Opportunities

A leader in the inclusive arts movement, H’art Centre has introduced more than 20,000 people to the creative abilities of people with disabilities and those facing barriers to participation in the arts. We have delivered workshops at The National Power of Arts Forum of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, Ontario Association for Developmental Disabilities, Toronto’s Creative Spirit Festival, and the Summit for Social Inclusion. We are members of the Canadian Network for Arts and Learning and the Ontario Arts Education Association.

We offer a range of career opportunities for people interested in exploring inclusive arts and our own MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training Program. Below, you will find the details of our latest opportunity.

The latest call for employment applications is now closed. Thank you to everyone who applied.

The latest call to community artists to take part in the MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training Program is NOW CLOSED. We aim to offer this opportunity 2-3 times per year. We announce these calls in our e-newsletter. Subscribe to be sure you don’t miss it. 

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Talk to one of our amazing staff members today: 613-545-1392

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CALL TO COMMUNITY ARTISTS
MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training
Letters of Interest & Bio/Resume Due: April 30, 2021
THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED, We will leave the information posted below until the end of May so applicants can consult the key dates and information.

H’art Centre invites Kingston’s artists and arts educators to apply to attend the upcoming round of MixAbilities inclusive arts training. We designed MixAbilities to help local artists/educators learn to:

1) Increase your awareness and understanding of inclusive and accessible arts.
2) Effectively and empathetically support an interested community of all abilities to participate or contribute to the arts.
3) Develop your skills and confidence as inclusive artists/educators, and;
4) Increase your knowledge and understanding of the value of arts for this population.

Our primary goal is to grow our roster of trained community artist-instructors. Many, after learning these basics, have used their skills in the H’art Studio program at H’art Centre and others have applied their expertise and adapted their learning in order to craft inclusive art experiences in the wider community.

OVERVIEW 

March-April 2021
We will invite local community artists to express interest in attending a MixAbilities training session in May/June.

May 2021
Facilitator Karen Dolan will guide up to 10 community artists through MixAbilities modules 1-5. We will offer the opportunities on Sunday, May 30, and Sunday, June 6, 2021, in THE BOX at the Centre. There will be a maximum of 5 community artists per full-day session. Using the H’art Studio program as an example to explore the importance of inclusive arts training, the group will complete modules on communication techniques, lesson planning, creative space considerations, and arts-based instructional strategies. After a short lunch break, the community artists will be introduced to H’art’s Workshop Application and its supportive resource guide that will help create an inclusive workshop. Towards the end of the day, Karen will introduce local artist-instructors and/or artists to share their experience in the inclusive arts with the group. The day will conclude with a wrap-up and reflection Q&A. There are no fees for this training session thanks to the generosity of the Edward and Anna C. Churchill Foundation. In fact, you will receive a $200 honorarium to attend this full-day event. If you would like to complete the full MixAbilities Training, you can then register to take part in module 6, a two-part paid practicum scheduled at a later date. 

Practicum Details: June-August
For those community artists opting to complete the full MixAbilities Training, you will complete module 6 practicum during the summer. You will deliver the workshop created in the previous session to H’art Studio artists. Karen Dolan and H’art staff will observe the delivery of the workshop, document the execution of learned strategies, and provide feedback. H’art will pay you an honorarium for participating in this two-day x 2-hour practicum. In addition, interested participants may wish to take a module on our Zoom best practices and deliver a short online workshop to Virtual H’art Studio artists.

ABOUT MIXABILITIES
H’art Centre has introduced over 1500 volunteers, placement students, community artists, and arts educators to our approach since 1998. We launched the MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training Program, a formal blueprint of our approach to meaningful arts programming in 2018. MixAbilities received the City of Kingston’s Celebrating Accessibility Awards in 2018.

ELIGIBILITY
Community artists and/or arts educators are eligible to apply. In your letter of interest, please indicate your developed skills through training or practice, any recognition you have received in your artistic tradition, history of public presentation or publication, and how you are actively practicing your art.

Spaces are limited, please send a short letter of interest and bio or resume.

KEY DATES

March 19, 2021: Call to artists opens.
April 14, 2021: Information session via Zoom (if necessary)
April 30, 2012: Call to artists closes.
April 30, 2021: Letters of intent and resumes due.
May 7, 2021: Final successful applicants notified.
May 30, 2021: MixAbilities Training Session (Group A)
June 6, 2021: MixAbilities Training Session (Group B)

We will offer a four-hour practicum in the summer. (Note: This is optional, but required if you want to complete FULL MixAbilities training.)

MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Facilitator

Karen Dolan is an artist, teacher, and arts advocate. Karen’s interest in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and design began as an adolescent and led to her decision to study art beyond high school with the dream of becoming an artist. In 1972 Karen began her fine art training at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario, followed by York University, in Toronto, Ontario. In 1975 Karen returned to study in Kingston and in 1978 graduated from Queen’s University in the Bachelor of Fine Art program. Soon after graduation, Karen decided to be a teacher in the arts, a profession that held the promise of inner and professional fulfillment, and sharing her passion for art, would keep her in touch with her creativity. Karen found work in Kingston as a secondary school art, photography, and physical education teacher, her educational experience included students with a wide range of abilities. As a mother to Ryan, Brianna, and Mariah Karen balanced her role as a parent and teacher with her various artistic and personal fitness pursuits. Karen had been a long-time enthusiast of traditional black and white film photography but in 2005 discovered the digital darkroom. Karen embraced the digital world by participating in many digital photography workshops and incorporated the digital workshop format into her classroom photography curriculum. After retiring from teaching in June 2010 Karen worked for the Kingston Arts Council as Executive Director from 2011 to 2015, serving the Kingston arts community by supporting and promoting the creation and presentation of all artistic expression.

MIXABILITIES BACKGROUND

First recommended by educator and past Board member Bonnie Henderson, the training program was shaped by former board member Peter Wolf and graduate student (MA International Education) Sarah Carroll with input from H’art’s Education Director Anita Boldt throughout 2018.

We completed the pilot testing phase of this project in 2018-2019. For 13 weeks, six artists/educators participated in the pilot to evaluate the program. We modified the material content, layout, and design throughout the pilot phase based on feedback from the initial participants. After our pilot phase, we received the City of Kingston 2018 Celebrating Accessibility Award in the category of Education for our efforts. ArtBridges, a hub and forum for connection for anyone interested in or active in community-engaged arts and arts for social change in Canada, documented the development of the program in their Tips & Tools series.

In 2019, H’art Centre received an Ontario Arts Council Market Readiness grant to adapt MixAbilities in a way that will effectively share our expertise with arts organizations, collectives, and groups. It resulted in the Inclusivity Guide. You can use this tool to evaluate the accessibility of future workshops.

ABOUT H’ART CENTRE

H’art Centre is an award-winning, registered not-for-profit, charitable community arts hub that provides artists with disabilities and those facing barriers with opportunities to create, study and produce works in the arts and collaborate with qualified, trained community artists.

We do this to nurture a vibrant, exciting, and supportive culture that encourages artists, staff, volunteers, and audiences to reach beyond limiting beliefs and expectations. To value and recognize artists individually for their abilities, and to share this understanding with the world

ABOUT H’ART STUDIO 

We deliver a high-quality arts program for adults with developmental disabilities. Since 1998, our H’art Studio program has been offering adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to reach their highest potential through the arts and indirect learning. The H’art Studio program offers artists a chance to build important skills while engaged in the practice and enjoyment of visual arts, music, theatre, dance, media arts, and literary arts.

Expressions of interest and resume must be submitted by 4:00 pm on April 30, 2021.
For questions about the Call to Artists contact H’art Centre.

This session was funded by the Anna and Edward C. Churchill Foundation. H’art Centre thanks the Foundation for its support.