SMFA at Tufts University is seeking an artist/designer to serve full-time as a Professor of the Practice in the Graphic Arts area beginning in the fall semester of 2023. At the SMFA, the Graphic Arts area courses focus on the development of a personal and public voice through a broad range of approaches utilizing design, writing, printing, typography, graphic images, pictograms, comics, sequential art, book arts, and internet art.
We invite applications from artists who work in any of the above disciplines within the graphic arts and a practice focusing on screen-based graphics and print media. The candidate’s studio work would integrate design practice across media and can enthusiastically inhabit a multi-disciplinary approach to the graphic arts. As SMFA is traditionally oriented toward hybrid practices and a hybrid-oriented pedagogy, we are also interested in candidates whose practice overlaps with other disciplines. Successful candidates should be able to demonstrate a conceptually rich practice with a strong record of exhibitions in or outside the established art venues.
We are seeking an educator who has a strong grounding in practical, theoretical, historical, and decolonizing design strategy courses. Candidates should be able to teach a wide range of theme-based courses for beginning as well as advanced-level students. The candidate will be expected to work collaboratively with other Graphic Arts faculty members on the development of the curriculum and other area-related activities.
The Graphic Arts area combines aspects of design, design renderings, web design, comics art/sequential narrative, and bookmaking to build a series of flexible skills adaptable to specific projects and goals in commercial settings, in book publishing, on the web, in the streets, and in the world of fine arts.
While SMFA at Tufts has a specific need in the area described above, artists whose practices may lie between categories are also enthusiastically encouraged to apply. We hire studio faculty at the rank of “Professor of the Practice” and welcome applications from artists at any stage of their careers. The position of Professor of the Practice includes teaching two courses per semester and mentorship and advising of students. Faculty members are expected to contribute to department-related activities in addition to serving on school-wide committees.
SMFA at Tufts students choose from a nearly-all elective studio curriculum, without declaring medium specific majors, and many identify as interdisciplinary artists. The school encourages students to engage with multiple disciplines within the art school, the humanities, and sciences. Research based art practice is conducted with access to a variety of resources across the university, including the Tisch College of Civic Life and the School of Engineering, that support production and advanced fabrication with a wide range of facilities and tools, research support, international travel, and experimental scholarship.
SMFA at Tufts faculty members participate in a culture of excellence and achievement in research and creative activity, teaching and learning, and service to the institution and community. The faculty are a community of artists that support work with one another. The ideal candidate will appreciate working in a respectful collegial community of artists and will positively contribute to the artistic and intellectual life of the University.
In addition, SMFA at Tufts seeks colleagues who combine technical skill with a dynamic and socially responsive pedagogical approach to nurturing a diverse community; candidate should have experience facilitating challenging conversations about emergent social and political issues. As the school strives to promote an inclusive environment, it seeks candidates who can contribute to these aims and demonstrate an array of related competencies in the areas of equity and justice.
SMFA at Tufts is committed to building a culturally diverse educational environment. We strongly encourage applications from those belonging to groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, including women, ethnic minorities, differently-abled, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender; and artwork, curriculum and research about underrepresented groups.
Qualifications
Candidates for this position should:
- have an MFA and/or equivalent, with a minimum of 3 years of experience teaching at the undergraduate or graduate level;
- have the ability to teach introductory through graduate level courses and to work collaboratively with faculty in the department, and other areas of the school to develop cross-media studio courses and seminars;
- demonstrate extensive critical, theoretical and art historical knowledge in areas of contemporary art practices;
- engage in interdisciplinary practices that may employ new and evolving technologies along with traditional approaches and who is actively engaged in extending multiple traditions and emerging practices in the field.
Application Instructions
Please submit the following materials via Interfolio at apply.interfolio.com/118007
1. Letter of application, including information about how you will contribute to building a culturally diverse educational environment at SMFA
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Contact information for three references (letters will be requested for finalists)
4. Teaching philosophy, including how a commitment to diversity and inclusion informs your teaching
5. Examples of work with links to time-based work, if applicable
6. Two Sample Syllabi
7. 10 examples of student work
Review of applications will begin on January 1, 2023 and will continue until the positions are filled. For any questions, please contact Janet Sartor, Administrative Assistant, at janet.sartor@tufts.edu.
All offers of employment are contingent upon the completion of a background check and meeting the University’s current COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
