractor support.
It is expected that the individual in this position will work closely with a variety of City of Calgary departments in the commissioning, engineering, construction/installation, and maintenance of capital projects. This individual may also act as the primary contact for some subcontractors supporting the work of specific phases of a project.
The successful candidate is committed to embedding the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in all relationships and processes related to public art. This includes Truth and Reconciliation and right relations with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities within Treaty 7 territory, in part realized through the activation of the White Goose Flying Report, a local adaptation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report with calls to action that can be influenced locally.
Accountabilities
This is a new position at Calgary Arts Development, and as such we recognize that accountabilities may shift as the program is developed.
The public art project lead will:
- Coordinate the implementation of specific projects identified in a multi-year public art work plan in consultation and collaboration with the public art projects manager.
- Implement projects utilizing the Benefit Driven Procurement and the Public Art and Indigenous Peoples Project documents provided by The City of Calgary that inform the procurement process.
- Actively work to decolonize how capital public art projects are delivered by following an existing public art process map. This includes defining when and how Indigenous Elders are involved in each public art project.
- Ensure that appropriate procurement regulations are followed through the life of a project, including ensuring trade agreement requirements are met, obtaining quotes for construction and fabrication, putting projects out to tender, and commissioning artists through requests for qualifications, etc.
- Ensure capital public art projects meet a high standard of excellence, including quality assurance and quality control during design and fabrication.
- Ensure public art projects are delivered on time and on budget.
- Ensure Occupational Health and Safety legislation is followed during construction and installation of artworks.
- Participate in the contracting and consistent training of public art project contractors and consultants.
- Monitor project budgets to ensure Calgary Arts Development remains a good steward of public funds and that fiscal goals are met.
- Ensure awareness of local fabricators and construction companies to ensure competitive opportunities for local public art fabrication and installation.
- Work with the public art communications specialist to ensure public art projects are effectively promoted on the web and in social media, etc.
- Work with the public art engagement specialist to ensure appropriate public art engagement is undertaken at relevant milestones during project development and implementation.
- Act as a primary contact, when appropriate, with City of Calgary and Calgary Arts Development departments, committees, and individuals on stakeholder relations throughout the realization of projects.
- Contribute to reporting and accountability related to the public art contract with The City of Calgary at key junctions.
- Participate in Calgary Arts Development conversations with The City of Calgary regarding care and conservation efforts for projects managed.
While this is currently the only full-time project lead on the team, it is expected that additional project leads will be hired on contract to manage additional projects. The individual in this role will work closely with these contractors as a colleague and resource for information about how project management fits into the larger program vision.
Who Are You?
For this position, we are looking for an experienced public art project lead who is passionate about the Calgary arts community, public art, and enjoys working with people and managing projects.
You are passionate about the importance of the arts and creativity in our lives, and are articulate in your belief in the power of the arts to transform public space in our city. You understand that public dollars are being invested to develop a public program for public good. You will manage projects with a focus on accountability for ensuring we are good stewards of the resources the public invests in this program, and with public engagement as a core component of all stages of a project’s life.
You already have knowledge of public art materials, design, and the construction and installation process. You think about maintenance and conservation at the start of a project, not the end.
You will provide leadership and mentorship to sub-contractors and colleagues related to our evolution in the realm of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and our ability to work with groups that have different values, beliefs, needs, and feelings. As we talk together about your place here, you’ll be able to speak to your experience managing projects in and with a variety of diverse communities and stakeholders.
You are not all things to all people, but you are probably already a few of these things:
- You have experience working independently and collaboratively on multiple projects simultaneously.
- You’re comfortable identifying priorities, and ensuring those you work with have all the details they need to be successful in their work.
- You are able to balance the big picture as well as the small details and welcome a rapidly changing environment where you have to juggle multiple tasks of varying depth on a day-to-day basis.
- You have a demonstrated history of including community engagement throughout the life of a public art project.
- You can talk comfortably about how reconciliation impacts project management.
- You have an ability to develop and execute multi-year projects.
- You ideally have experience managing projects of different scales and budget sizes.
- You have experience managing permanent, temporary, and ephemeral projects.
- You have the ability to express ideas and concepts effectively, orally and in writing, including the ability to prepare and present reports and status updates.
- You have familiarity with and ability to read documents such as safety rules, engineering and architectural drawings, as well as operations, maintenance, instruction, procedure, and conservation manuals.
- You can interpret and perform math functions, manage complex spreadsheets, interpret graphs, sites and maps as needed.
- You have an ability to maintain a high level of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality.
- You are adept at managing risk.
- You have an understanding of procurement laws and regulations and how those apply to public art.
- You enjoy problem solving and troubleshooting to find solutions when situations arise.
- You are comfortable working in a collaborative and open work environment.
- You have knowledge of Calgary’s public art landscape and context, and local art and culture community and climate.
- You are a lifelong learner.
If you see yourself in this opportunity, we would love to have a conversation with you. And if you’re not sure, you can learn more about us by exploring our website.
We are also open to having conversations with individuals in advance of the submission of an application to clarify questions about this posting. Please address those inquiries to Greg Burbidge, Interim Director of Public Art, at greg.burbidge@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
How to Apply
Please indicate your interest by emailing jointheteam@calgaryartsdevelopment.com with your resume and cover letter. Please use the subject line: Public Art Project Lead.
Your cover letter should address the question: “What role do you believe equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility play in public art project development?”
If you would like to request application assistance, please contact jointheteam@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or call 403.264.5330 to arrange assistance. Details around application assistance are listed in detail below.
For best consideration apply by August 3, 2021. We are hoping to fill this position by September 1, 2021 but our commitment to finding the right fit may require more time.
Minimum annual salary is $55,000 in addition to an extended health benefits package, and a matching RRSP program.
Application Assistance
We recognize that the job application process can create barriers to access for many applicants who are interested in applying. Our job calls are written in English, shared online and require applicants to email their applications in English. This creates technological, linguistic, communication, and cultural barriers, to name a few.
In recognition of these barriers to access, eligible applicants can request assistance to help alleviate some of the costs associated with preparing and submitting a job application.
Who Can Request Assistance?
Individuals who self-identify as:
- An individual who is Deaf, hard of hearing, has a disability or is living with a mental illness.
- An individual facing language, geographic, or cultural barriers.
To receive assistance, you will need to provide:
- The name and contact information of someone who can help you (this could be a trusted friend or family member, or a professional service provider). We may be able to make recommendations depending on the service being requested.
- The amount you are requesting, including the service provider’s hourly rate.
Types of Assistance
General Transcription or Editing Services & Organizing of Support Materials
- Applicants who identify barriers within the writing process directly due to a physical or learning disability or due to living with mental illness.
- Maximum Contribution: $75
Language Translation
- Applicants writing an application in another language who require translation into English, including American Sign Language.
- Maximum Contribution: $150
ASL Interpretation
- Calgary Arts Development is able to make arrangements for reputable, in-person ASL interpreters for interviews, in consultation with the interviewee, and at no cost to the interviewee.
Interview Parking
- Applicants who must drive to an interview at our request are eligible to have their parking costs paid by Calgary Arts Development.
- Maximum Contribution: $26 per interview, or the equivalent of the daily rate for parkades or parking meters that are close to the Calgary Arts Development office. Please note that currently all interviews are being conducted via Zoom.
Childcare
- Applicants who require childcare services in order to attend the interview are eligible to be reimbursed for those childcare expenses.
