Emily Conlon on Young Canada Works
My name is Emily Conlon, I am 28 years old, and I’m the Programming Assistant at Art Windsor-Essex. I am also a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus in expanded printmaking.
My practice is motivated by an impulse to document personal experiences within natural spaces to serve as a form of remembrance and preservation. My current work seeks to highlight our collective sense of ownership and need for control with regards to the natural environments that surround us and provide an opportunity to put some of these common practices into new perspectives.
One of the things I love about printmaking is the ability to recreate an image in new ways as many times as necessary. This allows me the flexibility to use repetition and experiment with different ways an image can be presented. Printmaking can sometimes be unpredictable, which can produce happy accidents and endless opportunities for experimentation. These things have become an important part of my process — it feels like a collaboration with the medium.
I completed my BFA in Visual Arts at the University of Windsor (2018) and my MFA in Studio Art at the University of Saskatchewan (2022). When I was given the opportunity to teach during my MFA, it quickly became a passion of mine. I am a lifelong learner and have always loved being a student, so being able to contribute to the learning experiences of others has been incredibly rewarding for me. While living in Saskatoon, I sought to gain more experience in education programming and worked as the Heritage Education Assistant at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, a prime ministerial museum on the University of Saskatchewan campus. I began teaching life drawing part-time at St. Clair College after moving back to Windsor and continued to explore other arts education career options.
I found out about the Programming Assistant job through the Art Windsor-Essex website. This position is funded through Young Canada Works, and applying for the position on the Young Canada Works portal was very user-friendly. Young Canada Works is an excellent resource for expanding career options in arts and culture. Through this program, I have made several new professional connections, discovered more about my own career goals, and learned valuable skills that have prepared me well for future positions.
My previous experiences teaching and working in education in a museum setting were very complementary with my responsibilities at Art Windsor-Essex, but my role at Art Windsor-Essex introduced me to so many new things. The most surprising part was how different each day looked for me. Between leading school tours, engaging with the community, facilitating programs, doing off-site programming, planning and coordinating events, meeting with partners, and doing administrative work, each day was different. Because of this, I was constantly gaining new skills that will be incredibly beneficial for me moving forward. The most rewarding part of all of this for me has been seeing how our programming has impacted others. Watching students and other members of the community learn more about themselves and connect with something meaningful through our programs has made the effort feel very worthwhile.
Working in the arts often means wearing many different hats. It’s a great way to gain a breadth of skills and experiences that can be applied to many different aspects of life. Some advice I would give to someone considering a job in the arts is to be open-minded and eager to learn. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and explore opportunities that push you beyond your comfort zone.
Emily’s art can be found on Instagram at @emilyconlonart.
Art Windsor-Essex thanks the Government of Canada for funding the Young Canada Works program.
