The California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) is a rigorous, pre-professional, month-long training program in the visual and performing arts, creative writing, animation and film for talented artists of high school age. CSSSA provides a supportive environment in which students hone acquired skills and explore new techniques and ideas for an intense and exciting learning experience. The school was created by the California Legislature, and held its first session in 1987. Its purpose is to provide a training ground for future artists who wish to pursue careers in the arts and entertainment industries in California. The California State Summer School for the Arts is a state agency funded through a unique public-private partnership.
2024 Dates for TAs – Tuesday July 2 through Friday August 2
Studio Technical Assistants (TA) positions in the Visual Arts program at CSSSA provides a rewarding experience for all who participate in or contribute to it. TAs in Visual Arts are hired to set up/close down/manage their assigned studio classroom and to assist Faculty in the functioning of their classes. TAs must be available for the startup dates of Tuesday July 2 – Sunday July 7 during the first week of CSSSA to setup the program, meet with Faculty, and greet students during registration, cover their individual class schedule assignment during weeks two thru four between July 8 – July 27, and the close down dates of Monday July 29 – Friday August 2 during the final, fifth week.
● Full-time TA contract at $3600 remuneration**
● Required CA Live Scans (cost split between applicant and CSSSA)
● No Housing, Health Insurance* or Work Visa Petitions**
TECHNICAL STUDIO ASSISTANTSHIPS (TAS) in Visual Arts for the following areas:
● Ceramics
● Digital Media
● Drawing
● Exhibitions
● Figure Drawing
● Painting
● Printmaking
QUALIFICATIONS:
● Knowledgeable and technically skilled in the studio assistantship area/s of application
● Comfortable with the delivery and facilitation of art instruction in a classroom environment
● Must be a hard worker willing and able to work long days and to get along well with students and faculty
● Be a good problem solver and able to demonstrate knowledge of equipment and safety standards where applicable
● Graduate students preferred / open to third and fourth year undergraduates
SCHEDULE:
● TAs meet with Visual Art Chair & Program Coordinators to set up the program studio spaces on July 2 – 3 & July 5 – 7 and will be scheduled to work 5 days during the first week of the session from 9am-5pm, with two days off on July 1 & 5.
o Studio/classroom setup begin on Tuesday July 2 and Wednesday July 3
o Program and Faculty Meetings on Friday July 5
o Student registration and continue studio/classroom setup on Saturday July 6
o Finalize studio/classroom setup & Student/TA Tours on Sunday July 7
● Individual TA schedules during class sessions are set to cover four days of work per week and 3 days off during weeks two, three and four, July 8 through July 27 ****
o During weeks two-four TA schedules include a total of 10 three-hour class/open studio sessions.
o TAs are scheduled to support faculty for 7-8 class sessions from 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm, with a lunch break from 12pm-1pm. During lunch breaks meal vouchers are provided for the on-campus cafe.
o Additionally, TAs monitor 2-3 evenings of Open Studios (OS) per week from 6pm-9pm, following their scheduled class sessions and dinner break from 4-6pm. Meal vouches for the on-campus cafe are provided for dinner breaks when scheduled to cover OS sessions.
● All TA individual schedules change during the final week of the session on Monday July 29 through Friday August 2 and will be schedule to work, depending on their class assignment, either 9am-5pm (with a lunch break from 12pm-1pm) or 1pm-9pm (with a dinner break from 5pm-6pm).
APPLICATION SHOULD INCLUDE:
● A letter of interest explaining your qualifications and skills for the area/s of interest/s you would like to be considered.
Additionally, all letters of interest should address…
▪ your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preference choices for studio areas of interest in the subject line,
▪ address your letter to Shari Bond, Visual Arts Chair, CSSSA.
● A current resume with accurate current and summer contact information – telephone and email
● Ten jpg images (max size of 1.5 MB each) of recent work that reflects areas/disciplines of application.
● Letter of reference, can be in email format
● Application deadline is ASAP with April 19th at the latest
Email application materials to: Shari Bond, Chair Visual Arts CSSSA, at sharibond.csssa@gmail.com
- Payment for Services: Please be aware that as contractors for the State, we will not be paid until the Legislature successfully passes a State Budget. Technically the budget is supposed to be passed by July 1 of each fiscal year. However, if there is a political impasse, the budget may not be passed on schedule. If that occurs, it can create a delay as to when we receive our paychecks. This has happened more than once in the past and can very likely happen again. It is my responsibility to inform you of this in case this presents a financial hardship. Please take this into consideration before you commit to the summer session. It is an unfortunate reality that we must all be aware of when deciding to accept a position at CSSSA. Typically you would receive your contracted payment 3 weeks after completing your service. In the past we have received our checks on time (end of August) or as late as October.
** Health Insurance: As independent contractors with CSSSA you do not have insurance coverage. This fact is stated in the contracts that you receive from the State in June. After students arrive on Saturday July 8th, CSSSA has a Nurse on Duty during the session to attend to minor problems. The nurse will recommend you to an off-campus doctor when needed.
*** Work Visa: CSSSA cannot sign any document related to obtaining work authorization. You must have a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in order to be eligible for this summer position.
**** Schedule and Work Days: TAs must be available for the startup dates of Tuesday July 2 through Sunday July 7, typically 9am-5pm to set up the program studio spaces, meet with Faculty, and participate in student registration/orientation activities. From Monday July 8 through Saturday July 27 TAs will cover a mix of 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm individual classroom/studio sessions 4 days per week with their assigned faculty along with two-three 6pm-9pm Open Studio sessions. All TA individual schedules change during the final week of the CSSSA session on Monday July 29
through Friday August 2 to 9am-5pm (unless you are scheduled to cover an Open Studio session, then your scheduled for the last week of session will be 1pm-9pm) in order to studio close down the program studio spaces. Meal vouches for the on-campus cafe are provided for scheduled lunch and/or dinner breaks. Please do not schedule other work, personal or exhibition events during this window of time. Keep in mind that it is not possible to request “time off” from your established
work schedule as our program is tightly scheduled with specific reasons for class schedules, and our program moves very fast and everyone is needed on-site to cover their assigned areas.