You are the ideal candidate for this job if you:

• Live and/or work in Portland
• Are highly motivated, visible and flexible.
• Love to attend networking and community events, including but not limited to City Council meetings, arts events, etc.
• Can cultivate and maintain relationships.
• Have 3-5 years experience in non-profit management or fundraising and a proven track record in successful fundraising and/or marketing.
• Have excellent skills in communication (both verbal and written) and event planning and management.
• Have excellent organizational skills, the ability to multi-task, anticipate, set priorities and meet deadlines.
• Are passionately interested in the Portland arts community!

Here is what you would do:

Current Programs

PACA’s ongoing programs include First Friday Art Walk, Creative Conversations

• Oversee all aspects of developing and distributing promotional materials including design/printing, web, social media and email
• Distribute press releases
• Solicit partnerships and sponsorships
• Provide administrative support to the Portland Public Art Committee

Community Outreach and Communications

• Actively represent PACA in the community
• Establish relationships and leverage networks with arts advocacy organizations on the local, regional and national level
• Conduct outreach and establish partnerships with other organizations
• Maintain press contacts and relationships
• Process and respond to correspondence and communications

Grants & Fundraising

• Research and develop funding sources for current and prospective programs
• Develop and maintain contacts database (mail/email)
• Develop and maintain a yearly calendar for grant submissions
• Acknowledge and track gifts, steward donors
• Write grants and followup reports

Administration & Business

• Develop and maintain vendor relationships
• Provide administrative support to Board
• Develop and oversee annual budget in collaboration with Board
• Financial management including bookkeeping, processing accounts receivable, etc.
• General office tasks such as filing, processing mailings, etc.

Qualifications Requirements

Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking.  Computer skills together with fluency in office applications (Word, Excel, Quickbooks) and social media. Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to work collaboratively with the volunteer Board of Directors. Proven record of establishing and maintaining strong relationships with artists and non-profit organizations in the community.

Compensation

Commensurate with experience. The position is an independent contractor (minimum 20 hours a week), and could become full time with increased funds and expansion.

How To Apply

Email resume and cover letter to info@portlandarts.org by Friday, June 11.

About Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance (PACA):
Founded in 1985 and designated as the City of Portland, Maine’s local arts agency in 1997, PACA’s core programs include First Friday Art Walk and Creative Conversations. PACA also provides support to the City of Portland’s Public Art Committee as well as Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. PACA was the facilitating agency for Portland’s participation in the Maine Arts Commission’s Discovery Research and “Arts and Economic Prosperity” national survey through Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. For more information, visit www.portlandarts.org.

The Lightbulb Sessions is about inspiring and being inspired by “those flashes of light when you get a really cool idea” and the hard work it takes to see those ideas come to fruition. For this event, PACA welcomes several arts community “movers and shakers” to discuss recently developed projects that have made Portland a more exciting, interesting, and creative place to be. A series of short presentations will be followed by an informal workshop to ask questions, help develop ideas, learn how to get involved… and hopefully leave participants with a light bulb of their own. Presenters for this inaugural program include Annie Larmon and Petra Simmons (Crit Club), Spencer Albee and Mark Curdo (Clash of the Titans), Lisa Pixley (Pickwick Independent Press), Michelle Souliere (The Green Hand Bookstore), Ahna Galatea (Dirty Dishes Burlesque) and others.

All PACA’s Creative Conversations take place at SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress Street in Portland, Maine www.space538.org. Doors open at 6:30 PM, and programs run from 7 to 9 PM. The events are free and open to the public. Visit www.portlandarts.org or call Cathy Valenza at (207) 772.6828 for more information.

1. Longfellow Square (start)
2. Congress Square
3. Monument Square Washington Avenue @ Congress St.
4. India Street @ Middle Street
5. Exchange Street @ Middle Street
6. Longfellow Square (return)

The free trolley service is financed by the Portland Arts & Cultural Alliance, with generous donor support. If you or
your organization would like to sponsor the trolley please contact PACA at info@portlandarts.org or at 772-6828.
Special thanks to Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours, owners and operators of the Portland trolleys.

The Arts in our Communities program will highlight several arts projects currently engaging diverse communities in Portland. Panelists will discuss programs in Public Art, individual initiatives, and Art At Work, a national venture to improve municipal government through strategic art-making projects with city employees and elected politicians. The program will be moderated by Marty Pottenger, PACA board member and Director of Art At Work with the City of Portland, www.artatworkproject.us. The public is invited to join program participants Elizabeth Jabar (Associate Professor and Chair of the Printmaking Department, Maine College of Art), Daniel Minter (Portland-based visual artist), Donna Gaspar Jarvis (Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs, University of New England), Tessy Seward (Co-founder, ROiL theatre group; Maine Inside Out) and Jennie Hahn (Artistic Director, Open Waters Theatre Arts) for an informal Conversation about The Arts in our Communities.

Creative Conversati is hosted by SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress Street; doors open at 6:30 and the program starts at 7 pm.

PACA kicks off an all new series of Creative Conversations on March 17 with “YOUR TURN!”.

All Creative Conversations take place at SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress Street, Portland, www.space538.org.
Doors open at 6:30, program from 7 to 9 pm.

YOUR TURN! is a Creative Conversations comment box, moderated by Jessica Tomlinson.  This an open-forum discussion with members of PACA, the newly minted Creative Portland Corporation, City of Portland representatives, local press and the music and gallery communities. Come to this informal roundtable for answers to your questions or to voice your concerns about the future of the Arts in Portland. There are a few different avenues you can take to contribute to the conversation: during the discussion; submit an email anytime up until the day of the event with your question or comment to info@portlandarts.org, include the subject line “Your Turn”; or fill out a comment card anonymously and drop it in the comment box provided at the beginning of the night. Come be a part of setting the Arts agenda for years to come.

Future Creative Conversations:

April 13 – The Arts in our Communities.  This program will highlight several projects that are currently engaging diverse communities in Portland through the arts.  Panelists will discuss programs in Public Art, individual initiatives, and Art at Work, a national venture to improve municipal government through strategic art-making projects with city employees and elected politicians.  This program will be moderated by Marty Pottenger, PACA board member and Arts & Equity Director for the city of Portland, www.artatworkproject.us.

May 19 – Cool Ideas!  This evening, PACA invites several arts leaders in the community to discuss recently developed projects that have made Portland a more exciting, interesting, and creative place to be.

Board Secretary Virginia Rose commented, “With so many new venues across Portland, we are hoping to make travel between downtown and Munjoy Hill easier, and bring more art walk participants across the Franklin Artery in style.”

The trolley will run, free of charge, making stops along the following route: Longfellow Square, Congress Square, Monument Square, Washington Avenue & Congress Street, India Street & Middle Street, Exchange Street & Middle Street. For more information about Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours, see their website: www.portlanddiscovery.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

In the 2008-09 fiscal year, PACA received $10,000 from the Maine Arts Commission for building capacity in Maine’s cultural communities and $4,000 for the Public Art Lecture Series. The Davis Family Foundation granted PACA $7,500 for the First Friday Art Walk, and the City of Portland contributed $5,000 for general operating support.

Board president Alice Kornhauser commented, “We are deeply gratified to have such substantial support from public, private and non-profit sectors for programs like First Friday Art Walk that contribute so much to the quality of life in Portland, not to mention over $250,000 a year to the local economy.”

PACA’s four newly-appointed board members include: Peter Bass (President of Random Orbit, Inc. a progressive real estate development company and member of the Developers Collaborative), Ezekiel Callanan (co-founder and Executive Director of Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts), Amanda Flanagan (Account Executive, gBritt PR), and Marty Pottenger (Director, Arts & Equity Initiative, City of Portland and Executive Director, Terra Moto Inc.).

About Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance (PACA):
Founded in 1985 and designated as the City of Portland, Maine’s local arts agency in 1997, PACA’s core programs include First Friday Art Walk and Creative Conversations. PACA also provides support to the City of Portland’s Public Art Committee as well as the newly established Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. PACA was the facilitating agency for Portland’s participation in the Maine Arts Commission’s Discovery Research and “Arts and Economic Prosperity” national survey through Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.

Saturday, May 30th
11:00am – 1:00pm
$5

We are having an Arts & Crafts event for all ages! Activities will include: Cartooning lessons by Ed King, painting slates from our roof, making beaded jewelry, making magnets and collages, and more! All materials included (but bring your own if you’d like!) Kids should wear clothes they can get messy.

St. Lawrence Arts Center
76 Congress St. Portland, Me.
775-5568

Join the artists for a reception including live music performed by the local group, under a cardboard sea from 5:00 to 10:00 pm. “Looking Inside” will present art in a variety of mediums from the fifteen artists who make up this unique art collective. Friday’s celebration will also be an open studio event, offering the public a unique opportunity to meet the artists and visit their studios.

The upcoming show also celebrates running with scissors’ one-year anniversary at its new location, 54 Cove Street, home of the Cove Street Art Center.  The show continues through July 31. For more information or directions, call 699-4242.

The relocation of running with scissors artist studio space to Cove Street has resulted both in an expansion of it’s fully-equipped studio concept and a revival of it’s vibrant and re-known gallery.  The 7 year old studio’s presence has also inspired owner, Jeff Ritter, to transform the entire building into the Cove Street Art Center, which, as well as being home to running with scissors and J.S. Ritter Supply for jewelers, will soon house a second gallery and artist studio space. Construction is virtually completed on the 3500 square feet Open Concepts Studios which includes studio space for most art disciplines, a gallery, and a metals and glass workshop/classroom space. Although appropriate for a variety of art disciplines, all of the studios will have natural gas feeds and ventilation and are approved for the use of soldering equipment making these studios ideally unique in Portland for both jewelers and glassmakers.

A recent Portland Press Herald article shares some information about the initiative.

Read the Full Article Here

“This is a new frontier on how to use TIF money,” said City Councilor David Marshall. “The intent is to use it for the public good, and I really believe that using TIFs for arts and cultural purposes gets to the heart of the public good.” (Portland Press Herald)