Opportunity: Freelance Curator [P/T]

Opportunity: Freelance Curator [P/T]

Daily rate: £200.00

Location: a blend of home and office in Edinburgh, with occasional travel in Scotland

Responsible to: Executive Director

Context

At Art in Healthcare, we are excited, and motivated, by the possibilities that art provides to support the health and wellbeing of everyone living in Scotland. Over the last thirty years we have worked, often in partnership, to improve health and wellbeing for individuals and communities by providing opportunities to experience and engage with high quality visual art, artists and creativity.

Since 1991, when the organisation was originally affiliated to Paintings in Hospitals, we have been locating our collection of significant and valuable contemporary visual art in health and social care settings throughout Scotland to make the environments more friendly, welcoming and stimulating for patients, visitors and staff. In 2005 we became an independent Scottish charity Art in Healthcare.

We recognise the quality and breadth of our art collection and are committed to ensuring that we maximise the number of artworks on display in healthcare settings across Scotland. Statistics tell us that whilst not everyone feels comfortable visiting a gallery or museum, most individuals make use of healthcare services. Works from our collection are currently exhibited in over forty healthcare settings in locations including Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Lothians, Fife and Tayside, North Lanarkshire, the Highlands and the Orkney Islands.

We have seen, over the organisation’s history, that the arts can help to address health inequalities and we continue to strive to widen access to creative activity. 

There is good evidence to show that the arts can support both the mental and physical health of individuals, from supporting self-management of conditions at home to aiding recovery in hospital or providing comfort in a palliative setting. 

A Culture Strategy for Scotland [2020] presents an aspiration in which “culture is woven through everyday life, shapes and is shaped by society, and its transformative potential is experienced by everyone”. We share this aspiration.

For over ten years Art in Healthcare has delivered a participatory programme, developing and delivering projects that engage individuals in activity to benefit their health and wellbeing and sometimes also invites creative interaction with our collection. Examples include a partnership with Alzheimer’s Scotland and work with adult unpaid carers. In recent years we have focused resources on Room for Art, a social prescription project using visual art to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities across Edinburgh. 

Our participants are referred by GPs, occupational therapists, community link workers and health and social care agencies. Many of our participants have mental health issues, long term health conditions or are experiencing social isolation and loneliness. Many participants have caring responsibilities and experience challenging living conditions. They include people with disabilities and people who are financially vulnerable. In response to the pandemic this growing area of work has recently expanded and adapted to include a digital offer, an art therapy strand and opportunities targeted specifically at supporting male health. We recognise the importance of our creative participatory programmes within the growing Social Prescribing movement in Scotland.

The Opportunity

Art in Healthcare is a value-led charity that is run by a small staff team and a Board of Directors. We are looking for a freelance Curator to work with us during the first half of 2022, in order to deliver some specific pieces of work. These include:• The curation of a series of exhibitions from our collection, to be placed in hospitals• The delivery of a Scotland-wide programme placing artworks into staff rooms in hospitals• Supporting a review and auction• Developing a model of working that supports co-curation with communities in Edinburgh and beyond• Working with our Room for Art and Outreach team to further develop connections between participatory activities and exhibitions • Contribute to the Year of Stories project View Points: Sharing Stories through Poetry

We anticipate a commitment of four days per calendar month, to be worked flexibly to meet the needs of the individual and organisation.

Skills and Experience

Essential:• A commitment to use visual art to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities• A good knowledge of artists working in Scotland, from 1960 to the present day• The ability to curate accessible, interesting and diverse exhibitions• Experience of using a collection to reach new audiences• Enjoy working in partnership and supporting individuals that are not experts to make meaningful selections from the collection• Develop meaningful partnerships with organisations, individuals and communities• Enthusiasm and ideas• Strong administration, coordination and IT skills• As a small team we need you to be organised, motivated and capable of working alone at times• Be able to travel occasionally throughout Scotland

Desirable:• Experience of working in venues that are not traditional gallery or museum spaces• Experience of creating imaginative and accessible interpretation• Experience of programming participatory activities• The ability to work on several projects at the same time• Able to motivate self and to meet deadlines• Experience of fundraising, reporting and sponsorship• Ability to contribute to social media posts, website updates and other marketing opportunities

Terms and Conditions

The opportunity is approximately four days per calendar month to be worked flexibly, to meet the needs of the individual and organisation. 

We will pay a rate of £200.00 per working day [7.5 hours]. As a temporary, freelancemember of the team you will be responsible for your tax and national insurance contributions. Payment will be made within 30 calendar days of an invoice.

We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and we are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities. 

To Apply

If you’d like to discuss the role please contact Vanessa Paynton and a time can be arranged for a telephone conversation vanessa@artinhealthcare.org.uk. 

To apply please send a CV and covering letter (please make each of these no more than two sides of A4) to recruitment@artinhealthcare.org.uk. If this format isn’t suitable for you, please do let us know and we can discuss an alternative. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 19 January 2022, with interviews [on zoom] anticipated to be held the following week.