Overview
Founded in 2003 Mencius Society for the Arts is devoted to promoting equity and social justice through genuine and lifelong engagement in the arts. Located on Lower Eastside and now part of the Grand St. Settlement Essex Crossing Community Center, Mencius provides a variety of language-specific musical and cultural arts programs serving students of all walks and ages.
Theater & Music Director
Mencius seeks a high energy Theater & Music Director to oversee both in-house and offsite cultural arts programs. The candidate should possess at minimum a Bachelor’s degree — preferably an M.A. or MFA in a relevant field, including theater, music, performing arts, ethnomusicology, arts administration, folklore, and other related fields; the ideal candidate should be possess some reading and speaking proficiency in a second language such as Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin) and/or Spanish, and/or another language of a major US immigrant community.
The Theater and Music Director will lead the design, development, and delivery of educational, artistic, and cultural programs at Mencius Society for the Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to intergenerational learning, traditional arts preservation, and community engagement. The position requires specialized expertise in theater and music programming and interdisciplinary arts leadership, public communication skills, and creative vision toward the design and provision of informed, authentic, and transformative programs to serve the organization’s mission.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Lead the development of educational and cultural programs that integrate community storytelling, live performance, traditional arts, and interdisciplinary creative practices into the organization’s curriculum.
- Direct the creative and narrative development of media projects that document immigrant experiences, cultural preservation efforts, and intergenerational dialogue.
- Conduct program research, curriculum design, and strategic planning to expand and evolve the organization’s artistic offerings.
- Collaborate with artists, educators, and community partners to design programs responsive to community needs and emerging cultural conversations.