Job posting ...

[David Beeson]

Hello all -
Below and in the attached Word document is the advertisement for an Artistic Director for the studio. Feel free to circulate to interested and qualified candidates and send names to me so that I may contact them as well. Thanks!


Position Available: Artistic Director, Tulsa Glassblowing Studio





Tulsa Glassblowing Studio seeks a qualified, energetic, and enthusiastic Artistic Director. Tulsa Glassblowing Studio (TGS) is a 501c3 non-profit organization in Tulsa, Oklahoma. TGS is a public access studio dedicated to advancing the art of glassblowing through instruction, demonstrations, and public education. The studio is governed by a Board of Directors and operated by a Managing Director and Artistic Director, both of whom report directly to the Board.



Primary accountabilities of the Artistic Director include:

* Planning and executing educational programming, including the oversight and delivery of youth programming, group classes, individual lessons, and other instructional opportunities such as the studio’s glass experience and glassblowing with a friend programs
* Recruiting and managing volunteer and paid part-time instructors/assistants
* Recruiting visiting artists to the studio and helping to manage the visiting artist program
* Directing teams to create inventory for the studio’s gift shop
* Oversight of and participation in public demonstrations
* Working in concert with the Managing Director to advance the mission of the studio
* Ability to represent the studio professionally to donors, the media, and other stakeholders



Candidate must hold an MFA or BFA in glassblowing; experience instructing youth is preferred. The position provides an annual salary (commensurate with experience) and medical insurance. Candidate must reside in/relocate to Tulsa area by early to mid-August 2009.



Apply for this position by submitting a resume, letter of interest, and portfolio of your work to the Board President, Catheryn Mason, at masoncl@hotmail.com. TGS is a drug-free workplace.

[Pete VanderLaan]

I have read this one fairly carefully and have to say that the job description does not appear to me to match the qualification minimum of having an MFA or a BFA in glassblowing with the exception of the need for the director to participate in public demonstrations or to help make salable inventory for a store. The other items really require someone experienced in business management with a background in art history.

501C3's are a bitch to run, even in the best of times. I genuinely don't know people who have those specific degrees who would be capable of performing the other jobs. I'm not trying to be difficult on this, I'm making a genuine observation based on forty plus years in the field. Glassblowers, particularly those who have gone to the trouble of getting degrees want to make glass, or possibly to teach, not fundraise. Fundraisers are a very special breed in themselves. Running youth programs is a genuine skill not covered in a degree program. Administrators are trained bureaucrats and rightfully so. An MFA in glassblowing simply has no training to do these jobs.

[Jordan Kube]

I laughed out loud when I read the job posting for a tech at the museum of glass a few years back. One of the requirements was a BFA.

[Brian Gingras]

a glassblower with a business major, drop the MFA/BFA stuff...it goes nowhere in this setting, look at the WCC and what they are going through.

[Alexander Adams]

One would be amazed at the decline in many of the Craft departments at Fine Art programs. There is a once very popular glass program in a new state of the art facility that is now being run by someone with a Graphic Design background and extremely limited experience with glass or the glass community. So much for tacit knowledge of the materials.

So back to the initial topic. There are a few places that offer degrees in Arts Administration. Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA does offer a Master of Science in Arts Administration. This program is specifically geared to operating/directing a not for profit art center/public access facility. I would suggest that the person who is seeking to fill the above position to contact Drexel University and pass this listing on to them.

Also, someone with a degree in business administration may not have any background to deal with a non profit structure mixed with arts and culture.

Should one want to discuss the problems with academia, fine art degrees and the study craft mediums, I suggest listening to the Garth Clark's podcast "How Envy Killed the Crafts" at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in Oregon. Below is the link, scroll to October 16th. There are 2 parts to this lecture. Some of the lecture may be tough to swallow but I think that some of the "envy" that Clark addresses originated from crafts departments within fine arts programs.

http://www.contemporarycrafts.org/programs_podcasts.php

I would also suggest reading Matthew B. Crawford's recent book titled "Shop Class as Soulcraft".

I believe that both the lecture and the book will cement the beliefs of the majority here at craftweb. I make the suggestions so that any future bashing of Academia will be constructive so that craft programs will no longer resemble Sculpture 2.0, Material Fetish Arts (material studies).