Position Title: Visual Arts Writer
Opportunity Type: Project-specific contracts, with payments specific to projects
Location: Remote
Start Date: November 27, 2023
Job Description
Are you able to write about visual art with confidence and knowledge, with flair and style, and with prose that avoids academic jargon? Are you adept at producing copy that engages readers about the Canadian art world and communicates to a wide audience? The Art Canada Institute (ACI) is searching for outstanding writers to assist our organization in providing important visual arts content to a diverse public audience.
As the Visual Arts Writer, under the supervision of the Newsletter & Social Media Coordinator, you will write about a wide range of content on Canadian art, both historical and contemporary. As ACI is committed to producing a multivocal conversation about Canadian art, you will be asked to complete assignments on a diverse and wide array of artists, crafting copy that is factually accurate, confident, clear, compelling, and interesting. You will work closely with the ACI English editorial team.
The ideal candidate for the Visual Arts Writer role has exceptional writing skills, a strong knowledge of Canadian art and its history, and experience working in a deadline-oriented environment. As well, you will demonstrate strong research skills, superb attention to detail, and the ability to respond to feedback effectively.
About the Art Canada Institute
The Art Canada Institute is a dynamic, not-for-profit educational organization, dedicated to making Canadian art and its history a contemporary, multivocal conversation. Founded in 2013 to make Canadian art and its history accessible to all regardless of one’s knowledge of the subject or proximity to a bricks-and- mortar museum, our programming is accessed in over 60 countries. It includes a growing open-access library of more than 50 expert-authored books, an innovative kindergarten to grade 12 online art education program, a fellowship that is redefining Canadian art history to be inclusive and multivocal, and a weekly newsletter that ties Canadian art to all aspects of life. Thanks to the production of robust and rigorously produced content, available online in English and French free of charge, over the past decade, ACI has become the go-to digital resource for educators, museum-goers, and art lovers. Visit us at www.aci-iac.ca.
At ACI, we are committed to building and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We especially welcome applications from Indigenous people, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities, and people with intersectional identities. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion enables us to promote the study of an inclusive multivocal Canadian art history to as broad an audience as possible, in both English and French, within Canada and internationally.
Responsibilities
The Visual Arts Writer will be responsible for writing assignments including:
- Short, compelling descriptions of works of art based on research
- Brief reflections connecting Canadian art to current events
- Engaging summaries of recent events in the Canadian art world
- Clear, succinct biographies of artists and key concepts/terms in art history
Qualifications
- Bachelor degree or higher in Art History
- Strong knowledge of Canadian art history and passion for contemporary art in Canada
- Strong research skills
- Great interpersonal and rapport-building skills
- Proven ability to meet deadlines
- A solid track-record of writing professionally
- Experience working with an editorial team
- Experience in writing in an accessible, concise style for a general audience
- Excellent knowledge of grammar and spelling
- Experience working in a virtual office environment
- Experience working in a deadline-oriented environment
How to Apply
Please submit your CV, cover letter, and three writing samples to jobs@aci-iac.ca by Friday, October 20, 2023. In cover letters, candidates should highlight their experience with writing on Canadian art. Please note that applications that do not include cover letters will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. We thank all interested candidates but only those considered will be contacted.
Position: Editorial Assistant
Type: Full-time, 40 hours per week, remote, with availability to perform in-person tasks on a once-a-week basis
Start Date: November 1, 2023
Job Description
Are you passionate about Canadian art and its history? Are you interested in supporting new and innovative ways of bringing this subject to a broad public audience through 21st-century communications and storytelling? Are you able to craft copy that engages readers about the Canadian art world and communicates to a wide audience? The Art Canada Institute (ACI) is searching for an Editorial Assistant to be part of a vibrant and versatile team of professionals who are changing how Canadian art and its history are accessed and understood. Founded in late 2013, the Art Canada Institute is the only national institution whose mandate is to promote the study of an inclusive, multivocal Canadian art history to as broad an audience as possible, in both English and French, within Canada and internationally.
As the Editorial Assistant, and under the supervision of ACI’s Publications and Programs Editor, you will support the following streams of programming: online and print art books, a kindergarten-to-grade-12 education program, fellowships to change the narrative of Canadian art history, and a weekly newsletter. In this unique position, the Editorial Assistant will assist our dynamic organization in delivering a wide variety of visual arts content to a growing audience. The role offers an unparalleled opportunity for professional growth and exposure to the world of Canadian art.
The ideal candidate for the ACI Editorial Assistant role has excellent writing skills, proven experience in the publishing world, and a strong knowledge of Canadian art and its history. As well, you will demonstrate strong attention to detail, a positive outlook and can-do-it attitude, and the ability to manage time effectively and multitask.
About the Art Canada Institute
ACI works with more than fifty of Canada’s leading art historians, curators, and visual culture experts who are dedicated to the creation of authoritative original content on the people, themes, and topics that have defined Canadian art history. Before the ACI, accessible and authoritative information on the lives and work of Canadian visual artists was hard to find. Over the past decade, ACI has become an indispensable resource on Canada’s visual heritage. Based at Massey College at the University of Toronto, the ACI is a not-for-profit educational organization and a registered Canadian charity.
At ACI, we are committed to building and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We especially welcome applications from Indigenous people, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities, and people with intersectional identities. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion enables us to promote the study of an inclusive multivocal Canadian art history to as broad an audience as possible, in both English and French, within Canada and internationally.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Editorial Assistant include but are not limited to the following:
Editorial Support
- Conducting audits of submitted book manuscripts to ensure they meet ACI guidelines.
- Formatting submitted book manuscripts to ensure they adhere to ACI guidelines.
- Drafting catalog copy for online art books.
- Drafting glossary entries for online art books.
- Collaborating with authors and with the editorial and design team at ACI to ensure books are illustrated with the highest quality images possible.
- Liaising with copyright holders to secure image permissions for publications and the weekly newsletter.
- Handling post-publication processes, including uploading art book PDFs to open-access platforms and editing Wikipedia entries using content from ACI titles.
- Assisting with the research and writing of content for the weekly newsletter as needed.
- Assisting with writing, editorial, and image permissions tasks as needed for ACI’s education program, fellowship program, and social media channels.
Administrative Support
- Handling mail delivery and retrieval.
- Responding to general inquiries about ACI and our programs.
- Working at in-person events.
- Assisting with other administrative tasks as needed.
Qualifications
- Minimum two years of editorial experience with a knowledge of how to proofread and copyedit.
- Excellent writing skills.
- Knowledge of Canadian art and art history.
- Ability to multi-task.
- Superb attention to detail and accuracy.
- Organization and time-management skills with ability to prioritize effectively.
- Ability to collaborate in a remote work environment.
- Experience with non-profit arts organizations.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Suite, InDesign, PowerPoint, Excel, and Asana.
- Knowledge of image rights is an asset, but not required.
- French writing skills are an asset, but not required.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV, cover letter, and three writing samples to jobs@aci-iac.ca by Wednesday, October 4, 2023. The cover letter should explain why you believe you are a strong candidate for this role. Please note that applications that do not include cover letters will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. We thank all interested candidates but only those considered will be contacted.