Opportunity:
Engagement Curator
Job Title: Engagement Curator
Contract type: Two-year fixed term (freelance)
Start date: January 2024
Fee: £25,000 (100 days @ £250 / day) plus expenses
Deadline: Friday 27 October 2023 5pm
OM is seeking a suitable candidate to work as an Engagement Curator on a unique two-year programme for the visual arts and heritage sector in Wales. The role is particularly suited to a person from the global ethnic majority. What we mean by this is anyone from African, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic, Latino, Eastern European, or Middle Eastern diaspora; anyone who identifies as being from an ethnic group that is not exclusively white; and anyone from Gypsy, Romany or Traveller Communities.
We also welcome applications from any individuals who belong to a group that is under-represented. For example, individuals who face barriers due to their sexuality, social and economic background, or identify as Deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent.
Background
As Engagement Curator you will be part of OM’s Perspective(s) Project Team comprising of the Creative Practitioner Lucille Junkere, OM Gallery Manager, OM Gallery Assistant, Amgueddfa Cymru and Arts Council Wales. You will be responsible for creating, planning, and organising environments to connect the Creative Practitioner and her practice with these communities and groups, their narratives, and experiences.
You will identify target communities and groups and build trusting relationships through creative activity, ensuring their stories are heard. Applying your curatorial discipline you will devise and deliver a series of creative opportunities for participants, particularly those whose stories have been neglected or erased by Wales’s national collections and archives. This series of facilitated engagements, activities and events will be enjoyable and challenging for participants, offering them an inspiring and safe space for creative activity and meaningful dialogues.
As Engagement Curator you will complement the Creative Practitioner role by working both in tandem and at times autonomously. You will also contribute to OM’s knowledge and ability to diversify its audiences and programme beyond the lifespan of the two-year Perspective(s) programme.
The role will be demanding but will include a CPD component, enabling you to develop your career and/or practice during the project with the OM Perspective(s) Team. A Critical Friend will also be on hand for the Perspective(s) Project Team to offer allyship, support and an independent view beyond the project deliverables.
About you
You will have demonstrable experience in working with diverse communities and using the arts to foster a sense of community, enhance cultural understanding, and promote creativity and expression among community members. You acknowledge the perspectives, experiences, and stories past and present of diverse communities belonging to the Global Ethnic Majority. You can work independently and with initiative, whilst understanding how you can most effectively contribute towards achieving the team’s wider collective efforts.
You have previously delivered high quality learning activity within a visual arts / heritage organisation. You have helped to identify and develop new audiences via community consultation and engagement. You have an aptitude for insightful understanding and sharing of other people’s creative practices.
You are:
• Self-motivated and able to work unsupervised to agreed objectives and priorities.
• A good communicator and able to convey information clearly (verbal and written)
• Organised, attentive to detail, a planner, with good time management.
• Willing to share knowledge and to learn.
• Sensitive, compassionate, aware of social justice issues
• Flexible and practical with a ‘can-do’ attitude
• Familiar with evaluation methodology and capturing evidence (including photography and audio recording)
• Confident with GDPR regulation regarding protection of people’s confidentiality and data
Budget
• Curator fee (based on 100 days @ £250 – fixed fee of £25,000
• There is additional budget for materials for workshops and delivery (Please note we also have access to compact digital cameras, iPad, and podcast recording kit etc)
• Curator travel – £900
• There is an additional budget for participant access costs, event marketing, flyers etc, which will be discussed and finalised with the successful candidate.
Additional duties
You will be joining a small team with limited capacity but big ambitions for this exciting project. As such you may be asked to undertake any other duties and/or responsibilities which are not covered in this job description. Any additional duties will be compatible with regular tasks and duties.
To apply:
Please submit a statement of 800-1000 words describing your suitability for the role and the approaches you would deliver through this project (please consider the project aims within this proposal). Please also include:
• A current CV
• Contact details of 2 referees and their relationship to you
• A completed equality monitoring form (supplied separately)
We will accept statements and the above information provided as an audio or video recording of 12 minutes or less. If you are submitting your application in this format, please email a link rather than an attachment. The production quality of your recording will not influence your application, but your response must be audible and clear to the panel.
If you need any additional support in applying for this role or have any questions, please contact Catherine Spring cmspring@carmarthenshire.gov.uk or Rachel Vater rvater@carmarthenshire.gov.uk or call us on 01267 222775
Send your application by email to:
OMEducationQueries@carmarthenshire.gov.uk with the subject header Perspective(s) Engagement Curator
Or by post to: Perspective(s) Engagement Curator, Oriel Myrddin, ℅ Carmarthenshire Museum, Abergwili, Carmarthenshire, SA31 2JG (NB Material submitted by post cannot be returned.
Your material must arrive by the deadline – we cannot take responsibility for things lost in the post or that arrive late.
Deadline for applications: Friday 27 October 2023 5pm
What happens next?
Emailed applications will receive an auto response and a request to complete an equality monitoring form. (Postal applications should be sent by registered post for confirmation of receipt.)
Shortlisted candidates will be informed by: Wednesday 1 November 2023
Interviews will take place in person in Carmarthen on Wednesday 8 November or Cardiff on Thursday 9 November.
Zoom interviews are an option by request if your location makes it difficult to attend in person.
The successful candidate will be required to present a DBS check.
About Perspective(s)
Perspective(s) is a new collaboration between the Arts Council of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, which seeks to bring about a step change in how the visual arts and heritage sector reflects the cultural and ethnic diversity of our society. Forging partnerships between Wales’s national museum sites and visual arts organisations, Perspective(s) will support seven creative professionals from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds to platform untold stories, create artistic responses and act as an agent for change. The Perspective(s) programme seeks to challenge current ways of thinking by engaging with communities to explore the visual arts and heritage sector through an anti-racist and decolonial lens.
Perspective(s) is supported by the Welsh Government as part of a collective effort to meet the culture and heritage goals of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan.
About Oriel Myrddin (OM)
OM is the home for contemporary craft and applied art in West Wales. It supports a creative environment where contemporary ideas can be pursued through craftsmanship in its widest definition of artistic skill, thought and imagination.
OM’s home is Carmarthen, a market town with a strong regional significance that serves the rural county of Carmarthenshire. The county is a largely monocultural area, however it does not follow that OM’s programmes and activities should mirror this. OM is determined to be an ally to people from minority backgrounds. Our vision is of a world where the value of craftsmanship, skill and ingenuity is appreciated and attainable by everyone.
Please Note: OM is currently closed while the gallery undergoes a capital redevelopment. Our off-site office is based at Carmarthenshire Museum, Abergwili, Carmarthen, SA31 2JG.
This post is generously funded by ArtFund
