Curator (Local)
BALTIC is looking for a curator that thinks critically about global, social and cultural concerns through the lens of the local, with demonstrable experience of collaborating with artists, organisations and communities of geography, interest and circumstance. The Curator (Local) will curate projects, relevant to our constituents, local artists and communities. This will include seeking and nurturing partnerships with other organisations, locally, nationally and internationally, and working collaboratively as well as leading on BALTIC OPEN development and implementation.
We are seeking an experienced curator with significant curatorial experience and knowledge of responsive programming and performance. Someone, passionate about supporting the development of artists’ practice, with a strong interest in developing innovative approaches and tactics that engage online audiences, and a demonstrable commitment to the engagement and development of diverse audiences.
About BALTIC
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead is an international art gallery established in 1998. BALTIC’s admission is free and we are visited by people from the North East, the UK and overseas.
Our mission is to create greater understanding of the world through outstanding, experimental and inspiring contemporary art which has power, relevance and meaning for individuals and communities. We value inclusion, empathy and encouragement, we provide opportunity, inspiration and surprise.
Our programme of exhibitions and activities aims to expose and explore new ideas and fresh perspectives, triggering multiple points of view that are enriched through shared dialogue and alternative ways of seeing. This has the capacity to break down barriers, supporting individuals and communities to better understand and value each other at a local, national and international level.
BALTIC will use the next year to reset and recover, to listen and test practice with constituents, partners, artists, staff and peers. As we transition further into organisational resilience, able to offer innovative perspectives on key and urgent issues in our communities and wider society, our practice will be developed using methodologies of care, equity, criticality, intersectionality, sustainability and playfulness. BALTIC’s programme will be developed in connection with the organisation’s research strands. These are key and urgent themes through which we seek to expand possibilities to see, perceive and engage with today’s realities: Black Histories, Indigenous Knowledge, Play, Politics of Food and Radical Ecology.
Collaboration is central to BALTIC’s curatorial practice by developing meaningful partnerships with local, national and international organisations with shared goals and interests, delivering a rich exchange of knowledge and expertise, and enhanced visibility for artists’ work beyond BALTIC’s audiences.
BALTIC’s Live Programme commissions and presents diverse artists working with performative practices. One of the key elements of the Live programme is CONTINUOUS, our partnership with Siobhan Davies Dance, launched in 2018. This is a unique partnership in the UK, developed in recognition of the need to grow the dialogue between contemporary dance and the visual arts. In 2019 we announced the expansion of our partnership to create the CONTINUOUS Network, which incorporates seven additional partners.
BALTIC’s Public Programme proposes a wide range of events that expand on ideas and themes developed in our exhibitions and projects. We seek to experiment and innovate with formats – in person and online – in order to promote inclusivity, critical thinking, creativity and equity of access for our diverse audiences. Through BALTIC’s partnership with Northumbria University and conversations with Newcastle and Durham University academics, the public programme connects with the world-class academic and scientific community of our region, giving visibility to outstanding research and innovative ideas.
Key information
Reports to: Head of Curatorial and Public Practice
Matrix Management: Head of Learning & Civic Engagement
Salary: £34,570 per annum
Working hours: Full time role (37h per week). Monday to Friday with occasional evening and weekend work compensated with time off in-lieu.
Place of Work: Your usual place of work will be BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead. Subject to PHE regulations due to Covid-19, home-working may be required for which BALTIC will provide a laptop and other necessary equipment in order to carry out the role.
Annual leave: You will be entitled to 25 days of paid annual leave and standard bank holidays.
Benefits: 30% discount at BALTIC’s shop and discounted menu at BALTIC’s Café/Bar.
Key Dates
Closing date for applications: Monday 16 August 2021, 9:00 BST
Interviews: Thursday 26 August 2021
How to apply
To apply, please complete the application form on Submittable by Monday 16 August, 9:00 GMT.
You can apply by uploading video or audio formats if you wish.
Further to BALTIC’s Equal Opportunities Statement here, your personal details from the Submittable form and your responses to the Equality Monitoring Questionnaire will not be seen by the shortlisting panel. This means we can make the selection based only on how the fellowship will benefit your practice.
We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries. We are committed to creating a team which is representative of our society, and to bringing together those with a variety of skills and experiences to help shape what we do and how we work.