Emerging Cultural Leader - Cultural Leadership Lab
/ORGANIZATION:
Access to Media Education Society
DEADLINE:
Aug. 29, 2025
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:
Access to Media Education Society (AMES) is a registered charity that has been amplifying the visions and views of marginalized youth through media, creative facilitation, and peer education since 1996. Rooted in anti-oppression values and born on the traditional, asserted, and unsurrendered territories of the Penelakut and other Hul’q’umi’num’ and SENĆOŦEN-speaking Nations, AMES creates youth-centered spaces for reflection, skill-building, and storytelling. Through media-making intensives, school-based outreach, and equity-focused programming, we support young people with lived experience of systemic inequities to explore personal and collective transformation, engage in critical dialogue, and share their truths on their own terms. Our work is guided by a small team, a vibrant community of collaborators, and a Board of Directors made up of artists, educators, and advocates.
WEBSITE:
https://accesstomedia.org/leadership-lab/
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Cultural Leadership Lab is a paid, hands-on mentorship and leadership opportunity for 2–3 cultural workers to co-create transformative projects, rethink arts governance, and help shape the future of a nearly 30-year-old radical nonprofit rooted in anti-oppression and creative justice.
Not your average internship, this is a chance to step into your leadership potential, build your skills, and actively influence the arts and culture landscape in this region.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Participate in weekly training, mentorship, and team meetings
• Engage in governance and leadership training, including reviewing and reimagining AMES’s policies and practices through an anti-oppressive and decolonial lens
• Co-develop community-rooted projects — from ideation to outreach, budgeting, fundraising, and evaluation
• Establish a Youth Advisory committee to help guide strategic directions, ensure more inclusive and just cultural programming, and provide other youth with governance learning opportunities
• Contribute to long-term visioning and planning for AMES
What You’ll Get:
• Paid mentorship from experienced arts administrators, organizational consultants, and anti-oppression educators
• Real-world experience in project coordination, cultural programming, and leadership development
• A supportive space to grow your voice, skills, and impact
• The chance to be part of a community working at the intersection of creativity, equity, and systems change
QUALIFICATIONS:
We’re looking for young cultural workers who are:
• From equity-deserving communities (Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, 2SLGBTQ+, low-income, newcomer, etc.) in the Greater Vancouver Area
• Between the ages of 20 and 30
• Passionate about art as a tool for justice, healing, and transformation
• Interested in non-profit leadership, curation, organizing, and/or youth-led arts-based anti-oppression education
• Open to learning, unlearning, collaborating, and visioning bold futures
And who are familiar with/have some skills in the following areas:
• Anti-oppression literacy and practice
• Youth engagement and/or community arts facilitation
• Project coordination and/or curation (from idea to implementation)
• Written and in-person communication
• Embedding care, trust, and mutuality in collaborative and/or work environments
• Budgeting and grant writing
• Board experience and/or nonprofit governance
It’s totally okay if you don’t have experience in all of these! Supporting you to grow and develop as an emerging cultural leader is a core part of this program.
HOW TO APPLY:
Submit your Expression of Interest and CV by Friday August 29th through the “APPLY NOW” button on https://accesstomedia.org/leadership-lab/. (note: you can share your Expression of Interest via video, audio message, or another creative format if you prefer)
ALL applicants will be notified by mid-September (at the latest)
A short list of potential candidates will be interviewed in early to mid-September
Decisions will be made by the third week of September
The 2-3 successful candidates will begin the program in late September/early October
REMUNERATION:
$27-33/hour
