Now Hiring!
Big Car Collaborative is now hiring two positions: Spark Field Artist + Grants & Communications Coordinator
Title: Spark Field Artist
Point of Contact: Big Car SPARK mgmt
Status: W9 seasonal/temporary contract
up to 30 hours/week (flexible)
Timing: Through October 31, 2026
Pay: $20 per hour paid every two weeks
Position Summary: The SPARK on the Circle Field Artist is a creative, friendly, observant, and detail-oriented person who will work to create, maintain, and activate an engaging, comfortable, artful, and welcoming public space on Monument Circle and the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi) campus. The SPARK location on the southwest quadrant of the Circle will be closed to motorized traffic as a partnership between the City of Indianapolis, Downtown Indy Alliance, Big Car Collaborative, and others. The SPARK on the Circle pop-up park is designed to be a restorative public place where people of all walks of life can relax, play, socialize, and engage with art and artists in the heart of our city.
The SPARK Field Artist, who will also have support from cleaning and security staff employed by Downtown Indy, will be stationed outdoors during open hours — based out of our welcome trailer.
Field Artists will:
• Greet and interact positively with visitors, answering questions as a sort of a city concierge. From the welcome trailer, check out games, suggest creative activities like our postcard project.
• Support maintenance, repair, cleanliness, and organization of SPARK on the Circle park space, trailers, equipment, etc. This includes regular checks and close observation of the space and these important items with an emphasis on safety, harmony, and functionality.
• Help facilitate creative, social and cultural activities — including their own ideas and projects.
• Support — as time is available on site — our ongoing data tracking and surveying of visitors and partners, documentation, and promotion of the project and events on the Circle.
• Help keep track of stock of supplies in the welcome trailer and track
• Communicate on Slack at the start, middle and end of each shift.
• Attend a paid training (about 3 hours).
Overall, this position requires the following:
Share a weekly update that includes plan for the week, accomplishments from the previous week, roughly how you spent your hours, and any questions or thoughts
Communicate by updating supervisors and team when tasks are completed
Ask for help as needed
Keep an updated calendar and to-do list
Track time on projects
Participate in staff meetings when applicable
Preferred experience/interests
Customer service of any kind
Creativity and interest in community and participatory art
Familiarity with nonprofit and/or arts programming
Social media and photography skills a plus
Required Skills and Abilities:
Friendly attitude; comfort interacting with the general public
Observation, listening and learning skills
Flexibility and adaptability in a dynamic work environment
Ability to anticipate tasks
Physical Demands and Work Environment
Must be able to lift at least 25 lbs.
Must be comfortable working outdoors in various weather conditions
About us: Big Car Collaborative is a 20-year-old nonprofit organization working across Indianapolis and beyond to support people-focused public places through socially engaged arts approaches. Co-led by artists and active citizens, we work to foster connectivity, community, culture, and creativity. And we collaborate with artists (including those in our long-term residency program) and other neighbors and leaders to support livable, inclusive, and equitable communities. Our mission statement: Big Car brings art to people and people to art, sparking creativity in lives to support communities. We have been working in various ways on Monument Circle since the first Spark partnership with the City of Indianapolis (funded by an NEA Our Town grant) in 2015.
Physical Demands of Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of that that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/ or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Work environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the position. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Big Car provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
→ TO APPLY, SEND RESUME AND COVER LETTER to info@bigcar.org
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Title: Grants and Communications Coordinator
Reports to: Executive Director, with support from the CAMi Director
Status: Full-time, 40 hours/week, salaried — exempt
Pay: $45,000–$55,000 per year, commensurate with experience, plus benefits
Location: Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi) campus, 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN 46203, with occasional work across Big Car Collaborative sites
Skills: Well organized, observant, and detail oriented; a strong communicator, reader, and researcher; a good listener; a skilled writer and editor; and a positive team player who is excited about the cause of supporting community through art and creativity. This position succeeds through exceptional organization, anticipation, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through.
Experience and Education: We prefer a degree and 1–3 years of experience in a related field — nonprofit administration, philanthropy, writing and communications, fundraising, grant writing, marketing/communications, or research. Basic graphic design and photography skills are a plus.
Benefits: Full-time staff members are eligible for 15 days of paid time off, in addition to the nine national holidays recognized by Big Car Collaborative. The benefits package also includes 100%-funded high-deductible insurance covering medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, and life. Staff who elect coverage may open a Health Savings Account; staff who decline employer-provided health insurance receive a monthly stipend toward coverage instead. Salaried staff also receive a $50/month stipend to support the use of their mobile phones for work. Performance reviews are conducted annually, with the possibility of raises or bonuses.
Position Summary: Big Car Collaborative's Grants and Communications Coordinator researches, writes, submits, and manages grant proposals, funding requests, and grant reports in support of Big Car Collaborative and the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi). This role also supports broader fundraising, basic marketing and communications, board relations, membership, and administrative work — including the capital campaigns, the Power Plant Grant Program, and day-to-day support for the Executive Director. The Grants Coordinator must understand Big Car and CAMi's work in the community and experience it directly whenever possible. For this reason, and to stay connected with other staff and to greet donors and funders in person, this person will help with on-site operations for programs, exhibitions, community events, and fundraising events, including First Fridays and other public programs on the CAMi campus. This position reports to the Executive Director, who leads or co-leads grants, fundraising, and development work, with support from the CAMi Director and Chief Curator and the Director of Operations. The Grants Coordinator does not directly supervise other staff, but will collaborate with other staff members in various ways and may need direction, requests, or reminders — so the position requires strong organization, including scheduling, written and verbal follow-up, and consistent communication. The Grants Coordinator is responsible for fulfilling assignments of the Executive Director in a timely manner, meeting assigned deadlines, and informing the Executive Director and other lead staff of issues or roadblocks as soon as they arise. This person keeps track of grant and sponsorship leads shared by other staff (including the Executive Director), tracks hours in the organization's timekeeping system, and stays current on deadlines.
Specific Responsibilities
• Research, write, submit, and manage grant proposals, funding requests, and grant reports
• Research prospective funding opportunities and track grant deadlines, reporting requirements, and compliance
• Maintain donor and funder databases and online giving platforms, and support donor stewardship through acknowledgments and communications
• Support fundraising initiatives, including the CAMi Capital Campaign, Cabinet activities, and other development efforts
• Develop and manage marketing and communications content for social media, websites, email newsletters, print materials, radio promotions, and other digital and print platforms
• Write and distribute press releases and coordinate media relations
• Support our work with social media
• Update and maintain organizational websites, event information, and other online content
• Coordinate Board communications, meetings, agendas, materials, and related requests
• Provide administrative support to the Executive Director, including scheduling, communications, meeting preparation, and donor and funder support
• Assist with administration of the Power Plant Grant Program, including applicant communications, review coordination, grant tracking, and reporting
• Assist with on-site operations for programs, exhibitions, community events, and fundraising events
• Collect, organize, and analyze organizational data — including attendance, demographics, surveys, program participation, financial information, and other organizational metrics — to support grant reporting, program evaluation, and organizational planning
• Maintain organizational records, files, and documentation
Physical Demands & Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, talk or hear, and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The role is based on CAMi's 5-acre campus in the Garfield Park neighborhood, across galleries, studios, and administrative spaces.
Big Car provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.