We're hiring! CDCP is seeking an Operations Assistant

Casey Droege Cultural Productions (CDCP)
Position Title: Operations Assistant

Job Type: Contracted Worker
Duration: TBD
Hours: 15-20 hours/week
Location: Remote/Virtual and in person
Starting Rate: $18–$22/hour

About CDCP and TASC Consulting:

Casey Droege Cultural Productions (CDCP) is an artist-run, woman- and disability-owned business created in 2017. CDCP is an experiment in sustaining a for-profit, socially-minded arts business while building an arts economy in a city with a small arts ecosystem. Through our work, we provide unique art solutions that have an immediate impact.

The Art Supply Co. (CDCP’s consulting business) works with businesses and developers to facilitate artwork acquisitions and commissions, with a focus on regional artists and designers. By choosing to work with TASC, our clients support a thriving creative community and encourage a sustainable economy for artists in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.

Projects include buying and commissioning artworks for corporate, hospitality, and educational sites, among others. We also organize events that include artists in activities, talks, or commissions. Other projects focus on artist management for specific client-run installations.

CDCP aims to build authentic and long-term relationships with artists, clients, and communities through our values of compassion and respect. We promote a safe and inclusive work environment supportive of underrepresented voices. CDCP honors the individual perspectives and experiences of its staff and is ultimately grounded by a shared value of teamwork.

Position Description:

The Operations Assistant is responsible for supporting Project Managers and the Project Assistant in the logistics and realization of projects and events. OAs are tasked with research, communication and outreach, as well as the development of project materials and documents. OAs also work with the Connection Coordinator to execute and manage the posting of all social media content. For any CDCP-organized exhibitions, OAs may be asked to help with overseeing the gallery during open hours. Excellent communication/interpersonal skills and knowledge of CDCP’s vision and mission are essential. OAs report directly to the Director and Assistant Director and will be assigned to support a few specific projects as well as handle other tasks as needed. The position offers training for a Project Manager or Operations Manager position.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Project & Event Support

• Streamlining and maintaining project spreadsheet

• Creating document templates in Google Drive

• Working alongside the Finance Manager to generate reports for project reimbursement and ensure payment to artists/vendors/etc.

• General research to support Project Managers and project/event development

• Assisting with making suggestions on new project management tools

• Assisting with outreach to project-related contacts (i.e. clients, artists, vendors, etc.) via email and phone

• Presence at select on-site meetings and location visits

• Stepping in to assist on projects/events as needed

• Other administrative tasks as needed

• Social Media

• Work alongside the Connection Coordinator, who is responsible for planning and drafting all social media content; have regular meetings to keep on track (biweekly or monthly)

• Manage social media calendar, with distinct dates and times of each posting

• Responsible for posting all social media content on platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) for both CDCP and TASC accounts

• Respond to all social media messages, comments, repost on stories, etc.

• Create social media graphics and have the ability to change them if needed

• Create a weekly presentation to share social media plans with the team at All Staff meeting

• Create event announcements on online listings as needed

• Update taplinks to reflect current events and happenings

• Only as needed (or interested), write blog posts, create interviews, and do outreach for post collaboration from community and team members

• Gallery Support (if/when needed)

• Learning/communicating basic biographical information about artists featured in the gallery

• Operate/update Square point-of-sale system

• Create a welcoming/inclusive environment for guests of the exhibit

• Stay attuned to visitor experience and answer any questions to the best of your ability

• Follow all opening and closing procedures

Knowledge and Skills Required:

• Dedication to and alignment with CDCP’s values

• Participation in maintaining a safe space work environment that supports a team mentality

• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills; comfort talking with people with a wide range of art knowledge and interests

• Ability to creatively problem solve and adapt to feedback

• Commitment to preserving and building positive and respectful relationships with clients, artists, vendors, venues, etc.

• Hard-working, responsible, punctual, flexible to last-minute changes, disciplined, able to take direction and learn new skills

• Confident in taking the lead on administrative organization and following up with Project Managers and fellow staff for updates and organizational improvements as needed

• Self-motivated and able to work independently

• Demonstrated accuracy and strong attention to detail

• Experience and comfort with working as part of a small team and delegating tasks

• Ability to get around the city to various meetings (car not required)

• Awareness of Pittsburgh-based and/or regional artists and arts organizations is preferred

• Experience with Google Workspace programs and proficiency with Adobe suite is preferred; experience with presentation platforms like Sketch Up, Miro, and Jam Board is preferred

• Experience with social media content creation and/or management is preferred; comfort with using social media platforms is required.

To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and three professional references via email to Hannah Turpin, CDCP Assistant Director at hannah@caseydroege.com.

Applications received by 11:59 PM on Friday, June 23, 2023 will be given priority. However, the application will remain open until the position is filled.

Get to know the third Pedantic Cohort on Wednesday, June 14

The third Pedantic cohort landed in Pittsburgh last week. We’re thrilled to host them for the next month and are looking forward to seeing the connections they create with one another as well as with the city. Join us on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 to welcome and meet our third Pedantic cohort. Our first international group, the Pedantic Residents will be giving brief presentations on their backgrounds and their practices.

Headshot of Akea Brionne, courtesy of the artist

Headshot of Chenoa Baker, photo by Syracuse in Focus / The Daily Burst

Illustrated headshot of Chad Bilyeu, illustration by Dany Modesto Rodriguez

This summer’s three residents include Akea Brionne, a Creole lens-based artist and researcher based in Detroit, MI, whose work is rooted in an interdisciplinary exploration of the Black experience in America, with emphasis on the relationship between Black women and social geography; Chenoa Baker, a curator based in West Roxbury, MA whose work is based in anti-colonial, equitable, and collectivist work; and Chad Bilyeu, a Black American writer, historian, and photographer based in Leiden, the Netherlands, whose practice involves the creation of what is known in the comic industry as “full scripts”–scripts meant to provide an artist with dialogue, scenario, and expositional instructions.

This is a free event, and RSVP is requested to attend. To RSVP, please fill out the form here.

What: Pedantic Meet and Greet
When: Wednesday, June 14, 6:00-7:30pm
Where: KST Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

CDCP x WCDC 2023-2024 Season Open Call

CDCP x WCDC 2023-2024 Season Open Call

APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 23rd, 2023

CDCP is pleased to host a call for works in collaboration with the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC) and Naomi Chambers of FlowerHouse.

We’re seeking Wilkinsburg artists to submit work for consideration. We will be curating four solo exhibitions at the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation’s (WCDC) Lohr Gallery and flex space (725 Wood St., Wilkinsburg, PA 15221) that highlight the arts within the community.

Applicants must either be residents of Wilkinsburg, have a studio in Wilkinsburg, or have a strong relationship to the community.  

• Only 2D work will be accepted. Work must be ready to attach via a hook with wire or similar and cannot exceed roughly five pounds in weight per piece.

• Each artist will receive a $1,000 stipend in recognition of their work. This is in collaboration with the Visual Arts Coalition for Equity’s (VACE) standard wage for a solo exhibition. 

• Each exhibition will run for approximately 8 weeks open on Saturdays from 12–5pm. Exhibition slots will be scheduled between August 2023 and June 2024.

• Artists will be asked to do a video interview and participate in a Saturday public program/opening co-organized by Naomi Chambers of FlowerHouse.

• Artists will receive professional documentation of the show organized by CDCP.

• CDCP will work with artists to sell available works and artists will receive 80% of all sales in one payment at the end of the exhibition.

• One of these exhibitions will align with Little Amal, a global art event coming to Pittsburgh. For this exhibition, we are especially interested in work that connects with the refugee experience, a newfound sense of home, or constellations.

Please click the button below to learn more and apply.

Interview with a Pedantic Guide: Meet Edith Abeyta

As the summer 2023 term of Pedantic draws closer, we’re thinking back to our first cohort and the guides that helped make Pedantic a special experience for our inaugural residents.

Our Operations Assistant Lindsay Herring recently reached out to one of the guides from that term, Edith Abeyta, and asked a few questions about their time as a guide and how it influenced their practice.

What is it about Pittsburgh that makes it a remarkable space for an explorative residency such as Pedantic?

The scale of Pittsburgh makes it possible to connect with many different neighborhoods, locations, artists, and people each of which is unique. With over 130 municipalities in the county and over 90 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh visitors/guests from other places can be at the river, in the hills, and walking in a forest in a matter of minutes. Traveling across the city one can go from the 21st century to the 19th century in a short car trip. How many cities can boast of time travel?

What stood out to you during your time as a guide?

Getting together in person with Pedantic residents and introducing them to artists and places during a pandemic in a safe manner was exceptional. Can art, thinking about art, and talking about still happen in a pandemic - yes it can !

Did the residency spark anything for your own practice?

The opportunities to connect and converse with other people who are thinking about and doing art is a plus. It opens up ways of thinking, looking, seeing, and making that are different, maybe new, and are sparks for ways to approach my own practice. Expansion is the word I would use to describe my experience.

CDCP x WCDC Present: Megan Adgate opens this Saturday

CDCP x WCDC Present: Megan Adgate

Artist Reception: Saturday, May 20th, 12:00PM

On view: May 6th - June 24th, 2023
Gallery hours: Saturdays 12-5pm

WCDC's Lohr Gallery
725 Wood St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15221

Our final show of the season with the WCDC opens to the public this Saturday, May 6th, and 12:00pm. Join us and see this collection of work that showcases Megan’s relationship to Wilkinsburg.

Megan Adgate is a textile artist who works with natural fibers, such as wool, cotton, and banana fiber, to create dimensional tapestries. Her process sets out to challenge the very foundation of weaving itself — the grid. Contrary to the traditional up-and-down approach, her frame looms are warped in an unsystematized, scrambled way, creating a canvas that allows for overlapping layers, curvature, and negative space. 

After being a hobby weaver for several years, the craft took on a new role for her while transitioning out of an emotionally abusive relationship in 2019. While the basis for her work is control and manipulation, she is also interested in the adaptability of nature and the formation of symbiotic relationships among plant species, such as the coexistence of algae and fungi to form lichen or vines climbing the trunk of a tree.

CDCP Staff in the Arts: Interview w/ Eriko Hattori

Our staff is made up of seasoned professionals in the arts who do so much more than their work at CDCP.

We understand the difficulties that come with balancing a work life in the arts with a personal practice, so we took a second to talk to our staff about how they keep their lives running as arts workers and artists, curators, and creatives. Our first interview is with our Connections Coordinator Eriko Hattori. Take a look and see how they balance everything.

1) What’s your relationship with art?

I’m an artist who works in painting and printmaking. I exhibit my art in shows and contribute to publications. I also sell prints of my work and screenprints online through my Big Cartel and at some shops via consignment.

2) Does your arts practice overlap with the work you do with TASC/CDCP?

My breadmaking comes from doing marketing work for TASC/CDCP as well as Protohaven. A lot of my visibility in the arts has come from marketing myself on Instagram and the internet, so there’s a lot of overlap that happens between the two. Social media has become an integral part of marketing, which I have a lot of conflicting opinions and feelings about, but overall I do feel grateful to have this skillset and have it work between my work life and studio life.

3) How do you manage your arts practice with work life?

Honestly it’s not easy! I juggle three part-time gigs in addition to my studio practice, and it’s really easy to lose track of what I’m doing. I feel very fortunate to have flexibility in my schedule, but it’s very easy to get lost in that and have things fall through the cracks. I also don’t make a ton of money sadly haha, but honestly, despite that I feel really grateful for this chaotic structure and would take it over the monotony of a 9-5 any day.