Arab Britain Curator
Part time, 21 hours per week, £30K per annum pro rata
A unique and exciting opportunity for an early- to mid-career curator working in the visual arts sector to shape a multi-year, nationwide programme exploring Arab British history and identity.
Background
The Arab British Centre is a London-based charity which aims to further understanding of the Arab world* in the UK. We do this by promoting its art and culture, sharing its knowledge and supporting a community of individuals and organisations that work to enhance friendship and collaboration between people of the UK and the Arab world.
Arab Britain is our programming theme that sets out to explore and document the history, achievements and experiences of Arabs in Britain. Through exhibitions, community engagement programmes and a digital story archive we aim to overturn preconceptions and challenge prejudices, retrace the ways the Arab world has influenced and shaped British culture and society, and celebrate the contributions of Arabs in Britain, past and present.
Since 2019, we have been working on projects across the UK that explore this theme. Now, with funding from the Freelands Foundation, we are excited to take Arab Britain to the next level by recruiting a curator to spearhead our 3 year vision for the visual arts element of the project, including 6 commissions, a community curator programme and a large-scale visual arts and heritage exhibition of Arab Britain in 2025.
The Role
We are looking for a Curator to lead the curatorial vision for our Arab Britain programme. Working up to the 2025 exhibition, over three years you will commission and deliver 4 new visual arts projects in regional locations over years 1 and 2, plus 3 new commissions in year 3. The exhibition will be accompanied by an events programme, a publication and a digital story archive.
The Curator will also devise and establish a Community Curators initiative, bringing in diverse voices from across the country to help shape the direction of the commissions and exhibition.
This is a new role which would suit an ambitious and self-motivated curator keen to develop their knowledge, practice and skills over a multi-year contract and make this project their own. The role will include research, commissioning, curation, exhibition and event management, fundraising, community outreach, public speaking, digital and more and would suit someone who enjoys working in a collaborative manner on a varied array of tasks.
In Year 1, the role will have dedicated time for research and development and a professional development budget which could be spent capacity building and networking, courses, conferences, or travel to UK archives or exhibitions.
Responsibilities and Outputs over 3 years
Year 1
- Conduct research about Arab-British History and identify key themes
- Identify up to 20 artists, projects, curators, academics to be included in the exhibition alongside new commissions
- Identify networks and partnerships across the UK to support the creation of the final Arab Britain exhibition
- Commission and manage 2 visual arts projects + showcases outside of London
- Develop, establish and recruit up to 12 people nationwide to participate in a Community Curators programme
- Venue scoping and negotiating involvement
- Lead on fundraising for commissions with the support the Arab British Centre team
- Lead on developing brief and criteria and commissioning Arab Britain impact evaluation (audiences, stakeholders, partners, artists, venues)
Year 2
- Venue confirmed for 2025 exhibition
- Commission and manage 2 visual arts projects + showcases outside of London
- Work with Arab British Centre team on development of Arab Britain digital story archive
- Confirm artists/projects/curators/academics/partners platformed in the Arab Britain exhibition, website and publication.
- Continuation of Community Curators scheme
- Lead on fundraising for commissions with the support the Arab British Centre team
Year 3
- Plan and deliver Arab Britain Exhibition and surrounding events programme including talks, workshops and school visits
- Commission and manage large scale visual arts projects for exhibition
- Produce exhibition catalogue
- Support Arab British Centre team with launch of online story archive documenting process, projects, exhibition and broader related content
- Continuation of Community Curators scheme
- Produce final project report detailing events, audiences and impacts with the support of the Arab British Centre team
Person Specification
Essential
- A minimum of 2-3 years’ experience of exhibition planning, organising and installation, and of working with artists, galleries and museums
- Genuine interest in and knowledge of Arab arts and culture
- Genuine interest in working on a project championing Arab British communities
- Understanding of UK arts fundraising practices
- Friendly, open and collaborative attitude
- Confident, discrete and diplomatic, able to build and maintain positive relationships with a wide variety of partners
- Excellent organisation and research skills with impeccable attention to detail
- Good proven computer skills with experience of Microsoft Office
- Ability to work as part of a small team and independently
- Self-motivated and able to find your feet quickly
- Ability to multi-task and manage several projects simultaneously
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Desirable
- A relevant degree or post-graduate degree
- Experience in facilitating co-produced projects and working with community groups
- Experience of publishing in print and/or online
- Track record in fundraising for visual arts and/or heritage projects
- Spoken and/or written Arabic
- Experience of commissioning and working with evaluation specialists
This role has been funded by the Freelands Foundation Space to Dream fund which enables Black-led** organisations across the UK to imagine and deliver bold and impactful visual arts projects. Our aim is to address the lack of Arab representation in the visual arts sector and we are particularly interested in hearing from participants who self-identify as Arab, Afro-Arab, Middle Eastern or North African.
Candidates who have faced access barriers to the arts (whether due to socio-economic background, disabilities or other) are also especially encouraged to apply.
Terms and Conditions
- Closing Date: 6:00pm 1 March 2023
- Start date: ASAP
- Interviews will take place on 8th and 9th March in person at the Arab British Centre.
- Please email your CV and cover letter to jobs@arabbritishcentre.org.uk
- Salary is £30,000 per annum, pro rata (21 hours per week)
- 10% salary increase per year
- Fixed term 3-year contract
- Flexible hours and remote working possible with occasional in-person days at Arab British Centre in London required at own expense
- Candidates must be based in and have right to work in the UK
- Job shares possible – please apply collaboratively
* The Arab British Centre is a charity which works to further understanding of the Arab world in the UK. The Arab world is defined as the 22 countries who are members of The Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
**Freelands Foundation uses ‘Black-led’ to refer to organisations run by, with and for Black and Brown people those of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage. This could include organisational leadership, trustees, senior management, principal creatives, project managers or artists leading a project.
