Team: Programming Team
Responsible to: Head of Exhibitions
Contract: 24 hours a week (Variable Hours)
Salary: £26,000 – £32,000 (depending on experience)
Pension: 5% of Salary
Holiday: 18.5 days per annum (Pro-rata including bank holidays)
The Photographers’ Gallery
In 2012, The Photographers’ Gallery founded its digital programme, as part of its mission to make sense of the role photography plays in our everyday lives, particularly through emerging technologies and web platforms. In 2017 the Arts Council described the digital programme as ‘sector leading in that it is pioneering new thinking around the future of photography.’
Over the past seven years, the programme has focused on the social, aesthetic and political issues arising from the photographic image in network culture, focusing on computational photography, synthetic imaging, digital labour, machine vision, automation and the camera. These issues have been taken up across a number of key platforms for the programme including:
- Media Wall: (installed on the Ground Floor is focused on new commissions as well as mapping the broader shifts in consumption and circulation of photography online. Previous commissions have included Erica Scourti, James Bridle, Sebastian Schmieg, Wendy McMurdo, Mario Klingemann, Penelope Umbrico, Alan Warburton, Joey Holder, ScanLAB Projects and the projects Born in 1987: The Animated GIF (2012), For the LOL of Cats: Felines, Photography & the Web (2012), Motherlode (2013), PowerPoint Polemics (2016), Food for Being Looked At (2017) and d(^_^)b (2015)
- Unthinking Photography: A web platform for commissioning YouTube essays, slideshows, interviews and new writing around computational image culture.
- Public Programming: Focused on workshops, symposiums, panels and playful takeovers of the Gallery (Geekenders) and an annual Experimental Photo School.
- Research & Development: Through a collaboration with the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image, London South Bank University, the programme is engaged in new research, including a Collaborative PhD on Machine Vision and a Swiss National Science Foundation funded project on Curating Post-Photography with Fotomuseum Winterthur.
Our existing Digital Curator will be taking on the new role of Adjunct Curator (Research) in February 2019, creating a vacancy in the programming team.
The Role
- The Curator (Digital Programmes) is responsible for the research, commissioning and curating of digital projects for the ground floor Media Wall and public programme in collaboration with the Producer, Digital Programmes. The post is critical to ensuring the Gallery’s curatorial mission is understood both internally and externally, and to developing new ways of working with artists and organisations while engaging with new and existing audiences for the Gallery. The post sits within the Programming team, line-managed by the Head of Exhibitions and works closely with Communications, Development and all other Gallery teams. The post holder will also continue to pursue research potential and existing collaborations with relevant HE and other organisations, as with The Centre for the Study of the Networked Image, London South Bank University.
- We are particularly interested in candidates who have a hybrid skillset which reflects both a technical and cultural understanding of post-photographic practice(s). We welcome applications from candidates from broad creative disciplines outside of a conventional curatorial background or those working part time in academia or research.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
- To evaluate, update and deliver an effective and sustainable Digital Programme Strategy for The Photographers’ Gallery in tandem with other team members and relevant departments including Programming and Communications;
- Curate and commission digital projects as part of the Gallery’s public programme in collaboration with relevant team members and Gallery departments;
- Develop technical specifications and support the maintenance of the ground floor Media Wall in collaboration with the Digital Programmes Producer;
- Work with relevant external bodies and the in-house Development team to help identify and secure project funding and sponsorship;
- Advise on the delivery of the Gallery’s website and Digital Archive;
- Develop key national and international partnerships to ensure the Gallery is positioned at the heart of digital culture debates;
- To support the Gallery’s research partnerships and contribute to R&D;Contribute content to the Gallery’s website, talks and events, present papers and attend conferences and symposia at universities and cultural organisations, as well as contribute articles to relevant publications
Required skills/experience
- Demonstrable project management skills with previous experience of producing, curating, or creating image-based online/digital projects;
- Strong technical skills and confidence to troubleshoot technical issues relating to software and hardware, with a focus on video, digital imaging and web technologies;
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of cultural debates and theoretical developments surrounding photography, digital technologies and new media;
- Solid understanding of social media networks and participatory digital arts projects;
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant funding sources for digital media and a proven track record of application;
- Good knowledge of copyright issues with regard to digital images in different contexts;
- Demonstrated experience of collaborative and team working with digital and cultural workers, including graphic designers, programmers, artists etc;
- Excellent presentation and communication skills – demonstrable record of scholarly writing as well as writing for marketing/communications purposes;
- Ability to work within a team and with a diverse range of people.
- Desired experience
- Knowledge and experience of evaluating arts projects related to audience development or education/learning
The Photographers’ Gallery strives to be an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Charity no 262548.
Please download application form from the Gallery’s website and submit applications.
Deadline for applications January 21st 2019 at 12 noon.
Interviews to be held: Week beginning 28th Jan 2019
