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FAO Schwarz Fellowship
at the Barnes Foundation

How to Apply

Applicants MUST complete the application through the FAO Schwarz Fellowship website by February 10, 2023, 11:59 pm ET. No applications will be accepted after that time. After you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation that your application was received. You will also be redirected to an optional demographic survey. Applications received through other platforms, such as Indeed and LinkedIn, will NOT be considered. Thanks for your interest in the Fellowship.

To be eligible for the Fellowship, you must be a college senior on track to graduate with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university between December 2022 and June 2023 and you must be legally eligible to work in the United States for the duration of the two-year Fellowship. Please do not apply if you do not meet these requirements.

To apply, you will need to submit a cover letter and resume in PDF format through the FAO Schwarz Fellowship’s portal that can be accessed via its website by February 10, 2023, 11:59 EST. You must title your documents using this format:

LAST_FIRST_RESUME_BARNES
LAST_FIRST_COVERLETTER_BARNES
(for example, DOE_JANE_COVERLETTER_BARNES)

In your letter, please describe your interest in working at the Barnes Foundation and respond to the following questions:

  • What interests you about the mission of the Barnes Foundation?
  • What background and experiences would you bring to the direct service and special project discussed in the Fellowship description?
  • Why are you interested in being an FAO Schwarz Fellow?

We will review each application carefully and select our Fellow by April 29, 2023. Thanks for your interest.

About the FAO Schwarz Fellowship at the Barnes Foundation

The FAO Schwarz Fellow will engage with underserved and under-resourced communities through programming for their direct service work and, in collaboration with Barnes staff, will take a leadership role in developing future museum programming tailored to upcoming special exhibitions for their special project work.

Direct Service

The FAO Schwarz Fellow will focus on engaging young people, children, and their families through the Barnes’s Community Engagement and Family Programs department, with a focus on the Barnes Teens project and pilot Community Connectors Corps for high school/college students, contributing to the success of all museum programming.

The Fellow will:

  • Initiate a new program to engage high school and college students in connecting Barnes resources and arts experiences with community partners. As part of launching this new program, the Fellow will help recruit and engage 30 Philadelphia middle/high school teens each school year and provide them with quality arts learning and experiences that generate critical thinking skills and social/emotional growth and coordinate and instruct after-school teen arts classes.
  • Assist Barnes Early Learner Summer Pods, a summer program in public parks and neighborhood daycare centers for toddlers ages 5 and under, and Summer Imaginariums, art workshops with Philadelphia Parks and Rec summer camps for children.

Special Project

The FAO Schwarz Fellow will develop future programming opportunities for Community Engagement and Family Programs tailored to upcoming exhibitions and curatorial department work.

The Fellow will:

  • Learn more about The Barnes’s Curatorial research and resources—including guest speakers, curators, panelists, and cultural presenters, with the goal of programming at least one special curatorially-based program annually.
  • Support public programs such as First Friday, a monthly evening event filled with performances, films, and discussions; Young Professionals Night, a social gathering for young art aficionados; and PECO Free First Sunday Family Day, a monthly event offering free access to the Barnes collection and exhibitions, along with performances and activities.
  • Contribute to Social Impact workshops and community initiatives with Barnes partners on programming such as Barnes West, an initiative that brings West Philadelphia residents, business owners, and artists together through shared art experiences; Puentes a las Artes, an arts-based biliteracy program for early learners and their families from South Philadelphia’s Latinx immigrant community; as well as other established and potential collaborations across Philadelphia.

Salary and Benefits

The FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Barnes Foundation will receive $85,000 over the course of the two-year Fellowship: $40,000 annual salary in the first year paid biweekly (which includes a $2,000 start of Fellowship bonus), and $45,000 annual salary in the second year paid biweekly (which includes a $3,000 end of Fellowship bonus). The Fellow will receive full health-care benefits. The Fellow will receive a SEPTA pass, if needed. The Barnes Foundation will supply the Fellow with the necessary computer and technology for the position.

For more information, visit the FAO Schwarz Fellowship website or the Barnes Foundation website.