Volunteers

"It is through the arts that a society is defined and to volunteer at Mesa Arts Center is one way of assisting the arts to enhance the cultural life of our community." -Claude Guldner, MAC Usher

The mission of the volunteer office is to recognize and utilize the talents of community members to assist in expanding services to the public while economizing staff time. Whether you have an artistic talent that you would like to share or would just like to get involved, volunteering at Mesa Arts Center is the perfect opportunity to give back to the community while enjoying and supporting the arts.

The Mesa Arts Center Volunteer program is managed by Michelle Prosser. Michelle can be reached at 480-644-4695, or michelle.prosser@mesaartscenter.com. 

Benefits for Active Volunteers

• Gain valuable experience in the arts field
• Give back to your community while supporting the arts
• Make wonderful new friendships
• Earn points while you volunteer to redeem for Mesa Arts Center class discounts, complimentary tickets to performances, membership opportunities and more!

Volunteer Opportunities

• Special Events Aide
• Theater Usher
• Docent
• Museum Admissions Attendant
• Instructors Aide
• Store Assistant
• Tour Guide
• Administrative Aide

Ready to get started? Click here to fill out the volunteer application form or download the form here. Questions? Contact Michelle Prosser, Volunteer Program Manager. Michelle can be reached at 480-644-4695, or michelle.prosser@mesaartscenter.com. 

For Current Volunteers

Click HERE to go to: Online Volunteer System

Click HERE to download the schedule for the 1st Half of the 2019-20 Season

Mesa Arts Center is currently looking to fill the following positions:

Arts and Culture Deputy Director - Operations and Administration

Mesa Department of Arts and Culture Seeks Deputy Director:

The City of Mesa, AZ, the 35th largest city in the U.S. and part of the Phoenix metro area, seeks an Arts and Culture Deputy Director who will also be Deputy Director of Mesa Arts Center (MAC). MAC is an award-winning venue and the largest multidisciplinary arts center in the southwest, including four theaters, 14 art studios, a contemporary arts museum and a seven-acre campus with two outdoor stages, and is known for its exemplary programs and community engagement. The department, which has a $17.7M budget, also includes two highly respected museums in the downtown core within blocks of MAC: the i.d.e.a. Museum and the Arizona Museum of Natural History. The three organizations are anchors for the City of Mesa’s Innovation District. Competitive candidates will be curious, creative and analytical, with emotional intelligence and a strong passion for the arts. They will be extraordinary communicators with extensive experience managing finance, administration, facilities operations and complex, diverse organizations, preferably in an arts and culture setting. Understanding of IT, data mining and analysis, and ticketing/CRM systems is a plus. There is a strong preference for candidates with senior management experience in a multidisciplinary, museum or performing arts setting, and public sector experience is a plus. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Excellent medical plan and AZ State Retirement System benefits. Please include a cover letter and resume with your application. For more details and to apply, visit: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/mesaaz

Teaching Artists

We are always looking for educators and artists to work with our school and community programs and residencies. If you are passionate about arts education and the integration of the arts into communities, we would love to hear from you! If you are interested in working with Mesa Arts Center’s education department, please send a resume and cover letter providing more information on your academic, artistic and professional experience to ENGAGEMENT@MESAARTSCENTER.COM with a subject line: “Teaching Artist Opportunities”. The Engagement department accepts applications on a rolling basis. 

Teaching Artists

We are always looking for educators and artists to work with our school and community programs and residencies. If you are passionate about arts education and the integration of the arts into communities, we would love to hear from you! If you are interested in working with Mesa Arts Center’s education department, please send a resume and cover letter providing more information on your academic, artistic and professional experience to ENGAGEMENT@MESAARTSCENTER.COM with a subject line: “Teaching Artist Opportunities”.

The Engagement department accepts applications on a rolling basis. 

Volunteers

We provide ways for community members to artistically participate in arts activities during festivals and other community events. We are always looking for volunteers to assist in these events. 

To learn how to apply to the Volunteer Program, please click here. 

Interns

Engagement Office Internships 

Interns work directly with artists and staff of the Engagement Office department to create and implement site-specific community arts programming.

Marketing and Public Relations Internships

Internships are a way students can gain professional experience and provide a service in their community. At Mesa Arts Center, interns who work in the marketing department gain experience in marketing, public relations, publicity, social networking, content creation, arts administration and event promotion. Interns become familiar with all of the internal departments of Mesa Arts Center, including Art Studios, Engagement, Festivals and Volunteers, Development/Membership, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum and Performing Live. 

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to connect@mesaartscenter.com. Applications are welcome at any time. For more information, click here.

Development Internships

Internships are a way students can gain professional experience and provide a service in their community. At Mesa Arts Center, interns who work in the development department gain experience in donor-ship, non-profit development, fundraising, social networking, content creation, arts administration and event promotion. Interns become familiar with all of the internal departments of Mesa Arts Center, including Art Studios, Engagement, Festivals and Volunteers, Development/Membership, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum and Performing Live. 

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to developmentdirector@mesaartscenter.com. Applications are welcome at any time. For more information, click here.

MCA Docents

A Docent is a teacher who serves Mesa Contemporary Arts and the community in the field of art education. Docents are considered key volunteers and extensions of the Mesa Contemporary Arts staff. They provide public and private tours and provide auxiliary security in exhibition areas during special events and opening receptions. Docents attend bi-monthly meetings, which include lectures and workshops on current exhibitions as well as art related field trips. 

To learn how to apply to the Volunteer Program, please click here.

Museum Admissions Attendants

Museum Admissions Attendants are primarily responsible for ensuring a welcoming and positive experience for all visitors to Mesa Contemporary Arts. These volunteers manage the Admissions Desk, handle Point of Sale transactions for museum admissions, greet visitors upon arrival and on the phone, answering general questions and providing friendly customer service to all patrons. For more information, click here to view a complete job description.

To learn how to apply to the Volunteer Program, please click here.

MCA Interns

Internships are a way students can gain professional experience and provide a service in their community. At Mesa Contemporary Arts, interns are an integral part of the staff and assist with all aspects of the museum, including curatorial, objects management, exhibition installation and art education. Interns become familiar with proper museum procedures and expand their knowledge of the profession.

To learn how to apply to the Internship Program, please click here.

Call To Artists

Artists applications are accepted throught the year. 

Please download artist application here.

Mesa Arts Center Creative Economy Fund

Application Deadline was May 3, 2019 at 5:00 pm

As part of a larger initiative to further activate the urban center of Mesa, to increase the growing number and variety of offerings at the Mesa Arts Center (MAC) in downtown Mesa, and to continue to build an environment of creativity and discovery in the downtown district, the CREATIVE ECONOMY FUND in-kind grant program is being continued for a seventh year. The intent of this program is: 1) to provide support to professional and semi-professional organizations who use or wish to use the MAC venues; 2) to bring new cultural offerings to the Mesa and East Valley communities; and 3) to encourage new organizations to experience presenting or producing an event at the MAC, in order to form new partnerships and relationships among and across cultural organizations in the region.

The City of Mesa Department of Arts and Culture CREATIVE ECONOMY FUND will support reduced licensing rates at the Mesa Arts Center for non-profit organizations presenting an arts project, event, activity, workshop or a series of any of the above. Organizations may submit only one application for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Project Support

Applicants may submit proposals requesting reduction of rental costs for the use of Mesa Arts Center theaters, Studios or Shadow Walk, or Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum lecture hall or courtyard for the purpose of presenting quality arts programs for the Mesa community and region. The proposed projects must take place between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.

Projects may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A concert or series of concerts
• A theater, dance or spoken word production
• A collaborative or interactive community art project
• A festival
• A workshop or class(es) in the visual or performing arts
• A multidisciplinary project
  
  
  

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be a non-profit, Arizona-based 501(c)(3) organization. While arts and culture organizations are strongly encouraged to apply, other non-profit organizations that are offering arts programming to the public are also welcome to apply. Non-profit organizations whose tax exempt status is pending may apply one time only through a non-profit fiscal sponsor. A letter from the fiscal sponsor must accompany the application.

Please note: The MAC Foundation’s ACES Program is in transition, and new guidelines will be issued in the coming months. If you apply to both the Creative Economy Fund program and the revamped MAC Foundation support program (when guidelines are issued) and are awarded both, you will need to choose to receive one or the other award but cannot accept both. You will not be eligible to receive support through both programs. In the past, ACES has focused on support of educational/student organizations and or presentations for educational audiences.

The funded project must take place at Mesa Arts Center before June 30, 2020. Those applicants who already present work at Mesa Arts Center and are doing so during the current fiscal year, July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, must include, as part of the project for which support is requested, a community engagement, education or audience development activity or initiative, and are strongly encouraged to expand on previous efforts of these kinds. We require this so that the support provided through the Creative Economy enables growth of the organization’s audiences and/or increased value to the community.

Examples of activities that fulfill this requirement include workshops, audience talk-backs, lecture-demonstrations, school or community-based performances or outreach activities, discount ticket offers, ticket giveaways to low-income or underserved audiences, and special promotions that reach new audiences, although this is by no means an exhaustive list. Creativity in responding to this requirement is encouraged, and a thoughtful plan will increase the likelihood of receiving support.

Requirements

Amounts requested for licensing reduction may not exceed the total amount being paid in facility licensing fees. Funding awarded to any one organization will not exceed $5,000, and for most applicants is unlikely to exceed $2,500.

The amount requested can cover base license fees only; all production, front-of-house, or ticketing fees that are not included as part of the licensing fee will not be eligible for funding, but must be included as expenses in the project budget. Marketing services will not be provided as part of this support, but all projects taking place at Mesa Arts Center will be included as calendar listings on MAC’s website and promoted on our digital marquees.

As a requirement of the application, you must discuss calendar availability and cost estimates with Mesa Arts Center’s Event Services Coordinator, Jaime Kenney, 480-644-6511 or jaime.kenney@mesaartscenter.com, prior to developing your budget. Please do not wait until the final week for submission to contact Jaime, as she could be out of town, at a conference, or unavailable to do last minute calculations. Once you know your project and have selected a date, contact her immediately.

The events held at the Mesa Arts Center through the Creative Economy Fund cannot be fundraising events or promoted as such by the presenting/producing organization, whether for your own or another organization or cause. Organizations funded agree to acknowledge support from Mesa Arts Center in programs and other means that are feasible and appropriate, such as curtain speeches.

Final Report

Each applicant awarded support by the City of Mesa Department of Arts and Culture Creative Economy Fund must provide the City with a follow-up report and a financial report showing all income and expenses, and describing how the project met the stated applicant objectives and the criteria below. The Final Report is due by July 31, 2020.

For information about the Mesa Arts Center visit mesaartscenter.com. For facility details and licensing fees/information please click on “Visit” and then “Host a Function” then scroll to “Theaters” and finally to “rental rates.

REVIEW CRITERIA

1. Quality of the artistic work to be presented and/or the past artistic work of the applicant organization or its presentations.
2. Length or scope of the engagement or activity, and any indication of interest or intention to develop an ongoing relationship with the Mesa Arts Center.
3. Extent to which the project provides new or different experiences to the community, meets a community need, or provides an experience or cultural opportunity in which the community has indicated an interest/need/desire.
4. Quality and likely impact of any proposed education, outreach/engagement programs, or audience development activities.
5. Soundness of the plan for the proposed project and the likelihood of success. Ability of the organization to meet the stated objectives of the project, as shared by the applicant in the application.

All applicants are encouraged to include audience engagement/audience development activities as part of their project, which will be considered in rating criteria number 4 above.

Application Process

Please fill out the online application form and upload the required additional documents.

You are also welcome to use the Word version of the form to email, mail or drop off.  Please make sure to include the additional required documents.

APPLICATION DEADLINE, REVIEW PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION

April 23, 2019
5 - 6 p.m.
Grant Workshop – get tips on submitting a competitive grant
Mesa Arts Center, South Studios Conference Room, 3rd Floor
PLEASE RSVP to Sarah Goedicke at 480-644-6607 or sarah.goedicke@mesaartscenter.com

May 3, 2019 (by 5:00 p.m.)
Application due date

May 8 - 10, 2019
Applications reviewed by a community panel; recommendations made

May 23, 2019
Recommendations are reviewed and endorsed by the Museum and Cultural Advisory Board

By May 31, 2019
Applicants are notified of the outcome of their proposal

June 30, 2020
Projects must be completed

July 31, 2020
2019-20 Final Report due

QUESTIONS? Contact Sarah Goedicke at 480-644-6607 or sarah.goedicke@mesaartscenter.com