This year we launched a paid Apprenticeship Program to share the knowledge we’ve built over the years of producing Northern Spark and to foster an exchange of skills and knowledge in the communities where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, and in turn teach veteran staff new ways of working within their communities. We’re excited to be working alongside and learning from these fantastic individuals!

Winston Heckt, Communications Apprentice

Winston is a filmmaker graduating from Augsburg University in the spring of 2019 with a B.A. in Film and Communication Studies. His films have screened at a handful of local festivals and have won awards for best cinematography, best directing, and best short. When not on set or in the classroom, Winston is an avid reader, writer, musician, and contemplator of life’s big questions such as the meaning of life and who shuts the door after the driver gets off the bus.

As the Communications Apprentice he maintains the social media presence for Northern Spark and assists with e-newsletters, press releases, and printed content. He is excited for the opportunity to contribute to Northern Spark and learn the ins and outs of communicating a festival’s planning process and wide-ranging set of artists’ ideas to the public.

Tyra Payer, Curatorial Apprentice

Tyra (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) is from Belcourt, North Dakota and relocated to the Twin Cities in 2017. Tyra uses her education and experience to develop, implement, and plan projects that highlight the vibrant work of Indigenous peoples in Minneapolis. She completed her first service term through the Public Allies AmeriCorps program where she led community engagement at a neighborhood association. Currently she is serving her second AmeriCorps term as the Evaluations & Communications Specialist at Dream of Wild Health, a Native led nonprofit dedicated to indigenous foods and youth programs. When she’s not working, Tyra finds new ways to cook with food from local farmers’ markets. As the Curatorial Content Apprentice, Tyra attends to all of the project descriptions that fill the Northern Spark website and assists the festival’s Artistic Director.  Tyra is also the Northern Lights.mn Projects Manager.  

Pamela Vazquez Torres, Production Apprentice

Pamela is a Mexican art historian and cultural manager based in the Twin Cities since 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a concentration in Art History from the University of the Americas Puebla, Mexico (UDLAP), and is currently in pursuit of an MA in Media Studies from The New School. She has worked as curatorial assistant in internationally exhibited contemporary art projects in China, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain and the U.S. She was part of the content team of CutOut Fest, an international animation and digital art festival celebrated in Querétaro, Mexico, as coordinator of the industry division in its 7th edition (2015) and Content Coordinator in its 8th edition (2016). Pamela is inspired by the immense possibilities for social change at the intersection of the arts, activism and community engagement. As Production Apprentice she supports the many details of operations for Northern Spark.

The Northern Spark Apprenticeship Program is supported by a Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Access grant.

NORTHERN SPARK 2019 PRODUCTION CREW JOBS

The Northern Spark festival takes place on Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night.

We are looking for candidates with technical experience who can think on their feet and work collaboratively with a team. Read more about Northern Spark below. 

The Northern Spark Production Team currently has several positions open:

• Zero Waste Crew Members – AICC and Rondo (Rondo & AICC only)
• Rondo Production Assistant

This year we’re looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor (AICC) in Minneapolis where part of the festival takes place.  

To apply for these positions, please click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Erin Lavelle at erin@northern.lights.mn. 

MORE INFORMATION

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here.

Apply to be a Food Truck Vendor at Northern Spark 2019

You may be a truck or a tent, Northern Spark welcomes all!

On June 14th & 15th  Northern Spark 2019 expects to draw more than 30,000 to the 3 neighborhood nodes in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. We’re seeking food trucks and local restaurants who would like to take this opportunity to showcase their menus and gain word-of-mouth buzz in addition to strong sales.

For more information, please review the Application. Submissions are due March 11th, 2019.

Notifications and contracts will be sent to accepted vendors before the end of March.

Questions should be directed to foodtrucks@northern.lights.mn.  

Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – AICC

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here.

Job Description: Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – AICC

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and festival nights-of management of approximately 50 volunteers and survey seekers in the American Indian Cultural Corridor hub of Northern Spark.  

Deadline to apply:
Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $1,500
Estimated hours: 5­-10 hours a week, approx 75 hours total
Duration: Mid-March through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Volunteer Coordinator

Tasks:

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

• Learn recruitment and scheduling tools and systems from Festival Volunteer Coordinator
• With Festival Producer and Volunteer Coordinator, determine plan for Volunteer Operations in the AICC hub including Info Tent location and Volunteer Lounge
• Recruit and schedule volunteers and survey seekers to fill approx 50 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night) for the AICC node
• Conduct ongoing communications with festival volunteers assigned to this node
• Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events in the neighborhood
• With Volunteer Coordinator, organize, attend and present at Volunteer Orientation in AICC
• Oversee all Volunteer operations in AICC on night-of festival including:
  • Checking Volunteers in and out for their shifts
  • Executing 3 attendance counts nightly
  • Maintain the Volunteer Lounge area
  • Help keep volunteers on task, engaged and informed throughout the night
  • Help to problem solve and serve as a point of communication with festival staff
  • Communicate with Production staff

Other duties

• Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
• Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Experience working with volunteers a must.  

Ideal candidate holds community ties within the American Indian Cultural Corridor and local Indigenous communities, and a broad, community-specific network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – Rondo

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here.

Job Description: Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – Rondo

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and festival nights-of management of approximately 50 volunteers and survey seekers in the Rondo hub of Northern Spark.  

Deadline to apply:

Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $1,500
Estimated hours: 5­-10 hours a week, approx 75 hours total
Duration: Mid-March through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Volunteer Coordinator

Tasks:

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

• Learn recruitment and scheduling tools and systems from Volunteer Coordinator
• With Festival Producer and Volunteer Coordinator, determine plan for Volunteer Operations in the Rondo hub including Info Tent location and Volunteer Lounge
• Recruit and schedule volunteers and survey seekers to fill approx 50 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night) for the Rondo node
• Conduct ongoing communications with festival volunteers assigned to this node
• Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events in the neighborhood
• With Volunteer Coordinator, organize, attend and present at Volunteer Orientation in Rondo
• Oversee all Volunteer operations at Hallie Q Brown on night-of festival including:
  • Checking Volunteers in and out for their shifts
  • Executing 3 attendance counts nightly
  • Maintain the Volunteer Lounge
  • Help keep volunteers on task, engaged and informed throughout the night
  • Help to problem solve and serve as a point of communication with festival staff
  • Communicate with production staff

Other duties

• Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
• Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Experience working with volunteers a must.  

Ideal candidate holds community ties within Rondo and a broad network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

Northern Spark 2019 Festival Volunteer and Survey Coordinator

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here. 

Job Description: Festival Volunteer and Survey Coordinator

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and training of approximately 150 festival volunteers and survey across three festival neighborhoods. This position also manages two paid Neighborhood Lead positions who assist with volunteer recruitment, scheduling and nights-of management.

Deadline to apply:

Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $3,000
Estimated hours: 5­-20 hours a week, approx 150 hours total
Duration: Mid-February through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Co-Director

Tasks include:

Volunteer Strategy

• Review existing volunteer structure, scheduling and training materials, and nights-­of operational plan and adapt as necessary
• Create Volunteer sign up forms and schedule spreadsheet including pre-­festival and festival nights for all festival neighborhoods

Neighborhood Lead Management

• Onboard and manage Neighborhood Leads (2) in recruitment, scheduling and nights-of operations
• Work with Festival Producer and Neighborhood Leads to plan Volunteer Operations including Info Tent and Volunteer Lounge in each festival zone  
• With Neighborhood Leads, organize and present at three Volunteer Orientation sessions (one in each Festival neighborhood)

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

• Recruit and schedule volunteers to fill approx 60 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night + reception volunteers) in The Commons
• Coordinate Volunteers for Americans for the Arts reception in The Commons on Friday, June 14 from 7-9 pm
• Conduct ongoing communications with all festival volunteers
• Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events such as May Day Festival
• Oversee all Volunteer operations in The Commons on night-of festival including Info Tents and Volunteer Lounge (hospitality, signage, materials)
• Coordinating with production staff on the nights of festival

Survey Seekers

• Organize materials for Survey Takers and a system for collecting surveys during Festival
• Recruit and schedule survey seekers for The Commons
• Coordinate survey data entry after festival

Other duties

• Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
• Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Must have experience working with volunteers.  

Ideal candidate has a strong knowledge of diverse Twin Cities communities and a broad network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

Work with us! New paid apprenticeship program

Northern Spark 2016 Launch Party with special musical guests Doks Robotiks at Mill City Museum. Photo: Dusty Hoskovec.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. This year we’re starting a new Festival Apprenticeship Program, the goal of which is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival Apprentices get an inside view of how a large public event comes to be, and work with a dynamic team that produces all aspects of the festival.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center.

For the Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in Rondo and the American Indian Cultural Corridor.

There are four festival-wide positions:

• Outreach and Projects Apprentice
• Communications Apprentice
• Curatorial Content Apprentice
• Production Apprentice

Read more about each position and stipends here.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, January 11, 2019.

Meet the Creative City Challenge 2019 Finalists

We are pleased to announce three finalists for the 7th annual Creative City Challenge, a showcase for local creative talent and a tangible symbol of the complex stories that make up the many narratives within our urban landscape. The theme for the 2019 Challenge is “We Are Here.”

Artist organizers Candida Gonzalez and MaryAnne Quiroz will transform The Commons into a Radical Playground. Through whimsical interactive animal sculptures inspired by dream creatures from the Caribbean, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and the indigenous cultures of Minnesota along with a summer of programming, participants will be invited to heal through play.

Candida Gonzalez and MaryAnne Quiroz, Radical Playground, concept sketch. Courtesy the artists.

For On This Spot, a team of visual artists, fabricators, and filmmaker Daniel Bergin, led by Molly Van Avery and Mike Hoyt, will create four multimedia story hubs that surround a large free-standing vertical map of Minneapolis, which is also a projection surface. Utilizing a network of deep community ties around Brian Coyle, Waite House, Pillsbury House Theatre, and Oak Park, the story hubs will illuminate historical and present day struggles and triumphs around racial justice and communities’ efforts toward self-determination. When the installation in The Commons is complete, the hubs will be distributed back to each center, becoming resources for residents to learn more about their neighborhoods’ complex identities.

Mike Hoyt and Molly Van Avery, On This Spot, concept sketch. Courtesy the artists.

Rory Wakemup’s We Are Still Here consists of an outdoor diorama of 21st century Native Peoples staged using the concept of  “Indigenous Futurism.” In a serious yet satirical manner, outfits and objects will be used to showcase a plethora of contemporary gadgets/weaponry for the 21st century non-violent warrior. With appropriations of pop-culture, renewable energy, naturally harvested materials and concepts from Native American culture, this diorama will inform the general public that we, Native Americans, are still here and will be here in to the future continually doing what we have always done, protecting our mother earth and our right to live on it.

Rory Wakemup, We Are Still Here, concept sketch. Courtesy the artist.

Finalists will be juried at the end of January, and the selected winner will install their project on The Commons during the summer, launching during the Northern Spark festival. The Creative City Challenge is a project of the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis in collaboration with The Commons and Northern Lights.mn.

How does my art fit into Northern Spark?

Givings of a Global Immigrant by Binyam Raba at Northern Spark 2018. Co-commissioned by African Economic Development Solutions. Photo: Sean Smuda

With the Northern Lights Program Council we made some changes to the Northern Spark Artist Open Call to pave a way for artists to participate in the festival without the need to perform or stage a piece for all 10 hours of the two night event.

Primarily, we’ve introduced two new categories: a call for short video works and a call for 20 minute performances.

Video Screening -We’re looking for video works with a 5 to 15 minute run time. Video works may be silent or have sound, be experimental or narrative or anything in between. If you have a feature-length work you would like to submit, please select a section or favorite scene that is no more than 15 minutes. If selected, your piece will be put into a reel with other works and looped during both nights of Northern Spark in each festival neighborhood. The same reel will be screened at each location. Locations: The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

Performance Stage – Apply for a 20 minute slot on a stage with basic sound equipment provided. This could be a spoken word set, a dance troupe performance, a choir, a puppet show, a sing-a-long, a magic act, a story slam, a set with your band. Apply for a slot on Friday or Saturday night.  Locations: American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

And never fear, if durational work is your thing, we’ve got a spot for you too!  The call also seeks Participatory Installations; the kind of engaging, fun, and thought-provoking projects Northern Spark is known for.

Got questions? Come to the Northern Spark 2019 Info Session 
Thursday, January 3, 2019
6:30 – 8 pm
Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 Dale Street N, St. Paul, MN 55102
RSVP on Facebook.

Open Call Deadline: Monday, January 14, 11:59 pm CST

Support the artists who make our world amazing.

Celestial Amnesia: A Passage to Peace by Miko Simmons at Northern Spark on Nicollet, 2018.  Photo: Sean Smuda

In 2018 Northern Lights.mn supported, promoted, and produced the work of just over 300 artists through our program platforms. We are a low-overhead organization, so your donation goes directly to support artists in the creation of works both epic and intimate. 

Help us continue to support artists in 2019 and beyond!

Become a Sustaining Donor or contribute a one-time amount at the Northern Lights.mn site. All donations are tax deductible this tax year if received by Dec. 31, 2018. 

Thank you! 

Last Call: AOV9 up through Dec. 30, 2018

Installation shot of Ziyang Wu’s Smarter City 2 at Rochester Art Center. Photo: Rik Sferra.

You’ve got a few weeks left to catch the exhibition Art(ists) on the Verge 9. Don’t miss your chance to travel aboard the fictional subway train in Ziyang Wu’s Smarter City 2, or to make a electromagnetic field blocking pouch for your smart phone in Stephanie Lynn Rogers’ installation Security Blanket. AOV9 is on view at Rochester Art Center through December 30.
Read more about the artists here and get directions to Rochester Art Center here.

Thanks to the Jerome Foundation and Rochester Art Center for the support of this program.

News: artist opportunities from our colleagues

Red Eye’s Works-in-Progress
This program supports emerging performance makers in the creation of new work, to be presented as part of the New Works 4 Weeks Festival in May 2019.

Works-In-Progress provides artistic, production, and administrative developmental support over a six-month period for a cohort of 4-5 selected artists/artistic collaborations. Artists selected are supported with rehearsal space, providing the opportunity to explore and experiment with conceptual and staging ideas over an extended timeframe.
More info and link to the full guidelines here.
Application deadline: December 17

Fringe Festival Open Calls
Minnesota Fringe recently opened applications to produce in Fringe Festival and Family Fringe online. Artists interested in applying to one or both festivals should read the application information pages for each festival. Submissions are due February 14 for Fringe Festival and February 28, 2019, for Family Fringe.

For more information, go to www.minnesotafringe.org/festivals.

Northern Spark 2019 – Festival Production Apprentice

Northern Lights supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology to imagine new interactions between audience, artwork, and place and explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.

Our largest program is Northern Spark, a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  For more information about Northern Lights.mn, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.  For more information about Northern Spark, visit northernspark.org

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The apprentice positions seek applicants with strong cultural ties to the latter of these two neighborhoods.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the apprentice program is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For this year’s Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Monday, February 1st, 2019.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter online here.
Questions? email jobs@northern.lights.mn 

Job Description: Festival Apprentice – Production

The Production Festival Apprentice works with the Producer to support the production process of Northern Spark — from the planning phase through implementation and clean-up. This includes artist, venue and vendor coordination; the planning and implementation of festival infrastructure (signage, amenities, etc); emergency planning; permitting; and zero waste efforts. This person will work closely with the Producer and interact with the rest of the production team (tech, crew, etc).

Qualified applicants should have related production experience, which may include: theatrical stage or production management, event or project management, etc. Technical experience or knowledge not required, but helpful. This is a great job for someone who has related event production experience who wants to take on more advance responsibility and/or seeks experience working within a festival context.

Advance work may include:

• Attending all Northern Spark staff meetings and production meetings (bi-weekly)
• Communicating with various departments in the City of Minneapolis on permits (preparing paperwork, checking on status, resolving issues, etc.)

• Managing spreadsheets to track equipment, materials, artist information, etc.
• Drafting schedules and coordinating with artists, venues and production team
• Updating contact sheets
• Sourcing/obtaining equipment and materials
• Coordinating plans for infrastructure, amenities, zero waste, etc.
• Management of crew members
• Additional tasks, tbd

Tasks during the festival may include:

• Management of equipment or festival amenities
• Management of vendors and/or zero waste plan, including crew members
• On-site problem-solving
• Additional tasks, tbd

Post-Festival tasks may include:

• Compiling information for production reports; finalizing spreadsheets
• Taking inventory of equipment (tents, projectors, etc), with Crew
• Managing returning of materials to vendors and/or storage facilities (i.e. walkie-talkies, signage, tents, etc.), with help from the Crew/PAs
• Additional tasks, tbd

Stipend: $5,000

Estimated hours: approx. 10 hrs/week w/additional hours required in May and June for festival implementation

Duration: February through June 30, 2019

Reports to: Producer

Required skills:
Must be detail-oriented, organized, and able to respond quickly and problem-solve on-site. Great written and verbal communication skills, self-motivated and able to adapt to changing deadlines. Experience working with Google Docs and Spreadsheets necessary. Ability to read maps and ground plans. Ability to work with broad range of people outside the organization. Ability to work with a fast-paced schedule with overlapping project timelines. This job involves working on your feet for sustained periods of time and staying up late!

Required availability:
Weekday schedule to be determined with supervisor. Must be available Wednesdays from 12:30 – 3:30 for production and staff meetings. Some evening and weekend availability is necessary.

Artist Production Meetings (evenings): February 26; May 29
Project site visits (6 weekday evenings in March)
Project test dates (4 evenings the week of May 20)
Must be available full time for the week of the festival (June 9 – 16).

Required equipment: Own computer; internet access when not at NL office.

Must have reliable transportation for travel between sites.

Northern Spark 2019- Curatorial Content Festival Apprentice

Northern Lights supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology to imagine new interactions between audience, artwork, and place and explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.

Our largest program is Northern Spark, a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  For more information about Northern Lights.mn, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.  For more information about Northern Spark, visit northernspark.org

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The apprentice positions seek applicants with strong cultural ties to the latter of these two neighborhoods.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the apprentice program is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For this year’s Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, January 11, 2019.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter online here.
Questions? email jobs@northern.lights.mn 

Job Description: Curatorial/Content Manager Festival Apprentice

The CCM Festival Apprentice works with the Artistic Director on all aspects of the artist interface for NS and with the Co-Directors on aspects of information about Northern Spark on public facing platforms, in particular, the NS website. Core areas of learning and responsibility include:

Artists

• Manage information about and contracts with all individual artists
• Attend site visits with artists
• Attend tech reviews with artists (optional)

Website

• Edit individual artist information to a consistent level and length
• Review individual partner project information for consistency and appropriateness
• Manage artist and partner project imagery and other visuals necessary for the website using Dropbox
• Edit food truck information to a consistent level and length
• Review and manage Sponsor and Supporter information for consistency and appropriateness
• Work with Co-Director and Producer to identify map locations of all projects and festival installations
• Work with Co-Directors to manage all other website content (e.g. Theme, How to get around, etc.)
• Manage deadlines in Asana and Google spreadsheet for content delivery with staff, artists, partners, vendors
• Manage and upload all website content according to schedule

Printed Guide and Festival Signage

• Assist w/ preparation and proofing of printed map for NS
• Manage final content for festival signage

Northern Spark Team

• Attend bi-weekly staff meetings
• Attend monthly Program Council meetings
• Attend all projects meeting (February)
• Attend Production Meeting (May)

Stipend: $5,000
Estimated hours: approx. 10 hrs/week w/ additional hours required in March and May for website content upload
Duration: January through June 30, 2019
Reports to: Artistic Director

Required skills: Great written and verbal communication skills, self-motivated and able to adapt to changing deadlines. Ability to work with a broad range of people outside the organization. Previous experience working with artists and/or successfully managing a significant website project is desirable but not necessary. Knowledge of WordPress desirable but not necessary. Experience working with Google Docs and Spreadsheets desirable but not necessary. Experience working with Asana desirable but not necessary. Experience working with Dropbox desirable but not necessary.

Required equipment: Own computer. Internet access when not at NL office.

Northern Spark 2019-Communications Festival Apprentice

Northern Lights supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology to imagine new interactions between audience, artwork and place and explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.

Our largest program is Northern Spark, a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  For more information about Northern Lights.mn, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.  For more information about Northern Spark, visit northernspark.org

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The apprentice positions seek applicants with strong cultural ties to the latter of these two neighborhoods.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the apprentice program is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For this year’s Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, January 11, 2019.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter online here.
Questions? email jobs@northern.lights.mn 

Job Description: Communications Festival Apprentice

The Communications Apprentice works with festival Co-Director and other contract staff to learn the ins and out of public communications about Northern Spark, including social media, e-newsletters, press releases, and printed content.  

The Communications Apprentice is responsible for helping to maintain a lively social media presence for Northern Spark and some other Northern Lights.mn projects, and assisting with e-newsletter communications.  

The right candidate has a familiarity with social media platforms and trends, an interest in writing about art and a curiosity about how to communicate a festival planning process and wide-ranging set of artists’ ideas to the public.

Stipend: $5,000
Estimated hours: 10 hrs/week with some additional hours the week of the festival
Duration: January through June 30, 2019
Reports to: Director of Public Engagement/Co-Director

Core areas of learning and responsibilities include:

• Working with Co-Director to create and maintain a 6-month communications plan for Northern Spark (Jan – June 30) including e-newsletters, press releases and social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, flickr, Vimeo, and the Northern Lights.mn blog.
• Crafting and scheduling weekly and then daily posts on NL’s social media channels according to the communications plan  
• Maintaining communications with followers of social media channels.
• Tracking posts performance
• Creating and executing a social media plan for the two festival nights that engages festival goers and expands NL’s network
• Working with MailChimp to layout, edit, send and track monthly e-newsletters
• Writing short articles for e-newsletter as assigned
• Reviewing press releases with Co-Director and PR Coordinator

Required Meetings and Events

• Attend bi-weekly Northern Spark staff meetings
• Attend monthly Program Council meetings (March, April, May)
• Attend Artist and Partner Kick Off meeting (February)
• Attend Final Production Meeting and Press Preview (May)
• Attend and work Northern Spark, June 14 & 15, 9 pm – 2 am

Required skills: Great written and verbal communication skills, self-motivated and able to meet changing deadlines. Knowledge of social media platforms and trends. Previous experience successfully managing a significant social media campaign is desirable but not necessary. Knowledge of Mailchimp desirable but not necessary.

Required availability: Weekday schedule to be determined with supervisor. Must be available Wednesdays from 2-3:30 pm for staff meetings. Some evening and weekend availability is necessary.

Must be available to work all hours of both festival nights.

Required equipment: Own computer and internet access when not in the NL office.  

Download the job description here.

Northern Spark 2019 – Outreach and Projects Festival Apprentice

Northern Lights supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology to imagine new interactions between audience, artwork and place and explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.

Our largest program is Northern Spark, a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  For more information about Northern Lights.mn, visit our website: https://northern.lights.mn/.  For more information about Northern Spark, visit northernspark.org

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The apprentice positions seek applicants with strong cultural ties to the latter of these two neighborhoods.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the apprentice program is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For this year’s Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.

DEADLINE: Friday, January 11, 2019
To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter online here.
Questions? email jobs@northern.lights.mn 

Job Description: Outreach and Projects Festival Apprentice

The Outreach and Projects Festival Apprentice works with the Program Council and Projects Manager on all aspects of project support and community outreach.

A successful candidate will have experience working with communities/neighborhoods along with a general knowledge of monitoring, supporting, collecting, and organizing data, project deliverables, and milestones.

Core areas of learning and responsibility include, but not limited too:

• Managing information and contracts for artists, vendors, partners, volunteers, and special project contractors.
• Updating information systems (civi CRM, Asana, Google Calendar, MailChimp) and web resources (wordpress).
• Attend Bi-weekly staff meetings.
• Attend Program Council meetings.
• Outreach in specific neighborhoods and communities to promote NS and NL opportunities.
• Research, gather, and input data information.
• Participate in debrief of apprenticeship program.

Required Meetings and Events

• Attend bi-weekly Northern Spark staff meetings
• Attend monthly Program Council meetings (March, April, May)
• Attend Artist and Partner Kick Off meeting (February)
• Attend Final Production Meeting and Press Preview (May)
• Attend and work Northern Spark, June 14 & 15, 9 pm – 2 am

Stipend: $5,000
Estimated hours: 10 hrs/week (hours may change in May and June)
Duration: January through June 30, 2019
Festival Dates: June 14 & 15, 2018
Reports to: Program Council and Project Manager

Required skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, self-motivated and able to meet changing deadlines. Ability to work with a fast-paced schedule with overlapping project timelines.

Required availability: Weekday schedule to be determined with supervisor. Must be available Wednesdays from 2-3:30 pm for staff meetings. Some evening and weekend availability is necessary.

Required equipment: Own computer and internet access when not in the NL office.

Download the job description here.