Instructor for Contextual Studies

Founded in 1964, Dundas Valley School of Art (DVSA) is an independent visual arts school committed to nurturing an equitable, diverse and inclusive environment for everyone who learns and works at the school. We are launching a new 3-year diploma program Studio Fine Art Practice & Theory, recognized by the Ontario Ministry of College and Universities and dedicated to the study and practice of contemporary art within a multidisciplinary environment. Cohorts are small (10 students maximum) allowing for individualized feedback and elements of team teaching among faculty. Contextual Studies is a course offered in this new program.

This course will provide an introduction to art history, theory and criticism. Projects and class topics are designed to broaden critical awareness of the visual cultural experience. Students will learn through assigned readings, lectures, seminars, class discussions, research assignments, visiting artists’ talks, guest lectures and field trips. The aim of the course is to help students contextualize their current educational and cultural experience, while drawing attention to the significance of artistic production nationally and internationally. Students will be given regular opportunity to discuss and reflect on content arising in the other courses in the program. Enrolment is capped at 10 students.

Schedule:
Term Dates: September 11 – December 15, 2023 (12 weeks + mid-term break)
Wednesdays 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Fridays 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
9 teaching hours/week (+prep and grading)
+6 hours/term team teaching (dates to be arranged)

Enrolment cap: 10 students

Salary: $6,600

Responsibilities: 
Creating course outlines; lesson planning; lesson delivery; finding and assigning readings; designing and delivering assignments; preparing and delivering lectures; facilitating class discussions and seminars; organizing field trips; grading; tracking and submitting grades; working closely and communicating with other program faculty and the Visual Arts Director; participating in team teaching sessions.

Qualifications: 

• You are an artist, curator or art writer with a breadth and depth of knowledge about current themes and issues in contemporary art.
• You are professionally active in the field of art for a minimum of 48 months (4 years)
• You bring a commitment to practices of anti-oppression, anti-racism, equity and accessibility and ensuring safer spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ students
• A post-secondary degree or diploma in art and experience teaching art at the post-secondary level will be considered assets

How to Apply 
If you require any adjustments to the process outlined below for accessibility purposes, please contact us at full-time@dvsa.ca and we will provide accommodation.

Please prepare the following:

• a letter of intent that speaks to your interest in the position and to your qualifications
• a current resumé or CV
• a writing sample
• a link to images of your artwork online (if applicable)

Combine these documents into a single PDF and email them to the Visual Arts Director, Sally McKay, full-time@dvsa.ca

Application deadline is July 31st, 2023.

We encourage applications from members of equity-seeking communities including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.

We will review and consider all applications, but only those candidates who are shortlisted for an interview will be contacted.

Note: The successful candidate will be required to provide two brief letters of reference confirming that they have been professionally active in the field of art for a minimum of 48 months.

Dundas Valley School of Art acknowledges the negative impacts of colonization on the Indigenous Nations who lived and governed this land for thousands of years before colonization. We recognize the School is on Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as well as the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land is covered by the Between the Lakes Purchase, 1792, between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. For thousands of years pre-colonization, these Nations lived and cared for this land, governed by matriarchal social systems, trading extensively across Turtle Island and creating finely crafted art works: from decorative carvings, beadwork to the ornate pottery that was produced here in Southern Ontario on this very land by the Haudenosaunee. Today, the City of Hamilton is home to many contemporary Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island (North America). As an art school, we recognize that our learning journey has just begun as we do more to transform of our personal and institutional relationships with Indigenous artists, friends and neighbours in our community.