Exhibitions Fellowship

Wednesday, August 5, 2019 at midnight

Root Division seeks an individual who is enthusiastic and passionate about exhibitions programming, curatorial practice, and gallery management to fill its Exhibitions Fellowship position from August 2019 through May 2020.

Root Division is a visual arts non-profit located in the San Francisco's Mid-Market/SoMA district. Root Division's mission is to empower artists, promote community service, inspire youth, and enrich the Bay Area through engagement in the visual arts. This fellowship has been developed in order to increase professional opportunities for emerging artists specifically within Root Division's Studios Program.

1) Curation of the Frank-Ratchye Studio Artist Project Space: The Frank-Ratchye Studio Artist Project Space provides a gallery for Root Division studio artists to connect and engage in dialogue around the work being made on site, and to exhibit their art to the public. The Project Space is located on our rear mezzanine, and is free and open to the public during gallery hours in conjunction with the current exhibition.Over the course of the fellowship, the fellow will manage 7 presentations of Root Division Studio Artists to be presented in the Frank-Ratchye Project Space. This includes studio visits, writing a blog post for each exhibition, installation assistance, preparation of curatorial statements and promotional materials.

2) Monthly Online Publication - Root Division Talks (blog): In addition to curating artists in the Frank-Ratchye Studio Artist Project Space, the fellow will produce a series of artist interviews or articles to accompany the exhibitions for Root Division's blog "Root Division Talks.”

3) Event Support - 2nd Saturday Exhibition Series: Root Division's 2nd Saturday Exhibition Series, showcases high caliber work with an emphasis on Bay Area emerging artists reflecting contemporary artistic ideas and current social concerns, in a variety of artistic disciplines, aesthetic sensibilities, and forms of cultural expression. Exhibiting over 350 artists and hosting over 6,000 visitors to the gallery through receptions, gallery hours, artist panels, and related public programs each year, this dynamic program continues to grow in its relevance and importance in the careers of Bay Area artists and curators. The Exhibitions Fellow will act as a gallery representative, working directly with the Art Programs Director, installation team, and exhibiting artists to produce Root Division's monthly exhibitions and public programs in the main gallery. The fellow will also be instrumental in one of Root Division's major annual juried exhibitions by preparing and sitting in on a group jury review process, as well as aiding in exhibition design, and catalogue production.

4) Curatorial Committee: Guest curated exhibitions in the 2nd Saturday Exhibition Series are selected by the Curatorial Committee for their conceptual and artistic merit, as well as the ability to engage diverse populations. The committee is comprised of twelve prominent and diverse Bay Area curators, artists and arts professionals. The fellow will join the esteemed panel of Root Division's Curatorial Committee for the length of the fellowship, gaining valuable experience by attending two formal committee meetings, and participating in strategic planning sessions with leadership.

The Fellow actively participates in developing and presenting public exhibitions related programming at Root Division, and he/she/they should:

• Demonstrate excellence in his/ her curatorial practice and/or art-writing

• Have at least one year of experience curating, organizing exhibitions and/or facilitating group art projects.

• Have a passion for working with emerging Bay Area artists.

• Be available a minimum of 1-2 weekday afternoons per week from August 2019 - May 2020

• Be available for the evening of the 2nd Saturday each month

• Strong writing, curatorial, and interpersonal skills are highly valued in this position, as the fellow is directly participating in outreach and development for the organization and its exhibitions and public programming.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in fine arts, curatorial studies, or art history (or equivalent) (Current students are eligible to apply.)

• Current MA / MFA students in Art History, Arts Administration, Art Practice or similar fields are encouraged to apply, but not required.

• Proven skills in curation and/or exhibition coordination

• Strong writing ability and computer skills (Mac)

• Experience conducting studio visits

• Sensitivity to and understanding of the needs and interests of artists and a diverse audience

Other Considerations:

• Shows personal initiative and ability to work as a member of a team in an informal, creative, and fast-paced environment.

• Overall positive attitude and ability to work with various constituencies, and from a wide variety of backgrounds, including studio artists, exhibiting artists, curators, staff, jurors, and supporters of the organization.

In exchange for 40 hours per month, the Exhibition Fellow will receive:

• Stipend of $2,000 (half at the end of December and the remaining half in May)

• Invaluable training and hands on experience in a thriving visual arts non profit

Please submit all documents as PDFs and images as JPGs zipped into a file and email to: samantha@rootdivision.org.

1. Completed Online Application Form: https://docs.google.com/...

For any additional questions, please call 415.863.7668 or email Samantha Reynolds, Art Programs Director at samantha@rootdivision.org with any questions.