Posted: 03-Oct-24
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Type: Full-time
Internal Number: R3512
Welcome to the official site for employment opportunities at MICA. At MICA, we value diversity and empower our employees to use their talent in a variety of ways. We are pleased that you are interested in career opportunities offered at MICA.
Maryland Institute College of Art seeks a dynamic educator and professional in Fiber and Fashion to join the Fiber program in the Material and Sculptural Studies department in Fall 2025.
About the Fiber Program
The MICA Fiber Program is an energetic materials and research-based program emphasizing foundational textile processes, material ingenuity, resourcing, and criticality. The Fiber program exists within the Material and Sculptural Studies Department, which includes Interdisciplinary Sculpture, Ceramics, and Architectural Design.
Our program equips students with the practical skills they need to succeed in careers in fine arts, fashion, textiles, and related industries. We empower our students with self-directed learning, enabling them to become proficient problem-solvers. Through a transdisciplinary and collaborative approach, we guide our students to navigate across creative practices, from the investigation of cloth and culture to sculptural media.
Coursework spans a range of textile processes that engage with color, structure, materiality, and production, and demonstrates a rigorous approach to making that is inseparable from the ethics of making. Graduates from our program with a focused interest in fashion have gone to work in both independent and corporate fashion, tailoring, textile production, textile conservation, materials sourcing, fashion journalism, film, and theater, to name a few.
The program is comprehensive in its approach, embracing textile-focused practices and professional strategies. Housed in the historic Mount Royal Station, the Fiber program offers a wide range of resources, including studio classrooms, seminar rooms, and individual senior studios. The station is equipped with a large dyeing facility with an open-burner stove, industrial and household sewing machines, sergers, computerized embroidery machines, a long arm quilting machine and frame, 3-yard textile printing tables, 24-floor looms, a TC2 Jacquard loom, knitting, and pleating machines, a darkroom for silk screen work, and carding machines for felting. Students also have access to a 3D fabrication lab, which includes laser cutters, 3D printing, an electronics lab, and a CNC router.
MICAs Experimental Fashion studio minor, overseen by the Fiber program, is an interdisciplinary minor that focuses on individual vision and collaborative practices. Students are encouraged to contextualize their work within fashion, art, and culture, allowing for a diverse range of perspectives. Studio courses support learning foundational skills in garment making, including traditional techniques and experimental approaches from costume to body-based work, branding, creative direction, production, and performance.
Qualifications:
We seek a candidate with professional experience as a designer, maker, or artist in fashion, costume, and/or related fields. We welcome those with experience working in production settings, such as runway, theater, or film. We seek a candidate with a deep understanding of traditional flat pattern making, draping, and fit and someone who prioritizes sustainability, sensitivity, and criticality in relation to body-based work. The successful candidate is a robust maker with teaching experience and a demonstrated capacity for growing into leadership roles, such as serving as Area Head for the Fiber program.
Candidates should have:
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in fashion, costume design, or professional achievements in fashion, experimental fashion, and textiles/fiber equivalent to an MFA
Teaching experience at the college level (*multi-level teaching is common in our classrooms)
Demonstrated knowledge in fashion history, production practice, and sewing/patterning/draping college-level instruction; a developed sense of criticality; industry experience
A record of professional accomplishments, as demonstrated by a portfolio of professional work and an exhibition/event and/or publication record
Strongly preferred:
Knowledge of digital patterning software and tech packs
Experience with performance in relation to fashion
Ability to be flexible with course assignments, including occasionally teaching Introduction to Fiber (a prerequisite for all other courses in Fiber) and Fabrication in the First Year Experience (FYE)
This is a full-time faculty appointment. MICA awards renewable contracts with three-year and five-year terms and recognizes years-in-service and professional accomplishments for initial salary determination. The college does not award tenure or academic rank. The faculty are represented by the SEIU Local 500.
Responsibilities include teaching three undergraduate studio classes per semester (fall and spring) and departmental and institutional service. Possible courses this candidate would teach include Garment Design & Production, Experimental Garment, Fashioning Culture, and Multi-Media Event I & II. The ability to teach courses that address surface design and woven and (machine) knit textile construction techniques is a plus. There will be opportunities to propose new courses related to the strengths and interests of the candidate.
We are particularly interested in candidates whose experiences intersect with our colleges Diversity Equity Inclusion Globalization (DEIG) goals and help foster creative citizenship in our students. The successful candidate will demonstrate familiarity with, and interest in teaching on an international campus, embracing interculturalism in education and inclusive pedagogy.
In addition to teaching, all full-time faculty are expected to pursue research and professional engagements that contribute to the educational mission of the Fiber Department and the college. Faculty are required to meaningfully contribute to curricular development, faculty governance including peer evaluation, committee service, institutional service, and scheduled student-centered activities and events.
About MICA:
Founded in 1826, MICA is the oldest independent, continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the U.S. Unwilling to rest on its reputation as a premier leader in art and design education, MICA is deliberately cultivating a new generation of artist and designersone that is capable of seamlessly integrating innovation, entrepreneurship and creative citizenship with contemporary approaches to art, design and media making. MICA actively and intentionally redefines the role of artists and designers as creative, solution-oriented makers and thinkers; citizens who will drive social, cultural, and economic advancement for our future.
The College enrolls over 2,000 undergraduate, graduate and open studies students from 45 states and 56 countries. Located in the historic heart of Baltimore, MICA students, faculty, and programs connect deeply with the community and are part of the thriving cultural landscape of the region. MICA is a leading contributor to the creative economy regionally and a top producer of nationally and internationally recognized professional artists and designers.
MICA envisions a better world for everyone in which art and designprocesses, practices, thinking, creations, and interventionsbring voice and equitable opportunities to groups affected by disparities; advance environmental, economic and social justice; and enhance individual lives. The MICA community fully embraces individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values. We understand that a culturally diverse population broadens our educational knowledge and creates an opportunity for a deeper appreciation and acceptance of others. Diversity, equity, and inclusion, are guiding values, principles, and strategies that infuse our academic and institutional planning, practices, research, and outcomes. They are catalysts for creativity, excellence and thoughtful engagement on campus and in the interconnected global environment.
Additional Information:
Salary: $55,000 - $140,000. Commensurate with experience and college policy; excellent benefits package.
Application Instructions:
*Applications MUST be initiated via the MICA website. During your application on MICAs website, you will be redirected to Slideroom to upload supporting materials as directed below. After you have uploaded your materials on Slideroom, please complete your application on MICAs website.
Visit https://micahr.slideroom.com/. You will be asked to log in or create a login. Once you have logged in, please follow these instructions in Slideroom.
Submit two multi-page PDF documents in Slideroom:
The first multi-page PDF document should include:
A letter of application, statement of teaching philosophy
A statement of your artistic/research practice and industry experience
A comprehensive CV
Three references who can be reached with name, title, and contact information including email, phone number, and address (not to be contacted without applicants approval).
The second multi-page PDF document should include a portfolio of your work, 20-25 images, and a teaching portfolio of 15-20 images focused on student work.
Preference will be given to applications received by November 30, 2024, but the position will remain open until filled.
Maryland Institute College of Art is committed to its policy of providing equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status (disabled, Vietnam-era, or otherwise). Furthermore, the College does not tolerate any form of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment or sexual violence. This policy applies to all programs, facilities, and activities provided by Maryland Institute College of Art, including but not limited to admission, educational programs, and employment.
Applicants must apply online for each job in which they are interested. You will not be considered for any job for which you have not specifically applied. We do not accept applications via email, U.S. mail, or fax. Successful candidates for any staff or faculty positions will be subject to a pre-employment background check.
MICA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Human Resources at 410-225-2363.