Placements, Internships, and Volunteer Opportunities at STEPS
STEPS receives many requests for placements, research partnerships and volunteer opportunities. In response, we have developed an Expressions of Interest (EOI) submission and review process to identify the placement and research partnerships that we can support. These opportunities have been designed to be in line with the Employment Standards Act, and offer benefits to placement holders such as formal and informal training, mentorship and networking. In most cases, placements are unpaid, though some offer remuneration for specific placement related costs.
In order to provide meaningful opportunities, placements are offered during three 4-month “terms” throughout the calendar year, which have been organized around a typical post-secondary academic year. In our experience, this is the minimum length of time for us to onboard, train and meaningfully engage individuals in our work.
Fall term
Placement dates: September to December
Deadline: July 1st
Winter/spring term
Placement dates: January to April
Deadline: November 8th
Spring/Summer term
Placement dates: May to August
Deadline: April 1st
Placement Benefits
Roots of the Forest City
Artist Credit: Keerat Kaur
Photo Credit: Mila Bright Zlatanovic
STEPS placements are geared towards creative, energetic, and organized people with a passion for forging new partnerships, supporting artists, clients and collaborators in executing successful cultural projects and engaging people in public art experiences.
We are committed to offering the following with each of our placements:
- Skill Development: All placements start with the identification of development goals for the term. Those enrolled in the placement are supported by their supervisors to identify experiences to advance their development goals during their time with STEPS.
- Training: STEPS frequently hosts training sessions for our team, including those enrolled in placements over that term. Topics include, but are not limited to: project management, communications, equity, unconscious bias, accessibility, digital engagement, site safety, risk analysis, artistic techniques, and first aid.
- Mentorship: All placements have a mentorship component, where placement individuals are matched with a staff member to meet with, at least monthly, 1×1 during the term.
- Networking: STEPS is always meeting or attending events with our cross-sectoral stakeholders. Opportunities to participate in these activities are frequently extended to those enrolled in placements through which they forge new professional relationships.
- Feedback: As part of every placement there is a mid-point check-in and final placement review, during which the person enrolled in the placement and their STEPS supervisor provides feedback to the other. This enables us to ensure the placement is a beneficial opportunity, and it offers an opportunity to receive candid feedback regarding performance, which can help identify focus areas for further development.
- References: Individuals who have successfully completed a placement with STEPS become eligible to have the organization serve as a reference for future employment or other opportunities.
- Remuneration: Placements are typically unpaid, as most individuals use placements to fulfill an academic requirement. However, STEPS does cover expenses such as: required training fees, travel, research materials, and for special projects offer honouraria. If any remuneration will be provided by STEPS, this would be outlined in the Placement Terms of Reference.
Placement Opportunities
STEPS offers a combination of ongoing placements, as well as those which are designed around a research or special project. Click the dropdown menus below to learn more about our current placement and project collaboration opportunities (Public Art Placements, Communications Placements, Social Enterprise Placements, Research Projects, Special Projects).
Public Art Placements
These placements are embedded within our three service-oriented teams (Public Art, Cultural Planning, and Agency Teams). They’re ideal for individuals looking to enhance their knowledge and experience in the areas of public art, curatorial practice, community engagement, and program design and delivery.
We typically host up to four (4) placements each “term”. Through practical experience and access to training tools, those in this placement can anticipate gaining knowledge in:
- Developing creative project concepts in response to requests for support from community agencies, municipalities, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), corporate clients, and/or cultural groups across Canada
- Coordinating public art projects, through: researching artists, fabricators or suppliers; arranging for materials/equipment; and providing on-site logistical support
- Understanding how to perform risk analysis activities related to health, safety, logistics, community engagement, and other potential hazards
- Planning and facilitating cultural events, such as project information sessions, public art unveilings, artist talks, social media takeovers, participatory arts workshops or other outreach activities
- Delivering programming designed to support artist and community capacity building
- Communicating with artists, the public and community stakeholders about programming to ensure it is widely promoted and reaches intended audiences
- Storytelling for creative projects through the collection of audio-visual material, quotes and anecdotes from key stakeholders, and drafting of copy for inclusion in promotional materials
- Assisting in evaluation and reporting activities, including presenting the impact of in-progress or completed projects to clients, funders or other stakeholders
Communications Placements
These placements are embedded within our Engagement Team and targeted at individuals looking to enhance their knowledge and experience in the areas of: communications, marketing, social media, design, digital platforms, public relations, and writing.
We typically host up to two (2) placements each “term”. Through practical experience and access to training tools, those in this placement can anticipate gaining knowledge in any of the following based on the student’s interests and skill sets:
- Collecting audio-visual/testimonial content and design new visuals for social media, website, and print materials to facilitate cross promoted campaigns with partners
- Researching or developing targeted audiences for a program/project
- Tracking and reviewing analytics, including social media, email marketing, and website to inform quarterly updates and marketing strategies
- Writing creative copy for social media, webpages, newsletters, and/or other promotional materials
- Monitoring social media platforms and engaging with stakeholders through online platforms
- Identifying appropriate visual content for communications materials
- Developing marketing campaigns for public art projects and/or programs
- Designing communications tools (e.g. postcards, business cards, presentations, reports)
- Fostering good relationships with stakeholders, such as artists, partners or clients
- Facilitating evaluation activities, like extracting testimonials, impact metrics, and lessons learned to inform promotional tools and to strengthen organizational processes/content
Social Enterprise Placements
These placements are embedded within our Operations Team and targeted at individuals looking to enhance their knowledge and experience in the areas of: business operations, customer experience, systems management, customer relationship management tools, and marketing.
- Communicating the value proposition for public art and cultural planning services verbally, in writing, and digitally for a variety of audiences and purposes
- Relationship experience journey mapping to identify areas to improve client and supplier experiences
- Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to track, maintain, and strengthen relationships with clients and suppliers
- Generating client and supplier leads for delivering quality services nationwide
- Improving client retention and satisfaction
- Gathering and analyzing primary and secondary marketing research, such as digital platforms and CRM platforms to improve client experiences, marketing decision-making, and problem solving
- Identifying opportunities for improvements in efficient and effective business operations
Research Projects
We love seeing new research that relates to our work. Are you a researcher or graduate student doing research on public art, community arts, public space or placemaking and looking for a community partner?
Researchers interested in collaborating on a project are asked to complete the Placement Expressions of Interest Form and to send an email to Anjuli Solanki (anjuli@stepspublicart.org) with the subject line “Research Request: [YOUR LAST NAME]” and include information about your research project and the role that you envision STEPS playing in the project.
Special Projects
Each year, our team identifies special projects that we are interested in advancing in addition to our general programming for which we seek volunteers or external partners to implement. Our current special projects are listed below. If you’re interested in a placement that is focused on one of these special projects, please indicate it in your submission.
- Measuring the economic impact of public art
- Creating tools to help non-arts organizations host public art and culture projects
- Developing resources for more accessible public art procurement processes and opportunities to increase access for Disabled artists
We only host placements when we are confident we have the capacity to appropriately onboard, train and support individuals to succeed in those placements. This ensures maximum benefit for those enrolled in placements or partnering on a project with us. While we state an approximate number of placements available each term, these are estimated maximums, subject to change and STEPS is under no obligation to host a certain number of placements in any given term.
Placement Format
Our World is in Motion
Artist Credit: Samara Shuter
Photo Credit: Mila Bright Zlatanovic
STEPS is a national charity and social enterprise with partners and projects from coast to coast. We currently have staff working from five provinces and welcome expressions of interest from across Canada.
STEPS is mostly a virtual team. We have an office in downtown Toronto and given the place-based nature of our work, we’re frequently at project sites in the community. Individuals enrolled in placements who reside in southern Ontario may have the option for hybrid placements that combine virtual and in-person experiences. For those located outside of southern Ontario, most placements will be virtual, though there may be some hybrid opportunities available for those residing in communities where we currently have projects. We ask those submitting an expression of interest to communicate their placement preferences and ability to travel to sites.
STEPS can accommodate a range of placement formats and scheduling options. The total number of placement hours and the number of placement hours per week will vary from placement to placement, but the format must be identified before the start date, so that our team can thoroughly assess whether we have the capacity to appropriately support the requested schedule.
Typically, we do not host placements for less than the equivalent of 1 day (8 hours) per week, which we find is the minimum amount of time it takes to provide a meaningful placement experience over a term. We ask those submitting expressions of interest to provide as much information as possible regarding their availability and the specifications of any academic requirements they seek to fulfill in their submission.
Placement Eligibility
We understand that people may want to participate in a placement for different reasons, and we have tried to be flexible with the formats of placements within the constraint that the Employment Standards Act provides.
Our placements are targeted at the following:
- Participants in a placement program approved and operated by an Ontario university, college or private career college
- Newcomers to Canada who are seeking a volunteer opportunity that will help enhance their resume as well as build relationships in the region
- Visitors to Canada who are not legally able to work, but who are seeking a volunteer opportunity while in the country
Expression of Interest (EOI) Submission and Review Process
As STEPS receives a high volume of expressions of interest to take part in placements with our organization, we encourage you to apply early if there is a term that you’re most interested in being placed with STEPS. The deadlines stated at the top of this page are the final date that we can accept expressions of interest to enable us to review and identify the individuals who we can best support through our placement opportunities in a given term.
Expressions of Interest for all placements, research and special project collaborations should be submitted through this online portal.
We typically receive more requests for placements than we can approve. For this reason, we try to identify the individuals and research projects we think we can best support to ensure maximum success with the collaboration. The selection process typically includes a meeting over the phone or video conferencing with a member of our team. We value the energy taken by all interested parties, but we cannot respond to each request individually. If your expression of interest is selected for an interview, someone will contact you by email to arrange a meeting. We endeavour to confirm approved placements one month in advance of the placement start date to allow for you and STEPS to plan accordingly.
Those submissions selected for placements or project collaborations will be provided with a Placement Terms of Reference that outlines STEPS’ commitment to you, and your commitment to the organization over the placement or project term, based on the information that you provided through the submission and review process. This document is not an employment agreement.
We understand that our review timelines may not align perfectly with your own. In the event that you require a confirmed placement in advance of our stated timelines, please email operations@stepspublicart.org with the subject line “Rush Placement EOI [YOUR LAST NAME]” with additional information and we will do our best to accommodate an expedited review of your materials.
STEPS encourages submissions from the full diversity of communities in Canada, including complexities of intersecting identities such as ability, class, gender, race, and sexual orientation. We are particularly interested in receiving submissions from equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Black, a person of colour, newcomer, Disabled, d/Deaf, and LGBTQQIP2SAA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, allies, along with additional sexual orientations and gender identities).
If you require accommodations to apply for this opportunity, please send an email with “Placement EOI Accommodation Request” in the subject line to operations@stepspublicart.org.