Artistic Director

Workman Arts is a multidisciplinary arts organization that promotes a greater understanding of mental health and addiction issues through creation and presentation. The organization supports artists living with mental health and addiction issues through peer-to-peer arts education, public presentations and partnerships with the broader arts community.

Workman Arts is the longest-running multidisciplinary arts and mental health organization in Canada. It was founded in 1987 by Lisa Brown, a former psychiatric nurse at the Queen Street Mental Health Centre (now known as CAMH), as a theatre company of eight member artists. 

Over the years, it has grown to a multidisciplinary arts organization with 500+ member artists. For 35 groundbreaking years, Workman Arts has produced a variety of projects, including: 30+ original full-length Canadian plays, the annual Rendezvous with Madness Festival and the annual Being Scene juried art exhibition.

It is within this context that Workman Arts welcomes applications and nominations for its newly created position of Artistic Director (AD).

Reporting to the Executive Director, the AD is responsible for interpreting the artistic mission of Workman Arts through the development, oversight, and presentation of all artistic programming, events, and creative partnerships. This includes ensuring the year-round fulfillment of the organization’s creative mandate through educational courses and workshops and signature initiatives, such as the Rendezvous with Madness film festival and Being Scene art exhibition.

The AD will build strong relationships with artists, staff, volunteers and a wide range of community partners, and cultivate partnerships across the arts, mental health and addictions sectors to build community, support members, and raise the profile of the arts, within this intersection of mental health and addictions. In doing so, they will stay informed of local, national, and international art, mental health, and addiction issues.

This appointment calls for a creative, inspiring, and inclusive leader who is passionate about supporting artists living with mental health and addiction issues, coupled with the ability to bring together a multitude of teams in multidisciplinary arts. You have leadership experience in the arts and/or not-for-profit sector.  Experience with mental health and/or addiction issues—particularly lived experience—is deeply valued. You are a trusted colleague and engaged partner who can work well with the organization’s artists, partners at CAMH, and the Workman Arts’ Advisory Committee. Known as a connected citizen of the arts community, you have exceptional relationship development, interpersonal, and team management skills and experience. Others would describe you as an enterprising and resourceful thinker with a performance focus and exceptional judgement. Your experience includes planning, organizing, and executing layered artistic aspects of production and presentation techniques across multiple disciplines; festival and events or equivalent arts experience is necessary. You have proven ability to create and manage project specific budgets with clear adherence to global budgets.

As a credible advocate and exceptional communicator, you can confidently engage with funders, various levels of government, partners, stakeholders, the media, the public, national and global audiences, and meaningfully speak to creative arts as well as mental health and addiction issues.  Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, anti-racist and anti-oppressive frameworks, and trauma informed approaches.

Post-Secondary education or equivalent experience is required.

Compensation and Work Environment:  The salary range for this role is $75,000-$85,000. This is a full-time position (7.5 hours per day) and based on-site 4 to 5 days per week. Evening and weekend work during seasonal exhibitions and annual showcase events will be expected.

To learn more about this impactful leadership opportunity with Workman Arts, please submit a comprehensive resume along with a cover letter in confidence to Sam Walton (sam@griffithgroup.ca) and/or Noshina Choudhary (noshina@griffithgroup.ca). 

Workman Arts is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, and strongly encourages applications from women, Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities and persons of all sexual orientations and/or gender identities. Individuals are encouraged to self-identify.

Workman Arts and Griffith Group are committed to an inclusive, accessible and welcoming hiring process that provides reasonable accommodation to all applicants. Please advise Sam Walton (sam@griffithgroup.ca) should you require any accommodation to participate in this posting, recruitment, selection and/or assessment processes.

Priority will be given to individuals legally entitled to work in Canada.