About Flowers & Fields

Flowers & Fields is an experimental school offering a diverse range of programming at the intersection of art, poetry, critical theory, and personal development. Serving queer and BIPOC communities in the Bay Area and beyond, our courses, workshops, and events lay the groundwork for new modes of identity, networks of care, and creative expression.

Flowers & Fields is in its first year of existence, but our team has many years of experience in teaching and the cultivation of community spaces; we would love to share with you the skills we have developed, as well as learn from you and your unique perspectives and capacities. Study, Fred Moten writes, is what you do with other people; we would love to study with you.

We are based in both San Francisco and the East Bay.

Summary of Position

This is a 12-week summer internship position open to college students, from June 15 to September 15. We ask that you commit to 5- 10 hours per week, depending on your availability and availability of funding; we cannot provide funding at this time, and ask that you seek funding opportunities from your school to support you in working with us.

As an events coordinator intern, you will be responsible for assisting in the planning and execution of two events for the Flowers & Fields community, such as poetry salons, potlucks, “field trips,” readings, ceremonies, parties, or any other such value-aligned gathering.

You should apply for this internship position if you are interested in developing the skills to effectively plan and run low stakes, small-scale events, while also expanding a growing community of artists, poets, and creatives in the Flowers & Fields community.

Additionally, you are more than welcome to enroll in our courses with full tuition remission as a massive thank you for working with us!

Responsibilities

You will be responsible for the planning, coordinating, and execution of two small-scale events (no more than 25 people). This entails the following:

Event Coordination

1. Developing two event proposals to share and grow together with the team.
2. Determining the targets and goals of your proposed events using appropriate metrics.
3. Researching and securing appropriate and accessible venues.
4. Researching and securing in-kind donations of refreshments and/or supplies.
5. Coordinating deliveries and/or pick-ups.
6. Working with very simple budgets and tracking minimal expenses.
7. Creating and managing a lightweight staffing plan for the team to execute.

Collaboration with Team

1. Weekly report backs, detailing your progress and any arising difficulties/needs.
2. Collaboration with the team in the development of marketing materials.
3. Collaboration with the team in creating, distributing, and tracking invitations, including participant accessibility needs.
4. Debriefing and evaluating event in order to improve future events.

Qualifications

1. You are an enrolled college student with the ability to secure funding from your university.
2. You can meet in-person once per week in either San Francisco or the East Bay.
3. You have planned events in the past, whether for your own community, friend group, family, or in an employed capacity.
4. You can find your way around a spreadsheet; bonus if you use Notion.
5. You are a student/creator of art, art history, poetry, literature, ethnic studies, cultural studies, disability studies, queer and feminist studies, performance studies, and/or other such fields.
6. You are ready to take on a role in which you are empowered to make important decisions that affect others; you are ready to move between doing self-directed work and also reaching out for support, knowing that the people around you care more about you than the success of any particular event you run.

Culture/Values

As we witness the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and Palestinian life, we believe it is important that we clarify our dedication to a free Palestine, and we ask that you be similarly aligned. We believe in a liberatory future for all; our work culture follows from such a position.

We will respect your work hours, and ask that you respect ours. We will respect your accessibility needs, and ask that you respect ours. We will relate to you as elders, helping you to structure your pathway with and beside us; and yet we know we have much to learn from you as well. As such, you will receive instruction, but not orders. You will be asked to make decisions, to step into your leadership. We are hierarchical in our organizing strategy, not as a structure of domination.

In short, we operate from the principle that we are all relatives; that we each have a plethora of wisdom and capacity to contribute to our collective world-making; and we will always make clear and enforce healthy boundaries in the workplace, and ask that you do the same.

If you are interested in applying for this role, please send your resume and cover letter to ourwildflowerselves@gmail.com!

Thank you!

Kazumi & Jessica