Community Captains

TIME STATUS & SCHEDULE: Part-time

The Community Advisory Group is a non-voting group of 9-15 paid individuals who believe in the power of collaboration in neighborhoods and communities to engage curiosity-based dialogue that can help shape Boston into a more vibrant and equitable city. 

Members of this group, called Community Captains, are chosen after an extensive open call for applications, to act as a sounding board in shaping Boston’s first-ever public art Triennial, an every three year festival. The Community Captains, a paid position, will help engage community members, hold N+T accountable to the needs of the community in the development of programming and community events, and assist in the evaluation process of determining the success of the Triennial in their communities. 

Their participation and trust within their respective communities lend credibility to the effort of the Triennial; Community Captains act as neighborhood stewards of both the Triennial and Now + There. 

JOB MISSION: Advise the Director of Partnership & Engagement (DoPE) on the creation of community partnerships and programming during the world-class public art festival. 

COMPENSATION: Each Community Captain will receive an honorarium of $1,980 in 2024 and will be in two equal installments in January and June. Community Captain honorarium will increase in 2025 to $2,100 and will be paid in two equal installments.

TIME COMMITMENT: Community Captains are expected to attend: 

  • Quarterly in-person meetings as a group 

  • Two listening sessions (Spring 2024 and Winter 2025)

  • 5 hours of community engagement / outreach per month during the spring of 2024 (informal conversations, neighborhood meetings, etc.). The expectation is around 60 hours per year and Now + There will increase the honorarium payment if Captains notably exceed these hours.

  • Case by case check-ins with the DoPE to touch base on community conversations. We’ll determine the best ways and times to communicate (e.g., text messages, regularly scheduled meetings, walks). 

Strong preference is given to applicants who can commit to participation from January 2024 through winter of 2025.

ATTRIBUTES AND BEHAVIORS: Community Advisors embody N+T engagement strategy of REACH to engage with their communities — responding, energizing, activating, collaborating, and honoring. 

  • Responding to relevant and current community undertakings 

  • Energizing to create excitement and pride 

  • Activating the local economy and culture 

  • Collaborating to amplify and develop relationships 

  • Honoring through understanding and upholding traditions 

  • Additionally, Community Captains thrive through their ability to be:

    • Active members of community: They have reach within specific communities; they are prideful of the community they come from and represent; they amplify the voices in community 

    • Openness and ability to engage: They are an empathetic participant in their dialogue and engagement within their community; they try to create closed spaces and mind into open ones; creating more opportunities for others; foster new relationships across cultures & communities 

    • Curious listener: they listen carefully and are a clear communicator to the community needs. Always learning from others; appreciative of the skills and expertise of those around them and how to uplift them

    • They exhibit: Excellent interpersonal skills, community building skills, and public speaking skills

RESPONSIBILITIES AND PARTICIPATION: 

Provide feedback: Community Captains will provide feedback on Triennial public program development, and partner relationships through quarterly meetings as a group and individual meetings with the DoPE. Captains do not provide feedback on art selection or project proposals.

Be a Community Connector: Community Captains are responsible for conducting direct meetings with community members to better understand what they want to see in their communities and capturing neighborhood stories. These meetings can range from informal conversations, to door-to-door conversations, to attending neighborhood meetings. The hope is to have many different opportunities and outlets to better understand the communities where Now + There will have sites during the Triennial. 

Provide Community Listening Session support: Now + There will host community listening sessions to deepen its public engagement and more accurately understand the needs of the community. These sessions, co-led with the Community Captain and DoPE, will allow N+T to listen and build trust with our neighbors to ensure the Triennial programming/neighborhood events are relevant. 

Provide Evaluation support: Following the conclusion of the Triennial (fall/winter 2025), we will host final listening sessions to gather information and evaluate the questions asked during the spring listening sessions to determine if the projects and programs were successful. These final listening sessions will be led by the Captain and DoPE. . 

COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP MAKE-UP: 

There is no limit on who can be a Community Captain. The Advisory Group represents a diverse collection of community and neighborhood voices. We are looking for Captains from Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury but welcome applicants for all neighborhoods apply! We invite organizers, artists, educators, civically-engaged community members, and more to apply!

DEADLINE: 

Monday, November 6, 2023

CONTACT: 

Marguerite Wynter, Director of Partnerships and Engagement, marguerite@nowandthere.org

Now + There (N+T) is a non-profit public art curator fostering artists and the public to co-create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city.

Now + There values new perspectives and opinions and a thoughtful approach to our work of building an open public art city. We acknowledge the unjust power dynamics inherent in contemporary art exhibitions and in the creation of works displayed in the public realm. We are committed to building more equitable ways of public-making by creating greater involvement and learning with communities of color, Black, and Indigenous Peoples in the creation of public artworks; ultimately co-creating diverse public audiences and building toward more openness in Boston. We respect and hold room for differences across race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and physical abilities.  We are committed to racially diversifying our staff and board and strongly encourage Black, Brown, Indigenous, and candidates of color to apply for this position. We look forward to receiving your application!

Now + There is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Now + There is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on the needs of the organization, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, family or parental status, or any other status protected by federal or local law. Now + There will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We encourage applicants of all ages.

Banner image: Group of attendees at the opening of Lot Lab, 2023. Photo (c) Annielly Camargo