AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

from Franklin Furnace

Recess seeks a part-time teaching artist who is a licensed social worker to work alongside our Assembly program youth, offering group and individual counseling and integrating art and mental health wellness within all program activities to nurture greater self-reliance, empowerment, and long-term success.

The Assembly curriculum and program structure is rooted in creative reimagination and is trauma-informed, taking components from cognitive psychology and the behavioral sciences. While partnerships have been key to our mental health offerings, we have remained limited in our ability to fully integrate mental wellness into the culture of our organization.

By creating this position, Recess takes a radical step toward further opening access to creative thinking, emotional awareness, healing, and empowerment.

The Artist Social Worker will serve as a key member of the Recess ecosystem, weaving together the arts, mental health wellness and individual assessment into the overall practice of the Assembly program. The Artist Social Worker will, therefore, actively build lesson plans that offer space for our creative community (including youth, artists and staff) to share, process, and support each other, while having ties to community resources and a strong referral network for extended services.

About Recess: Recess partners with artists to build a more just and equitable creative community. By welcoming radical thinkers to imagine and shape networks of resilience and safety, Recess defines and advances the possibilities of contemporary art. For more information visit recessart.org.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

- Develop trauma-informed arts-based activities and projects that offer a creative starting point to coping and critical thinking skills

- Advocate for and develop plans to improve participants’ well-being

- Research and refer participants to community resources

- Approach trust-building with compassion and patience

- Provide ongoing individual and group counseling and therapeutic support as needed

- Refer participants to doctors, therapists and medical professionals for diagnosis and treatment, as needed

- Cultivate a holistic culture of mental health wellness by instituting a knowledge base and trauma-informed practices into organizational structures

Requirements:

- Passion for art, social justice, wellness, arts administration, youth development, and innovative strategies;

- Strong collaborative work ethic and relationship skills (working with staff colleagues, artists, youth participants, Board, funders, and partners);

- At least 3 years arts administration and/or non-profit experience; plus 3-5 years experience in licensed social work

- Ability to apply a racial justice and equity lens to social work

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills;

- Flexibility and strong ability to manage projects independently and with others;

- Ability to multitask, problem-solve, and prioritize well;

- Part-time, Thursday through Saturday and occasional evenings as related to events and programs;

- Strong referral network in NYC a plus;

- Clinical social worker license a plus;

- Computer and online literacy and strong working skills in Microsoft Office, Google Drive; working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and CRM database systems a plus;

- Relevant lived experience a plus

- Reports to Co-Directors

Salary: Recess universal salary: 40k at 20 hrs/per week (with opportunities for growth). Includes health, dental, vision benefits; 401K plan.

Position start date: October 2022

Schedule: Negotiable. Recommended: Thursdays to Saturdays; occasional events and programs outside regular hours

Application Instructions: Submit a cover letter, resume, and three references as a combined pdf by email to employment@recessart.org with the subject line “Artist Social Worker”;

Applications due 9/12/22

Recess is an equal opportunity employer and considers all candidates for employment regardless of age, color, sex, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, veteran status, housing status, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or previous homelessness or legal system involvement.

Note: Statistics show that individuals coming from historically excluded or oppressed groups apply to jobs only if they meet all qualifications. Recess invites you to skew that statistic. Applicants rarely meet 100% of qualifications. We look forward to hearing from you.