Profile: Steering Group (7 People)
Department: We Contain Multitudes project
Working Pattern: 6 meetings, three per year (3h each with 0.5h prep time) between February 2024 and 2026
Salary: Each member will be paid £175 per meeting for a total fee of £1,050 (£525 per year)
Contract Type: Freelance (2-years fixed term)
Reporting to: Project Manager
Location: Remote working with some in-person commitments
Collective, DCA and LUX Scotland are committed to questioning institutional ableism in the Scottish visual arts sector and imagining a future in which Disabled artists and arts professionals have increased access to opportunities, are visible, and their expertise and experiences are truly valued. This includes Disabled artists and arts professionals being represented as staff in organisations and on boards, their work shown in exhibitions, and their voices heard in decision making processes.
Over the next three years, we aim to provide space to test and develop new ways of working, and as the project progresses, we expect to uncover further questions which will shape our approach.
The project consists of three main strands:
Commissioning
in a supportive and anti-ableist way
Research
to disseminate the findings of the project and to help influence lasting change in the sector
Organisational Development
to ensure changes are made in our organisations, at all levels, and to break down barriers Disabled People face when visiting, participating in and/or working with our organisations
Funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we are looking for Disabled artists and professionals to join to help us build an intersectional and inclusive environment for Disabled and d/Deaf communities. In this role, you will work together as a specialist steering group made up of people with lived, professional and/or caring experience of disability and long-term health conditions.
Crucially, the Steering Group will work closely with the Project Manager to ensure the wider aims and ambitions of this project are met, including national advocacy and policy recommendations which directly challenge systemic ableism. In addition, they will hold the project partners accountable as we transform engagement with Disabled, d/Deaf, and neuro-divergent artists, art professionals and audiences.
The group will meet three times a year and be paid to attend each meeting including 30 minutes preparation time. We want to recruit people with varied experience across different specialisms including the arts, academia, activism, care work, education and healthcare, to ensure we have a broad spectrum of knowledge when creating inclusive environments for disabled artists, audiences and partnering organisations.
Criteria
We believe that strategies and policies that affect the lives of Disabled and d/Deaf people should be informed by their experience and we recognise the expertise within this community. The active participation of disabled artists and arts professionals in the planning and implementation of these is essential for the project.
Therefore, under Schedule 9, part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, applications for this role will only be accepted from anyone with lived, professional and/or caring experience of disability including neuro-divergence.
We follow the social model of disability, which says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference, and the definition of disabled used in this context are people who identify as Disabled, d/Deaf, chronically ill, neurodiverse, with mental ill health, mad, crip, sick, spoonie or otherwise, regardless of whether you have received a medical diagnosis.
Our team is committed to transforming the visual arts through collaboration, inclusion and a belief in equity and anti-oppressive behaviour. We strongly encourage applications from Black people, People of Colour, people who are LGBTQIA+, and/or those from working class or lower socio-economic backgrounds or living or working in areas of socio-economic deprivation.
This includes, but is not limited to, people of Black Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, West Asian, Arab, Latine, Jewish, Romany and Irish Traveller heritage.
We would like a broad range of experience and we have given some potential examples here:
Disabled artist: You may be a disabled artist who faces barriers to their day-to-day practice, their career and/or with art institutions.
Parent or carer: You may be the parent or carer of a child or adult with disabilities, or lived experience as a young carer, and want to look at ways we can provide opportunities for children and families to equitably participate in the arts.
Arts organisation professional: You may work for a larger arts organisation with specific experience of running projects with people with disabilities and feel you can bring your working knowledge of strategy and practice and experience to help us plan.
Academic: You may work within a university, school or educational charity with experience in disability justice, equalities law, art history, and/or policy development.
Localised and specific work with disabled artists: You may work in Scotland with disabled artists and be integrated into your local communities.
Please send the following to dca.recruitment@dca.org.uk:
An up-to-date CV or a 4-minute audio or video file telling us the content of your CV. Please send this as an attachment or link.
A cover letter which addresses why you are interested in the role and how you feel you might contribute to the steering group.
Anonymous Equal Opportunities Form
DCA Application Form
Video, audio and BSL applications are welcome. Please feel free to share any access requirements and/or access riders.
Deadline for completed applications is Tuesday 21st November 2023.
Interviews will take place via Zoom on Monday 11th December 2023. The questions will be circulated in advance of the interview.
If you require this advert, job description or application form in an alternative format please email dca.recruitment@dca.org.uk or call 01382 432490.
Dundee Contemporary Arts
152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY
DCA is supported by Dundee City Council and Creative Scotland
DCA is committed to addressing the inequality that prevents equal access to opportunities in the arts and will be implementing a policy of positive action when selecting candidates. We encourage applications from those who are underrepresented in the arts and cultural sectors and who face barriers to access.
