OPEN CALL: CURATOR-IN-RESIDENCE

Established in 2019, our Curator-in-Residence programme invites Curators, based in the UK or beyond, to develop a major exhibition and a public programme of events that engage with our diverse audiences: both in Liverpool and internationally. Over the next three years, our annual Curator-in-Residence will be funded by the John Ellerman Foundation, allowing us to continue to champion new visions and voices within the arts.

For the first year of this opportunity, we are seeking a Curator to collaborate with us on our 2023/2024 programme, which focuses on Technologies of Togetherness. Technologies of Togetherness explores the possibilities of new forms of collective existence, reconciling the realities of our individuality and the spaces and structures we exist within, to allow us to move within and beyond those boundaries.

DOWNLOAD RECRUITMENT PACK

• Recruitment pack – Black text, white background

WHAT TO EXPECT

This hybrid residency will be based between on-site working at FACT and independent research and development working remotely. It runs from December 2022 for 9 months, culminating in FACT’s Autumn/Winter exhibition, due to open in October 2023. FACT will support the Curator’s vision and practice, seeking to bring in new references or perspectives, and disrupting our usual ways of working.

During the residency, the curator will work closely with our team to develop their exhibition and public programme and share their work locally, regionally and nationally. They will also integrate into our Studio/Lab programme, engaging with researchers and early to mid-career artists or curators through mentoring and informal sharing sessions. The residency will allow for remote working but should include multiple extended stays in Liverpool during development, production, installation and the exhibition run.

ELIGIBILITY

• This role is open to curators from any background or discipline – although the role is curatorial, we are keen to open this out to people who may not have a formal curatorial practice but are able to create connections, construct narratives and work with us to invite audiences into an artistic experience.
• Applicants should be interested in the overlapping fields of art and technology, approaching this from a critical and/or social perspective.
• Applicants should be mid-career (3-5 years experience), having worked on the delivery of some large-scale projects in their chosen specialism or field of research.
• Flexible and collaborative: someone with experience of working as part of a large team, organisation or on a project with many stakeholders.
• Clear vision and ability to communicate this to a wide range of audiences.
• Committed to Equality, Diversity, Access and Inclusion both in their programming and their approach to working with artists, colleagues and participants.
• Applicants can be from anywhere in the world but must be willing to spend a significant amount of time in the UK and have the same travel budget as indicated in this advert.
• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK, as FACT cannot currently support visa applications.

DELIVERABLES & EXPECTATIONS

• To take part in a flexible, hybrid residency lasting approx. 9 months with around 30% of time spent on-site in Liverpool.
• To become embedded in the organisation, and in Liverpool, forming connections between their curatorial approach and the work we’re already undertaking as well as locating their work within FACT’s specific context.
• To curate and deliver an ambitious, audience-focused presentation of 2/3 artists or a collective (either a new commission or significant restaging) to take over our Ground Floor which includes the Lower Gallery, the Foyer Gallery, and Public Spaces.
• Work with the Exhibitions team to collaboratively manage the Exhibition and Public Programme budgets.
• To design and take part in a public programme that expands the scope of the exhibition and is focused on audience interaction and engagement, rather than interpretation and explanation through events.
• To propose and develop ways to utilise online platforms to disseminate and create critical artworks, or artistic experiences for our entirely digital audiences: either through the new commissions or events programme.
• To take part in the Practice Development Programme of our new experimental production space, Studio/Lab. This will include acting as a mentor (as planned and assisted by the Studio/Lab Manager) for the Research Curator, Curatorial Intern and Studio/Lab Artists in Residence.

BENEFITS / RESOURCES

• £10,500 Fee / £2,500 Travel and accommodation / £500 Research Budget.
• A workspace in Liverpool along with any basic technical equipment required.
• The team will help to realise the curator’s vision for the Winter exhibition, and also nurture the curator’s developing practice: how they work with artists, institutions and audiences.
• This support also includes insights from across the whole organisation, with opportunities to work with or alongside teams focused on participation, fundraising, communications, technical design and visitor services.
• Access to a wide network of artists, curators and research through our Programme and through Studio/Lab, where they have the opportunity to work alongside other residents and become embedded in the organisation.
• Access to Liverpool partners, from academic institutions to creative technology labs and other arts organisations.
• A space to experiment – working directly with the team’s knowledge of our audiences, and our eagerness to try out new approaches to develop and test out curatorial practice in a way not possible in some other gallery spaces.

HOW TO APPLY

FACT is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds. To apply, please complete the following two forms.

Please submit a current CV or portfolio (this can be a link to your website) along with a proposal. The proposal must be no longer than five pages, or if you would like to submit a video or audio file, no longer than 5 minutes. Photographs and floorplans of FACT’s galleries are available upon request.

1. Application Form
   1. Please upload your CV/Portfolio and Proposal
   2. Please label the attached files as: Your Name_CV and Your Name_Proposal
2. Confidential Equal Opportunities Survey

Closing date: Sunday 4 December 2022, 23:59.

Interviews will take place week commencing 12 December 2022.

If you require access support for your application, or have any queries, please email us at residency@fact.co.uk or call FACT on 0151 707 4444.