2011

Art Bikers join Youthnet Extravajam!

On August 30th, the Art Bikers joined the fun at YouthNet Extravajam! end-of-summer celebration, offering an "award" making booth where anyone could create an award for someone else. A ceremonial podium with backdrop and artificial flowers set the stage for presentation photographs.

There was also a night time spectacle of the lanterns!

MAKING NOISE

The Art Bikers joined YouthNet's Music week and spent an afternoon working with participants building instruments and being loud!

3D Film-making!

On Wednesday July 27th we joined up with Youth Net during their Media Camp to do some filming in 3D as well as stop-film animation with the youngsters. We are just editing the footage now, but here is a sneak peek!

Youth Project!

The Art Bikers had such a fun time hanging out with the great people at Youth Project in preparation for the Pride Parade. Thanks for having us, and congrats for winning 'best community float' in the parade!

Annual Newcomers Welcome BBQ

Saturday July 16th the Art Bikers brought their trailers of paint, fabric and other art making goodies to the Newcomer's Picnic held this year at the Commons. People created banners with their answers to the question "What feels like home?" Later we hung all the banners among a nice patch of trees by the picnic area creating a community-created installation that reflected many people's memories and aspirations regarding "home".

Fisherman's Cove July 1st Canada Day

Visiting Fisherman's Cove in Eastern Passage is an annual community art day for the Art Bikers. This year we took the Advice Exchange to the community, for people of all ages to share advice with one another.

ARC:HIVE

The weekend of June 25th and 26th, the Art Bikers brought their community art-making magic to the Point Pleasant Performance Series offered by Eyelevel Gallery. The only community arts activity at the event, people passing by or attending the performance series got involved with creating art and participated in ARC:HIVE- a gathering place of souvenirs, found photos, and maps collected and "manufactured" to inspire stories. We provided participants with hand-sewn notebooks to draw and write in, and once they had filled their notebooks, they could show and talk about their work to the video camera in 'The Brain' - a suspended sculptural "room" could be entered and that housed a video camera. We'll get that footage up soon!

Tons of great stuff was made + shared that day. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Using the Creative Arts in Community Training Intensive June 13 – 17, 2011

This week we are at the "Using the Creative Arts in Community" training with Tessa Mendel. This training is offered by the 4Cs Foundation as a follow up to the Arts Engage! Symposium last year. We are learning together with six others from the Halifax community.

Areas will we be learning about include: design and facilitation of creative art programs; participatory experiences of different art forms (including theatre, dance, music and visual arts); approaches to personal and social transformation; using an anti-oppressive framework to work with issues of diversity, inclusivity and identity in different communities... and more. Whew! - sounds challenging and interesting. We'll let you know how it turns out.

Advice Exchange

On Sunday, May 29th we held our first event of this summer. A big street party was being held to commemorate Bike Week in Halifax. We set up an Advice Exchange booth to have people share their thoughts with strangers (and friends). The idea is simple: write down a piece of advice to receive a piece of advice. We made sure to document the results before people took their advice cards home with them.
Check out the photos on Art Bikers flickr!

New season, new team!

The Art Bikers team for the summer of 2011 includes; Karen Hawes, Elizabeth Johnson, Jacob Sutton, Martin Tonner, and Jyelle Vogel; with Rodrigo Hernandez-Gomez as Coordinator. We are excited to be meeting and creating community art with all kinds of folks throughout HRM in the next few months!
Stay tuned to this blog for updates on what we are doing and where we are going.
Your friends,
the Art Bikers.

Welcome Rodrigo Hernandez-Gomez

4Cs Foundation warmly welcomes Rodrigo Hernandez-Gomez as the new ART BIKERS Coordinator.


Rodrigo is a professional artist with expertise in public and community art. He is very interested in research oriented educational approaches, cultural theory, and the contemporary discourses on Arts Education. Rodrigo brings fifteen years of transformative community arts experience, as well as project planning, design and coordination skills to the program. He has worked with community participants in the Men’s’ Centre for Social Re-adaptation in Santa Martha, Acatitla, in Mexico city, with youth at Toronto’s Red Door Family Shelter, and with Canadian newcomers in both Toronto and Halifax, as well as in his own practise as an artist.

We are thrilled to have Rodrigo join us to inspire the Art Bikers team and the broader Halifax community this summer.


Welcome, Rodrigo!



Join us on Facebook: Art Bikers

Art Biker: Best Summer Job Opportunity

Working as part of a team under the supervision of the Coordinator and under the direction of the 4Cs Foundation Executive Director, you will be traveling by bicycle pulling a trailer full of art making materials to various neighbourhoods throughout HRM over the summer months. You are responsible for engaging with the public of all ages to encourage and facilitate their participation in free arts-based activities to meet the three goals outlined above.

Please visit: http://www.4csfoundation.com/content/job-descriptions
for full requirements, job description and application details. Please include a cover letter outlining how your expereince and education meets the requirements of the job.


Deadline for applications is April 25, 2011 by 5 pm.
Interviews will take place in person during the week of May 9 to 14th.
Apply by email to info@4csfoundation.com


No phone calls, please.
We thank everyone for their interest, but only those being interviewed will be contacted.

ART BIKERS is a community arts outreach program of the 4Cs Foundation with three goals:
•To provide spontaneous, fun, engaging opportunities for the general public of all ages to engage with young artists in free, art making activities;
•To make art an event that happens at a street and community level;
•To stimulate interest and participation in community arts in Halifax Regional Municipality.
Art Biker Essentials (Must Have):
•Own hybrid or mountain bicycle in excellent working condition
•Physically fit - you will be pulling a trailer that weighs 50+kilos.
•Urban biking experience and high level of comfort biking in traffic
•Experience working or volunteering at a grass roots community level in diverse settings
•Arts and/or performance skills- such as visual arts, dance, theatre (Skills in more than one art discipline would be highly valued.)
•Able to demonstrate art skills and foster creativity, learning and participation in others.
•Work and communicate at all times in a manner that reflects the values of inclusion, diversity, and equality across ages, abilities, gender, incomes, culture and race.
•Excellent judgment.
Required Skills:
•Outgoing, extroverted- very comfortable taking the initiative to start conversations with people of all ages.
•Quick thinking and highly adaptable in unpredictable situations
•Work well as part of a team
•Dependable : No other commitments or expectations of taking time off
•Available to work a schedule that will include days, evenings and weekends
Assets:
•Community-based arts facilitation training or experience (Arts Engage Training Intensive or Creative Arts Facilitation for Transformational Learning, Jumblies Art4All Essentials, Community Arts Practise Certificate, York University, for example) or knowledge of Community development or Adult Education values and principles•Experience working as part of a collaborative team
•Conflict resolution skills
•Bike repair and maintenance skills
•Experience with community gardens or urban farms
•Knowledge of Halifax communities
•A language in addition to English
Three references are required with your application. At least one of these must be able to speak directly to your experience working or volunteering in the community.

Art Bikers 2011 Jobs - Coordinator

COORDINATOR, ART BIKERS Program


4Cs Foundation is seeking an exceptional individual to lead the 5th summer of our Art Bikers program in Halifax, NS. This opportunity is for someone who is passionate about using art as a tool for community development and is an experienced program coordinator. The position requires you to lead a team of young community artists in collaborating with the general public (primarily children/youth and their families) in arts-based activities to inspire and create community artworks. There is the possibility of a renewal of this position in 2012 and beyond, with potential on-going involvement with the 4Cs Foundation.


•You are passionate about working for change at a community level.
•You value collaborative art-making as a tool for bringing people together, to give voice, address issues, share stories and celebrate.
•You can foster creative expression in others by facilitating their learning and engagement.
•You have solid experience with program coordination and staff supervision.
•You are dependable, reliable, a strong communicator, and a respectful, inclusive leader.
Working closely with the 4Cs Executive Director initially, you will help to hire staff and plan the summer program while connecting with established community partners. You will become the key contact and have responsibility for the day-to-day delivery of the Art Bikers program working independently and reporting to the ED. Coordination duties include scheduling (and adjusting schedule for weather) program days, purchasing materials and supplies, ensuring trailers are equipped and organized, tracking and reporting worked hours, communicating with the general public and media, ensuring the safety of the team and participants following 4Cs policies, engaging community organizations, partners and members in activities, problem solving, maintaining an operational budget, updating the Art Bikers blog and other social media, evaluating staff, and writing a final report on the program.
Contract position starts May 2, 2011 and ends September 17, 2011 (earlier end date negotiable but not before September 3, 2011)Salary: $18.00 to $22.00/hour depending on experience.
Flexibility of schedule and a commitment to be available for the entire length of the program is required. Art Bikers generally work 7 hours per day including evening and weekend hours, for a total of 35 hours per week. Some overtime may be required. Scheduling can be affected by weather and special requirements.
Required Experience and Knowledge
•Community-based arts facilitation training (Arts Engage Training Intensive or Creative Arts Facilitation for Transformational Learning, Jumblies Art4All Essentials, Community Arts Practice Certificate, York University, for example) and at least one year work experience/project coordination experience, preferably including supervision of staff.
Or
• Minimum of three years employment in the non-profit sector with coordination responsibilities (including staff or volunteer supervision) and knowledge of community arts practice, community development, adult education principles.
•Arts and creative skills (any discipline such a visual arts, theatre, dance, etc.) preferably across disciplines.
•Ability to communicate these skills and foster creative participation and transfer knowledge to others in a respectful manner, guiding activities in an empowering way.
•Demonstrated experience working at a grass roots community level with diverse groups
•Work and communicate at all times in a manner that reflects the values of inclusion, diversity, and equality across ages, abilities, gender, incomes, culture and race.
•Excellent judgment
•Creative, innovative and positive thinking.
•Strong communication skills - verbal and written
•Must be physically fit
•Experience working with children and youth
Additional Skills:
•Workshop facilitation or adult education facilitation skills
•Ability to engage total strangers
•Conflict resolution skills, anti-oppression framework
•Highly adaptable in unpredictable situations
Assets:
•Own a hybrid or mountain bicycle in excellent working condition
•Urban biking experience and high level of comfort biking in traffic
•Experience with community gardens
•Language in additional to English
•Social media experience (blogging, Facebook)
•Payroll experience
•Own vehicle
Deadline for applications is Friday April 8th, 5 pm. Submit to info@4csfoundation.comPlease include a cover letter outlining how your expereince and education meets the criteria of the job.
Three references are required with your letter of application. Two of these must be able to speak directly to your experience working in the community and with program coordination.
No phone calls please. We appreciate your interest in applying, however only those to be interviewed will be contacted.
ART BIKERS is a community arts outreach program of the 4Cs Foundation with three goals:•To provide spontaneous, fun, engaging opportunities for the general public of all ages to engage with young artists in free, art making activities;•To make art an event that happens at a street and community level;•To stimulate interest and participation in community arts in Halifax Regional Municipality.