Maker-in-Residence – AI & the Arts - University of Florida

Term Research Assistant Professor

The College of the Arts (COTA) seeks an internationally recognized maker whose current and ongoing work is consciously located within a cultural diaspora and/or engaged with migration in creative fields including but not limited to art, design, music, theatre, creative writing, dance, and/or film as they intersect with emerging technology, specifically AI.  The Maker-in-Residence’s projects will help shape the forward-thinking research agenda of the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME), with a particular focus on cultural production in diasporic communities. Working with members of the college, the university, and the community, the Maker–in-Residence will also be responsible for guiding and implementing initiatives on behalf of the growing Center within and beyond this top six, public, comprehensive, land-grant research university. This position, though housed in the College of the Arts, serves the broader campus community.

The Maker-in-Residence position will reside in both the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME), and the College of the Arts (COTA) AI & the Arts initiative. This position is primarily responsible for initiating and implementing creative research that reflects the diverse interests of the College of the Arts AI-activated units, including the School of Art & Art History, School of Music, School of Theatre + Dance and Digital Worlds Institute. The Maker will have access to $12,000 in project/research funding support from CAME. The person in this position will also teach one class per semester in the new AI & Arts Certificate program and help shape the future of the AI & Arts initiative, while working to develop collaborative opportunities across the units and making connections between CAME, AI & the Arts initiative, COTA, AI2 Center, Informatics Institute and other AI initiatives across the University. The opportunity exists to engage with the work of the new SPARC352 Initiative. SPARC352 activates spaces for creative collaboration where communities develop their own arts and culture-based programs, ideas, research, and solutions using the arts to nurture collective wellbeing and create healthy communities.

The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community that responds to and generates paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. As artists and scholars, we embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our students and faculty to shape that experience fearlessly through critical study, creative practice, and  provocation. We seek a colleague who identifies as a change-maker. We seek a colleague who will prepare students to access and unsettle centers of power in a radically changing world. We seek a colleague who will position emerging artists and researchers as catalysts for equity on local and global levels.

• Produce creative works and research that engage with the research framework  of the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME)
• Collaborate, as appropriate, with CAME affiliate faculty, the College of the Arts (COTA) AI & the Arts initiative, the College of the Arts, other constituencies across the University of Florida, and with communities both local and global.
• Work to identify and secure external funding and resources to support creative works, research, and programming
• Present on your research and collaborations with CAME and the AI & Arts initiative at meetings, conferences, and symposia on and off campus
• Teach one undergraduate class in fall and spring (two per year) in topics that align with their Maker-In-Residence expertise and to support the AI & the Arts initiative
• Service engagement with the developing Arts & AI initiative in the College of the Arts

THE CENTER FOR ARTS, MIGRATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: The Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME) connects networks of scholars, artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and advocates to the engines of creative and cultural economics at the heart of migration. Defining the arts as all forms of cultural production, the center seeks to effectively create new models and power alignments that return value—entrepreneurship—to cultural producers to build more just global futures. Through community-responsive programming, research, and creative production, the center facilitates and extends the innovation, resilience, and ingenuity of diasporic and migratory communities. 
 
THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond.  We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation.  The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 130 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top six best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.

$82,500  Comprehensive and highly competitive leave and benefits package eligible

• Applicants must hold a terminal degree in the performing or visual arts, design, or another related field (such as AI, machine learning &/or natural language processing, computational creativity), or possess equivalent professional experience, including in community engagement, or leadership in technology-related sectors.
• Evidence of national recognition as a creator working with emerging technologies (i.e., productions, exhibitions, commissions, publications)
• Evidence of skill in designing and facilitating academic work that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversities
• Familiarity with 21^st century diasporic and migration subject matter
• Demonstrated expertise in a creative practice within African, LatinX/Latin American, or other diasporic communities

• Demonstrated experience in community-embedded practice
• Experience establishing and implementing a shared vision/creative work
•  Training and experience in project development
• Broad and deep understanding of migration and diaspora in the 21st century
• Demonstrated fluency with entrepreneurship in creative practice contexts
• Proven track record of successfully securing external resources and partnerships
• Previous experience teaching in higher education
• Proven track record of collaborating with diverse stakeholders

Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until an applicant pool is established. To ensure full consideration, please submit all application materials by March 10, 2024. Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the committee and/or hiring authority.

Application Process: Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida’s online application system at (link after posting).  Online applications must include the following: (1) a detailed letter of application that explains how you match the particular qualifications of this position and how your work and perspective will contribute to and enhance our transformative community; (2) a curriculum vitae; (3) Please submit a total of 3- 5 links to research, production and/or teaching samples  (Note that the UF application system only allows for one 5 MB maximum file size PDF document); and (4) names and contact information of three professional references. The UF system will give you the option to upload letters of reference. We are not requiring letters of reference with initial application materials. Please ignore that option. The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time. 

Inquiries may be sent to:
Heidi J. Boisvert
Chair, Maker-in-Residence Search
Email: hboisvert@ufl.edu

The selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call +1 (352) 392- 2477or the Florida Relay System at +1 (800) 955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.