Location: Barbican Centre (once coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted) Terms: 4 days per week, 12 months fixed term
Salary: £28,000 pro rata
Reporting to: Senior Curator
Annual Leave: 22.5 days ( 28 days pro rata) plus statutory holidays
Pension: 4% if matched by employee Office hours are usually 9.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday; this may vary and the post-holder will be required to work evenings and weekends as the programme dictates, time off in-lieu will be provided.
ABOUT THE ROLE
This role is aimed at addressing the acute lack of representation in the visual arts in the UK of talented Black curators.
The role is a unique opportunity for an individual to build on their curatorial practice by taking a lead in the curation, production and delivery of the ambitious Windrush Art Commissions. Commissioned by the London Borough of Hackney and produced by Create, two new, permanent, public artworks in Central Hackney will celebrate and honour the Windrush Generation.
The Assistant Curator will work on the Windrush commissions over the course of 2020-21, working with the artists Veronica Ryan and Thomas J Price to develop and realise their proposals. The Assistant Curator will work with London Borough of Hackney to expand the impact of the project by producing an engaging public programme in collaboration with local communities.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES
- Bring a rigor and criticality to your approach when developing and producing artistic programmes within a social and community context, ensuring process is foregrounded.
- Work closely with Senior Curator Habda Rashid and Chief Executive Hadrian Garrard, attending studio and site visits with the selected artists
- Assist the selected artist with research and production queries
- Attend meetings with the London Borough of Hackney Culture team, Town Hall Square architects Hawkins Brown and other stakeholders
- In partnership with the London Borough of Hackney, design and organise a programme of public events about the artwork with the artist, curators and local residents, schools and Windrush Elders
- Be willing and able to be a public spokesperson on the project
- Supporting the evaluation of the commissioning and production stages of the project
- Support Create’s Development Manager Charlotte Aston with preparing fundraising bids for production and with reporting to funders as required
General:
- Be fully conversant with all Create London policies including Anti-racism, equality & diversity, Safeguarding and Health & Safety and ensure that policies are adhered to at all times
- Protect and enhance the reputation of Create London, presenting the organisation in an appropriate and professional manner to stakeholders
- Be an advocate of Create London’s work, act as an ambassador/point of contact in the Create office and at events
- Build appropriate relationships with relevant organisations
- Safeguard members of the public and staff, and ensure high levels of professional conduct at all times
- Working in partnership with Create to collect the appropriate data/forms for reporting and evaluation
- Undertake other reasonable duties as required by the Curators.
- To work independently, often offsite, with support from the team
PERSON SPECIFICATION
- Minimum of 2 years’ experience of developing and producing art projects, preferably within public and community contexts
- Highly collaborative, with a proven track record of collaborative and team- based working, as well as ability to work under own initiative
- A demonstrable interest and knowledge of the visual arts, and particularly social art practice, with interest in community-led and/or artist-led models preferable
- Experience of working closely with and supporting artists, preferably through artist residencies programmes and/or artist commissions
- Strong communications skills, ability to speak to range of stakeholders. Well- developed writing, presentation and interpersonal skills including proven experience of building effective working relationships
- Experience of managing budgets and fundraising preferable
- A proactive, constructive and creative approach to problem solving, with willingness to learn and undertake a variety of tasks
- A highly organised approach to work with demonstrable ability to prioritise workload, work on multiple projects simultaneously, meet changing deadlines, respond to fast paced environment and make decisions independently.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) and Adobe software
- Experience of managing social media accounts preferable
- Good understanding of anti-racism, inclusion and diversity with the commitment to applying these in practice
ABOUT CREATE LONDON
Create London is an arts organisation dedicated to making long-term projects that are useful to society. We curate, commission and produce work that reimagines the role of the artist in the city, finding new and often surprising ways for art to become part of daily life.
We work in collaboration with communities and most often outside of galleries and museums. We take on unlikely sites, establishing new forms of infrastructure for art that have included a soft play centre; a job brokerage service; a spa; a community-minded art school; a drinks company and a new form of artist housing.
We work with a growing network of cultural institutions, local and city governments, project partners, residents, artists, architects, curators and practitioners. We are part of a movement across the UK and internationally that seeks to extend what art can do, who makes it and who it is for.
The 2018 Panic! research commissioned by Create London demonstrates a lack of representation within the arts of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic heritage, those who are facing barriers due to difficult socio-economic circumstances and/or are disabled. This role is designed to address the lack of representation of Black people particularly within curatorial practice.
Safer Recruitment
Create London is committed to providing a safe environment for all those working with us, visiting our projects and participating in our programmes. Safe recruitment of all those who work for us is an important part of fulfilling this commitment. All positions are offered subject to meeting the following conditions:
- Receipt of satisfactory references covering the last 2 years of your employment or education
- A satisfactory DBS check
- Proof that you are legally entitled to work in the UK
TO APPLY
To apply please send the following documents to info@createlondon.org with the
subject title ‘Assistant Curator’:
- CV
- Covering letter, indicating why you wish to apply for the post and any previous relevant experience, responding to points in the outlined role and person specification to demonstrate your suitability (maximum 2 pages of A4)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday 20th July 2020, 10am
INTERVIEWS: 28th- 30th July 2020 via Zoom. Please contact us with any specific access needs you may have.
