“The View from Here” Instructor
Dates of position: September 11, 2025 – February 12, 2026
Total of 4 hours weekly: Thursdays 3–5 pm (in person) plus 2 hours preparation time (remote) weekly.
Overview
The Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) is offering a five-month part-time teaching position for an artist/educator interested in working with high school and first-year undergraduate students from the greater New Haven area.
“The View from Here: Accessing Art Through Photography” (TVFH) is a photography program for rising eleventh and twelfth graders as well as first-year students at public universities or community colleges in the greater New Haven area. The program invites young people to engage deeply with visual art by exploring the history, materials, and practice of photography through firsthand interaction with historic and contemporary photographs. Students learn the fundamentals of composing and capturing images using only smartphones or other personal digital devices.
The YCBA collection is the entry point for students to connect with photography in meaningful ways. Studying original historic and contemporary works allows students to discuss artistic choices and opens new perspectives and ideas. Through close collaboration with museum educators, Yale faculty, photographers, and other museum staff, students will consider the role of images in both museums and their own lives.
The program culminates in an exhibition showcasing the students’ original work.
Instructor responsibilities
- Co-design the syllabus and course pedagogy to include integration of artistic practice with the YCBA collection. The artist/educator will be responsible for teaching the practice of photography. Collection integration will be taught by YCBA Education staff.
- Instruct weekly sessions on the techniques and process of smartphone photography in concert with educator-led sessions that focus on object-based learning.
- Reflect on student work through group critique and provide individual feedback on projects as needed.
- Create a positive, affirming environment for students to grow as artists and as a community.
Other responsibilities
- Prepare for weekly teaching sessions. This preparation should take two hours per week and may include organizing student work for critique.
- Review and write responses to student projects.
- Collaborate with other instructors to choose final images for the student exhibition.
- Organize and coordinate at least one visit to the Yale School of Art MFA photography studios, pending MFA availability and department coordination.
Qualifications
- MFA or extensive professional experience in photography. Preference given to MFA graduates or current MFA students at the Yale School of Art.
- Demonstrated interest in working with older teenagers and young adults.
- Ability to effectively explain and boil down complex concepts related to making photographs to young people who may have never taken a photography class before.
- Interest in collaborating with a team of co-teachers with different professional backgrounds.
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- Demonstrated experience working with community-facing artmaking programs (preferred).
- Experience connecting artistic practice with museum collections (preferred).
Compensation and Hours
The salary for this position is $5,100.
This position runs from September 11, 2025, through February 12, 2026. The class runs from September 25, 2025, through January 29, 2026. The instructor is expected to be present for all fifteen class sessions, which are held on Thursday afternoons, 3–5 pm (no class on November 27, December 25, or January 1).
The artist/educator will meet with other instructors at least twice in September, at a mutually convenient time, to plan the class and review the syllabus.
To apply: Please send a letter of interest, resume, and sample class lessons by August 20, 2025, to James Vanderberg, Educator for High School, College, and University Engagement, YCBA, at james.vanderberg@yale.edu.