WHO WE ARE:
SkyART is a permanent fixture in the vibrant cultural landscape of Chicago’s South Side. Founded in 2001 with a mission to provide youth with an accessible, safe place to participate in quality visual arts programs at no cost, SkyART continues to fulfill its mission in Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods, reaching young people through a rich variety of programs. Driving our mission is a deep understanding of the transformative power of art and its capacity to enhance intellectual, emotional, and social development. SkyART is a foundation from which creativity grows and individuals flourish. Participants are invited into a world of imaginative possibilities and connections that go beyond the individual, to positively impact all of the communities where we work and the city as a whole. With art at the center of everything we do, SkyART provides free, safe, open spaces where young people are empowered and connections are made.
Our work is guided by these core concepts:
- Accessibility – we remove barriers – promoting participation in our programs, connection with other institutions and communities, and access to the broader world.
- Responsiveness – we innovate – adapting programs to the evolving context within which we work, fostering civic engagement, cultural democracy, and social well-being.
- Totality – we are committed to reaching the whole person – recognizing that every participant has a unique life experience characterized by their own needs, assets, and interests.
- Stability – we are a consistent presence – the “third place” after home and school, where participants develop meaningful relationships and experience a feeling of extended family.
WHAT WE DO:
Through interdisciplinary, process-based projects, skill-building workshops, and large-scale collaborations, SkyART encourages critical thinking and inspires creative expression for youth ages 7 to 24. In 2020 SkyArt also began offering Art Therapy for Chicago youth. Using an artist-in-residence model, Teaching Artists and Therapists work side by side with participants, in an atmosphere of mutual esteem and shared curiosity, through our dynamic and experimental methodology, the SkyWAY. Our programs include after-school and Saturday programs at our SkyART Studios; classroom and afterschool programs at partnering schools, and programs ranging from one-day workshops to multi-week courses offered in coordination with organizations from city parks and libraries to prisons and detention facilities, as well as other non-profit program partners.
HOW YOU CONTRIBUTE:
You are passionately driven and dedicated to enriching the lives of young people through art, specifically through SkyART’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) centered methodology. At SkyART, this Manager is representative of SkyART’s mission and core values. They person will represent all SkyART’s pilar programs: Project Impact, our therapeutic program; Project 3rd space, our teen program and SkyWAY, our program for children ages 7–13, in schools both public and parochial. They will work closely and collaboratively with the other program managers to hire and manage SkyART therapists and Teaching Artists (TA’s) for in-school programs. This Manager will work effectively at addressing the realities of the pandemic, social unrest, and the increasing economic and emotional divides that low-income neighborhoods such as ours experience through process-based art learning. They will have a deep understanding of how this affects our youth and how virtual and IRL therapy can address isolation and trauma issues. The focus of this position will be on sustaining and creating new relationships with schools, helping therapists and TA’s to promote self-care, artistic expression and inspiration, challenging stigma, securing family and support staff connections, monitoring secondary traumatic stress, all while developing coping mechanisms and resilience, and amplifying hope. This position will carry a small caseload.
General Program Management
● Create and implement strategies for responsive programming, at SkyART school partners
● Maintain relationships with program participants, support staff in schools and their families when appropriate
● Ensuring adherence to established SkyART core philosophies and values throughout programs
● Along with SkyART Operations Manager, regularly renew and review contracts, revise schedules, and attend to all other practical details associated with partner programs
● Support marketing and communications with consistent and recent documentation of SkyART programs including photographs, videos and testimonials of students and artwork in school program
Program Management
● Maintain relationships with partner elementary and high schools, support staff, classroom teachers, school administrators, and Local School Council members.
● Establish new partnerships with elementary and high schools in South and West Side communities.
● Oversee and coordinate the all activity of SkyWAY, Project Impact and P3S in Schools with TA’s and therapists including their recruitment, onboarding, training and review.
● Cultivating and maintaining a strong, consistent cohort of therapists and TA’s
● Maintain and build relationships with partner school support staff, classroom teachers, school administrators, and Local School Council members.
● Maintain and build relationships with school program participants and their families.
● Negotiate and regularly review contracts, revise schedules, and attend to all other practical details associated with school programs.
● Oversee creation and implementation of lesson plans and care plans for each contractor working in school and community programs
● Facilitate evaluation of SkyART School programs including:
– Ensuring dissemination and implementation of established evaluation tools
– Collect and track outcome information for School Programs
– Evaluating (and helping to document) application of the SkyWAY/ P3S and Project Impact across programs,
including analysis for goal setting and continuous improvement.
– Oversee and coordinate therapeutic activities of SkyART school and community programs
Therapeutic management
● Work with and supervise therapists and masters level interns, in collaboration with Youth Support manager and Executive Director, to ensure the ongoing vibrancy and growth of the Project Impact in-school program
● Conduct art therapy sessions providing guided self-expression experiences to help participants recover from or cope with emotional impairments due to ongoing trauma in their communities, families, etc.
● Establish goals or objectives for art therapy sessions in consultation with CEO, Director of Programs and Youth Support Manager for studio programs
● Periodically conduct in-service workshops on art therapy techniques and/or processes to Teaching Artists, interns, volunteers, staff and community partners
Evaluation
● Document sessions using SkyART forms
● Use SkyART wellness rubric to analyze or synthesize data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for future art therapy sessions
● Create assessment tools to gather participants’ needs, using drawing, painting, sculpting or other artistic processes.
● Ensuring dissemination, implementation and tracking of established evaluation tools
● Documentation of individual participant needs and goals as appropriate
● Collect, evaluate and report outcome information for Project Impact
YOUR BACKGROUND INCLUDES:
● MA in Art Therapy or Social Work degree required and on licensure track
● Licenced therapist or social worker preferred
● Spanish speakers preferred
● Past experience with database management
● Must have knowledge and experience with an artistic practice
● Cultural competency working with individuals from diverse backgrounds
● Detailed-oriented with excellent communication, organizational, interpersonal and writing skills
● A minimum of two years of nonprofit, social services, therapeutic environment preferred
● Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to draft and deliver impactful presentations, write persuasive solicitation letters and website content, and prepare well-organized reports
● Significant experience working with youth
● Strong project management, research and organizational capabilities
● Ability to work autonomously and make informed, thoughtful decisions
● Ability to work within a small collaborative environment and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
● Relevant leadership experience
● Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
HOW YOU APPLY
Please submit a cover letter with resume by email to programs@skyart.org with ”Program Manager” in the subject line. Do not mail or fax.
SkyART is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SkyART does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply.