Artist Educator, Dia Teens, Dia Chelsea

Dia Art Foundation; New York (NY); On-site; USD 25,000 - 26,000; Part time

Job summary

Dia Art Foundation seeks an Artist Educator for its Dia Teens program in New York. The part-time role involves designing curricula and mentoring high school students in creative exploration and critical thinking over a one to three-year period. This unique opportunity provides an inclusive peer-learning environment and emphasizes experiential learning, with program sessions occurring on Wednesday afternoons and a summer program.

Benefits

Reduced or free admission to most American museums

Staff trainings and public programs participation

Qualifications

• Experience with studio art or arts education.
• Experience designing student-centered arts learning experiences.
• Ability to engage with high school-age youth from varied backgrounds.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement inquiry-driven curriculum for youth.
• Facilitate sessions for Dia Teens, including both in-person and off-site activities.
• Engage in ongoing reflective practice and integrate feedback into training.

Skills

Creativity

Flexibility

Empathy

Education

Degree in Arts or related field

Job description

Based in New York, Dia Art Foundation is committed to advancing, realizing, and preserving the vision of artists. A nonprofit founded in 1974, Dia collects the work of some of the most renowned artists of the last half-century, presents long-term, site-specific projects, executes new commissions, and produces scholarly publications related to its exhibitions and collection.

Learning at Dia is founded on the idea that art is an active, self-determined experience. Since their inception in 1993 in New York, learning programs have offered space for the collective curiosity and inquiry of artists, educators, and learners to be in critical exchange at Dia.

For more about Dia’s constellation of sites, exhibitions, and programs of engagement, visit our website .

Position summary

Dia Art Foundation seeks an experienced Artist in the role of Educator to work with high school–age youth at Dia Chelsea. Dia Teens supports 15 ambitious New York–based participants in developing their creative voice, critical thinking, and personal agency in a self-determinative, experiential environment over time, as teens may participate in the program for one to three years. The Artist Educator will lead an original curriculum that evolves in collaboration with teen participants to create an inclusive peer-learning space shaped by the group’s intersecting creative interests and lived experiences.

This part-time, temporary position is based at Dia Chelsea and takes place September 2025–August 2026. It includes in-person program sessions on Wednesday afternoons during the academic year and a six-week summer program. The Artist Educator, Dia Teens, Dia Chelsea, works in close collaboration with the Learning and Engagement team based in New York and reports to the Curator of Public Engagement.

The successful candidate’s practice engages with experimental pedagogy, relationship-building, reciprocity, or other related program values, and they are excited to explore questions central to their practice through exchange with teens.

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Design and implement a responsive, inquiry-driven curriculum guided by critical questions that drive the arc of learning over time. The curriculum opens up space for multiple perspectives, creative exploration, and informed risk-taking while expanding participants’ understanding of art-making and art’s impact in the world. Incorporating opportunities for participants’ creative and critical choice-making is central to the design and delivery of program sessions
• Engage deeply with Dia’s collection, program, history, and relevant concepts and methodologies in contemporary art and experimental pedagogy; conduct additional research as required to support curriculum development and program learning objectives
• In collaboration with Dia’s Learning and Engagement team, design, attend, and facilitate all on-site and off-site Dia Teens sessions, including Wednesdays, 4–6 pm, during the 2025–26 academic year and a six-week, 24-session summer program in July–August 2026
• Support youth in developing collaborative hands-on projects based on their individual and collective interests, and support program production or project presentations
• Engage in ongoing reflective practice—both individually and collaboratively with colleagues—and integrate feedback from teens, program partners, and Dia staff into future curriculum planning and facilitation

Other duties and responsibilities

• Carry out all administrative responsibilities in a timely manner and communicate clearly, promptly, and on an ongoing basis with the Learning and Engagement team during program planning and implementation, including submission of curriculum drafts and lesson plans, materials lists, and evaluations, and regular meeting attendance
• Participate in a practice of reflection independently and with colleagues over the course of employment; support program evaluations as required and incorporate feedback from participants, program partners, and Dia staff into program design and delivery
• Attend trainings and meetings as required

Education, certification, and experience

• A practicing artist, cultural producer, or community-centered practitioner; artist with a socially engaged art practice or who has developed their practice through relational, interdisciplinary, or self-directed pathways are encouraged to apply
• Applied experience in studio art, arts/museum education, or a related field
• Experience designing and facilitating student-centered arts learning experiences in out-of-school settings; experience with responsive or emergent curricula desired
• Experience working directly with high school–age youth in out-of-school, museum, or community settings, and a demonstrated commitment to centering cultural equity for youth populations with varying backgrounds, life experiences, and learning styles is required

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Deep engagement with contemporary art and experimental pedagogy
• Must be a creative, critical, and flexible thinker who thrives in a responsive, collaborative setting and is strongly committed to youth agency
• Active listening skills, intellectual curiosity, empathy, high emotional intelligence, and comfort with open-ended or experimental working processes are essential
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work independently and to efficiently balance and meet short- and long-term deadlines
• Understanding of and interest in the arts landscape, community-based organizations, and educational resources of New York

This position requires a background check.

Working conditions and physical demands

This is a part-time, fixed-term position based at Dia Chelsea. The Artist Educator, Dia Teens, Dia Chelsea, is engaged from September 2025 to August 2026 with an expected schedule of 780 hours for the duration of the position at the Artist-Educator rate of $33 per hour. Weekly hours will vary, averaging approximately 8–14 hours per week during the academic year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer intensive.

Weekly hours include in-person program facilitation, session preparation and planning, and curriculum design; preparatory work and meetings relating to curriculum development may be done remotely.

Please note that to provide a safe workplace free of recognized hazards and to take every possible step to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 among our employees, Dia Art Foundation has a mandatory vaccination requirement for all staff and requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon hire, except for those who obtain an exemption due to a medical condition, a religious belief, or pregnancy.

Artist Educators are paid at a competitive hourly rate. Staff with Dia Art Foundation ID badges gain reduced or free admission to most American museums and arts organizations. As employees, Artist Educators may participate in staff trainings and public programs.

This position is represented by the Technical, Office & Professional Union, Local 2110, UAW, AFL-CIO.

Qualified applicants may apply for this position by emailing the following materials to [e-mail] with “Artist Educator, Dia Teens, Dia Chelsea” as the subject heading:

• Cover letter highlighting your experience, pedagogical approach, and interest in the Dia Teens program, as well as questions or ideas related to your individual practice or research that you hope to explore through this opportunity
• Resume or CV indicating your experience as a facilitator, in particular as it relates to working with high school–age youth
• Up to three project or curriculum samples (preferably related to out-of-school, museum, or community-based settings)
• Artist statement and link to portfolio or website
• Optional: please indicate if you would like to also be considered for the Artist Educator, Dia Teens, Dia Beacon position

No phone calls or emails to addresses other than the one specified please.

Dia Art Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, citizenship status, disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in its employment policies. In addition, Dia will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and supports a neurodiverse workplace. Candidates with nontraditional learning or career paths and/or applicants whose qualifications differ from those listed above are encouraged to apply.