Assistant Professor in the Department of Studio Arts
Last updated: October 12, 2023, 11:40 a.m.
Job title: Assistant Professor in the Department of Studio Arts
Position code: 23_T_STUDIO_M
Date posted: October 12, 2023
Application deadline: November 20, 2023
Advertised until: Position is filled
Position description
The Department of Studio Arts in the Faculty of Fine Arts invites applications for a tenure-track position in Critical Experimental Practices in Intermedia (Video, Performance, and Electronic Arts) at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin August 1, 2024. Intermedia is an experimental transdisciplinary area in Studio Arts where art, media, and technologies are hacked, reimagined, and used as critically engaged tools with the power to shape and transform contemporary culture. The Intermedia program provides a multifaceted curriculum in digital arts and time-based media that offers specialized BFA and MFA degrees, while supporting students from across the Studio Arts Department.
Duties include teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Intermedia while mentoring students in a broad range of media techniques and practices, as well as teaching and supervising MFA students. This position has a 2/2 teaching load of four Intermedia courses within the core curriculum, including introductory, intermediate, and advanced undergraduate and graduate-level studio courses; inclusive teaching methods are essential.
The successful candidate will be expected to fully participate in the academic life of the Studio Arts Department through curriculum development, program stewardship and other service duties, as well as participate in committee work at the Department, Faculty and University levels. In addition to teaching and service, faculty members are expected to maintain an active practice of studio work, research-creation projects, and public dissemination.
Qualifications and assets
Candidates must have a completed MFA or equivalent degree in a field related to Video, Performance, or Electronic Arts. We are seeking applicants with an established exhibition record and a strong foundation in Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts). The successful candidate will be an artist-researcher with demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following technical areas: video, performance, electronic arts, sound art, installation and/or interactive media. The ideal candidate will have a strong interdisciplinary research-creation practice, as well as critical awareness of Intermedia and its relationship to a wide array of theoretical and cultural contexts, including but not limited to: emerging technologies; cultural change and community engagement; radical imagining; speculative futurisms; race, class, gender, and sexuality and/or climate justice and sustainability.
Other required qualifications include:
Professional experience as an independent artist practitioner
Strong exhibition/performance record supported by an excellent research-creation dossier
Prior teaching experience at the university level in Digital Arts, Video Art, Interactive Media, Performance, Electronic Arts, New Media, or other relevant discipline/area
Prior experience with leadership, service, and commitment to diversity and inclusivity
Additional assets may include:
Open, inclusive, and collaborative approaches to pedagogy
Experience with curriculum development
Experience with community-oriented and socially engaged practices
Experience teaching at the graduate level
Experience with program and/or departmental leadership
The main criteria for selection are research-creation and teaching excellence. The successful candidate will provide evidence of high-quality artistic output that demonstrates potential for innovative research leading to public presentations, exhibitions and/or performances and the securing of external research funding, as well as strong potential for outstanding teaching contributions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Candidates are encouraged to share any career interruptions or personal circumstances that may have had an impact on their career goals in their letter of application. These will be carefully considered in the assessment process. The Department values diversity among its faculty and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented groups. Concordia University is an English-language institution of higher learning at which the primary language of instruction and research is English. Since this position supports academic functions of the university, proficiency in English is required. Working knowledge of French, including reading and grading student work in French, is an asset.
How to apply
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and Permanent Residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obliged to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. While applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenship, all applicants must include one of the following statements:
Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
or
No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Applications should be submitted electronically to jobs.studioarts@concordia.ca on or before November 20, 2023, but will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled. Only short-listed candidates will be notified. Submissions should consist of a single PDF file and include the following items in the order specified below:
A cover letter clearly identifying the job title and position code (23_T_STUDIO_M)
A complete updated curriculum vitae
A teaching statement that includes the applicant’s teaching philosophy and interests, as well as approaches to mentorship and inclusive pedagogies
Evidence of teaching effectiveness—e.g., teaching evaluations (if applicable), sample assignments and/or syllabi of courses taught
A current PDF portfolio of works demonstrating an active and professional art practice. Please provide and briefly describe any relevant research including videos, exhibitions, festivals, galleries, installations, performances, conference presentations, publications, reviews, etc.
(For video files, please submit clickable links to a professional website, YouTube, or Vimeo channel, and include the password if the link is private. For time-based works, please limit the total duration to 15-20 minutes. Photographic documentation should include up to 20 images maximum).
The names and contact information of three professional references
A declaration stating either: Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada” or “No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada”
All inquiries regarding this position may be directed to Surabhi Ghosh, Chair, Department of Studio Arts, at chair.studioarts@concordia.ca.
Concordia University is strongly committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, and recognizes the importance of inclusion in achieving excellence in teaching and research. As part of this commitment to providing our students with the dynamic, innovative, and inclusive educational environment of a Next‐Generation University, we require all applicants to articulate in their cover letter how their background, as well as lived and professional experiences and expertise have prepared them to teach in ways that are relevant for a diverse, multicultural contemporary Canadian society.
Possible examples to demonstrate a diverse experience may include, but are not limited to:
teaching about underrepresented populations
community-based research
mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds
offering or organizing educational programming
participation in training and workshops
All applicants will receive an email invitation to complete a short equity survey. Participation in the survey is voluntary and no identifying information about candidates will be shared with hiring committees. Candidates who wish to self-identify as a member of an underrepresented group to the hiring committee may do so in their cover letter or by writing directly to the contact person indicated in this posting.
Adaptive measures
Applicants who anticipate requiring adaptive measures throughout any stage of the recruitment process may contact, in confidence, Anna Barrafato, Accessibility Change Lead: anna.barrafato@concordia.ca or by phone at 514-848-2424 extension 3511.
With more than 90 full-time and part-time professors who are some of Canada’s most celebrated artists, the Department of Studio Arts occupies a significant place within the Faculty’s long-term plan to support both medium-specific training and multi-disciplinary experimentation. The internationally renowned MFA program has been active for over three decades and is one of the few to incorporate a third year for graduate students to prepare advanced projects and transition into the next phase of their careers. Attracting one of the most talented cohorts in the nation, undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in Fibres and Material Practices, Painting and Drawing, Photography, Print Media, Sculpture, Ceramics, Studio Art, and Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts). Students and faculty are invited to access the Core Technical Centre, which houses state-of-the-art facilities and technical expertise for woodworking, metal work, and digital fabrication, to name a few. Digital creation and presentation is supported by the Centre for Digital Arts, which oversees spaces, equipment depots, and provides extensive technical support. Faculty and graduate student researchers are active participants and leaders at the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology, an institute for research-creation at the intersection of new media arts, digital culture and information technology. Research clusters at Milieux include: Technoculture, Art & Games; Speculative Life; Post Image; Textiles + Materiality; Performance Arts (LePARC); Media and Materiality; and Indigenous Futures. Concordia University is part of the Hexagram research network.
With over 4,000 students, faculty, and staff, the Faculty of Fine Arts is among the five largest art and design schools in North America. Nestled in the heart of a pulsing city, embraced by a dynamic research university, the Faculty of Fine Arts benefits from extraordinary access to brilliant practitioners, thriving venues, cross-cultural perspectives, and an extensive network of outstanding facilities for research and production.
Taking advantage of our place within the rich fabric of a research university and our long history as one of the premiere sites in Canada for the study and creation of the arts and arts-based scholarship, the Faculty of Fine Arts is currently engaged in a transformative moment in which pedagogical, conceptual, theoretical, and material practices find resonance with a significant diversity of approaches. In our university community we value equally those practices that embrace aesthetic activism, live performance, historical scholarship, technical experimentation, skills-based production, community fieldwork and education, and therapeutic practices as well as traditional and digital fabrication. In addition to curricular advances, the formation of significant research centres and external partnerships in the Faculty of Fine Arts continue to enrich opportunities for faculty and students alike. For more information, please visit the Faculty of Fine Arts website.
Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, on the traditional lands and waters of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
Building on the skills of our faculty and the strengths of Indigenous, local, and global partnerships, we set our sights further and more broadly than others and align the quality of learning opportunities to larger trends and substantial challenges facing society.
“Concordia is a young, forward-looking university. It’s a unique place where experimentation, innovation and creativity are truly valued. Our community of students, faculty, staff and alumni all contribute to our momentum as Canada’s next-gen university.” — Concordia President Graham Carr.
Profoundly global, Concordia is North America’s top university under the age of 50 and is recognized for attracting some of the most talented faculty and students from around the world. Driven by ambition, innovation and a commitment to reconciliation, research and community engagement, Concordia is celebrated for advancing transformative learning, convergent thinking and public impact.
Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, is exceptional; safe, vibrant and diverse, with new things to discover around every corner. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather and conduct our activities. With a population of 1.7 million, Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is home to four major universities and several clinical research centres and has been named the best student city in the world. It offers the most affordable tuition in Canada.
The city enjoys a thriving multicultural scene. Bilingualism is a part of Montreal’s tradition and adds to its inspiring atmosphere. While supporting a significant anglophone population, it is the one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world.
Montreal is famed for its innovative culinary scene and festivals. It was also the first metropolis to be designated a UNESCO City of Design by the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity.
The city is recognized globally as an important centre for commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, gaming and film.
Territorial Acknowledgement
Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
Employment Equity
Concordia University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community, and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous persons, members of sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to diversification; candidates are invited to self-identify in their applications.
Immigration Status
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian and Permanent Residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obliged to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. While applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenship, all applications must include one of the following statements:
Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada
or
No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.