Heaven Gallery - Call for Volunteers 2024 (June - December)
Heaven Gallery is a multi-disciplinary contemporary arts space in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood that has presented emerging artists since 1997. The mission of the space is to elevate artists and connect Chicago communities. Over the past 26 years, the gallery has become a launching pad for artists. In 2022, the gallery featured 101 artists and 30 musicians. The role of the gallery is to cultivate space for building community through creative expression and professional development. The gallery supports artists through exhibition production, providing professional documentation of their work, and paying exhibition stipends. Since the organization is not focused on the financial viability of the exhibition, artists are free to take risks in their creative practice. A hallmark of Heaven Gallery is to make contemporary art more approachable to the general public by blurring the line between retail space and art gallery. In 2010, the space added a small vintage shop inside the gallery, which now accounts for 70% of its income. This retail model uses commerce as a way for people to support arts programming.
Volunteer Program Overview:
Heaven Gallery is seeking hands-on gallery volunteers to support the daily gallery operations, maintain the vintage store, and assist with exhibition production. Volunteers will work closely with the gallery director and manager to learn the inner workings of a non-profit art gallery. This position has a strong education emphasis and works to prepare the volunteer with the skills knowledge/qualifications to work in any gallery space moving forward.
This position will require 1-2 shifts per week in person at Heaven Gallery in Wicker Park during open gallery hours (each gallery shift is 4-6 hours, so 4-12 hours per week total and the gallery is open Thursday - Sunday). An additional 5 hours will be required monthly for exhibition openings, and occasional flexibility for events (artist talks, workshops, etc.) The volunteer position is 6 months long and unpaid but there is an opportunity to move into a paid leadership position after the volunteer period.
Tasks Include the following:
- Assisting the gallery manager with maintaining and running the gallery and vintage store during open hours.
- Preparing for exhibitions by assisting with administrative work, installation, and opening night logistics.
- Social media management and graphic design
- Processing and organizing merchandise in store
Qualifications and Requirements:
Applicants who are interested in becoming an artist, curator, or cultural organizer. Preferred knowledge and interest in a creative field/contemporary art and public programming. A passion for providing friendly front-facing service for vintage sales. An interest in merchandising vintage jewelry, clothes, and goods. An interest in social media strategy Occasional night and event flexibility. Excellent communication and organizational skills. Strong written and verbal skills. Ability to complete projects independently with attention to detail. Familiarity with Photoshop, InDesign, and IllustratorFamiliarity with Canva. A laptop. The ability to travel to and from Wicker Park
To Apply:
Please send an e-mail to heavengalleryinfo@gmail.com a CV and a 200-250 word letter of intent explaining why you would be a good fit and what you are interested in achieving by working at Heaven Gallery.
DEADLINE: MAY 17
Link to Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heav...
