In the framework of its regional-interest mission, the KANAL Foundation is looking for an Artistic Director whose term is set to begin at the latest in September 2021 for a period of six years (renewable once for a three-year period, i.e. a maximum of nine years).
THE KANAL FOUNDATION
In the context of a ten-year structural partnership with the Centre Pompidou (2017–2027), the Foundation is pursuing an artistic purpose whose main objective is to create a multidisciplinary arts and culture hub and a place of exchange open to all in the former Citroën garage on Place de l’Yser in order to highlight the contemporary Brussels arts scene and bolster the cultural appeal of the capital.
Supported by the Brussels-Capital Region, this ambitious project aims to provide Brussels with a twenty-first-century museum dedicated to modern art and the multidisciplinary contemporary arts scene (plastic arts, visual arts and performing arts) and the rich collections of architecture and urban planning of the CIVA Foundation. It will also house several multipurpose public spaces as well as functional spaces dedicated, among others, to the neighbourhood. It is, therefore, the very concept of the museum that KANAL is seeking to reinvent.
The Foundation aims to promote and disseminate all forms of art without exclusion and every study, research or project aimed at providing a better understanding of contemporary art to the widest possible audience.
The KANAL Foundation, the administrator of this future museum that will open its doors in the first half of 2024, will, in the meantime, pursue its artistic and societal experiments in a resolutely multidisciplinary approach, in the style of Kanal Brut and It Never Ends.
YOUR TASKS
The task of the Artistic Director is to lead the staff of the departments in charge of:
- The multidisciplinary programme planning of exhibitions, performances and shows;
- The production of exhibitions, performances and shows and the supervision of museum management;
- The constitution and conservation of the KANAL Foundation’s collections of works as well as the management of the archives and research projects;
- The publication of scientific and artistic works (exhibition catalogues, monographs, etc.) as well as educational publications (visitors’ guides, educational tools, etc.);
- The audience development strategy in close collaboration with the Deputy Artistic Director in charge of Audience development.
- Candidates will find attached the current organization chart of the KANAL Foundation as well as the job descriptions of the staff employed by the Foundation.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
As Artistic Director, you are responsible for the multidisciplinary artistic project. You will carry out these various tasks autonomously in collaboration with the Managing Director and under the supervision of the Board of Directors. You will be a member of the Board of Management. Your main responsibilities will be to:
- Define the artistic identity of the KANAL Foundation by drawing lessons from the different experiments carried out since 2018;
- Harmoniously develop the partnership with the Centre Pompidou;
Plan, organize, coordinate, monitor and update the work of the different departments under your authority to ensure effective and efficient task execution; - Use and share expertise and experience in order to monitor optimally the projects of strategic importance for the Foundation’s activities and ensure information circulates properly within the Foundation;
Stimulate, monitor and improve the quality of work and the results to best meet the needs of the institution and its partners; - Manage and motivate staff members to encourage them to achieve optimal levels of performance, engagement and development;
- Oversee the staff of the artistic department (employees, external contractors, temps, students, interns) so that they can evolve individually and as a team and make the best contribution to achieve the defined goals;
- Stimulate initiative, with a focus on results, innovation and corporate culture to increase performance and efficiency in the implementation of the Foundation’s Audience Development and Partnerships Department;
- Determine the annual budgets (order and invoice management, supervision of financial monitoring tools, development of statistical monitoring tools);
- Work on the establishment of all administrative and legal documents: contracts, agreements, orders, purchase order commitments, etc.
YOUR PROFILE
Your experience will raise the profile of KANAL-Centre Pompidou in Brussels and internationally. To achieve this objective, you possess the following qualities:
- You have a university master’s degree or equivalent experience in the field of the contemporary arts scene, of modern and contemporary art, and contemporary multidisciplinary arts;
- You have at least 10 years’ professional experience as a manager in the museum/artistic/cultural sector with a minimum of 6 years’ experience in a programming and implementing role for a modern/contemporary and multidisciplinary artistic programme;
- You have a clear and convincing vision of the scientific, cultural and artistic development of KANAL-Centre Pompidou and are capable of presenting a wide-ranging multidisciplinary cultural programme encompassing the entire rage of the contemporary arts scene;
- Your vision of cultural and museum outreach maintains a balance between a programme that is both accessible to the general public (and to school groups) and original/innovative for specialized audiences;
You can ensure the financial soundness of the projects and use the available budgets autonomously and appropriately; - You are familiar with the cultural, artistic and museum sector in Belgium and globally with regard to the contemporary arts scene;
- You have a sense of leadership and responsibility;
- You possess good communication and analysis skills that allow you to devise a multidisciplinary programme in phase with societal developments;
- You encourage the exchange of ideas and contextualize your vision when making decisions;
- You encourage innovation and a sense of initiative so that our services continue to grow and improve;
- You are flexible with respect to a new and changing environment;
- You have an excellent (oral and written) command of French and/or Dutch; a good knowledge of English is a key asset;
- You work rigorously and methodically and have practical common sense.
WHAT WE OFFER
- A full-time, open-ended contract in the form of a term (six years, renewable once for a period of three years);
- A team of motivated professionals to help you accomplish your mission;
- Start date in September 2021;
- A salary and benefits commensurate to your responsibilities and experience;
- The opportunity to contribute to the development of a unique museum project in the heart of the capital of Belgium and Europe!
RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE
Send a full CV, a cover letter as well as a note of a maximum of ten pages detailing your project for KANAL-Centre Pompidou to the attention of Jean-François LECONTE, Secretary-General, either:
- By post: KANAL Foundation, Square Sainctelette, 11-12, 1000 Brussels (marked ‘personal and confidential’);
- By email: jobs@kanal.brussels (your email should state ‘Application for the role of Artistic Director at KANAL’ in the subject line).
- Deadline for application: midnight on 28 February 2021;
The selection board will comprise 4 members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, one representative from CIVA, one representative from the Centre Pompidou, and 4 external experts; - By late March 2021 at the latest, this board will draw up a shortlist of selected candidates for an in-depth interview that will take place in early June 2021. In this context, the KANAL Foundation will (confidentially) provide you, if necessary, with documents relevant to the Foundation’s operations and commitments . The preselected candidates will also be able, if they so wish, to develop their artistic project/vision by submitting the documents that they deem necessary to the board.
For more information about this offer, please email Yves GOLDSTEIN, Director of the KANAL Foundation (ygoldstein@kanal.brussels ).
Each application will be treated with due discretion. The KANAL Foundation is committed to diversity while guaranteeing equal opportunities, treatment and access to the selections for all candidates.
