Artist/creative facilitator

Community Portraits Project

Art workshops for young people with vision impairment

Preston Park Museum & Grounds, Stockon-on-Tees

Preston Park Museum & Grounds is looking to appoint an artist to work with a group of children and young people who have a vision impairment.

The artist will plan and deliver a series of creative workshops themed on portraiture and work with the group to produce artwork in any artform that can be displayed in the museum’s Community Curated Exhibition Gallery in Summer 2021.

Background

Preston Park Museum & Grounds is a much-loved local visitor attraction within Tees Valley. We connect people through the heritage of Aregion, the stories told and the experiences created.

One of the museum’s aims is to have a fully accessible environment throughout the buildings, interpretation and displays to ensure a positive and inclusive experience for all.

We are currently working with members of our community and specialist teachers to help us improve the way we display our collection and exhibitions for visitors with a vision impairment to experience.

In June 2021 a new exhibition of portraits will be displayed in the museum’s gallery. Art on display will be a combination of museum collection, work produced in group workshops and portraits made by local artists.

Artist brief

Part one: group work

(To take place between 26 April – 14 June 2021. The equivalent of three half day workshops)

• Work with museum staff and community leaders to design and deliver a series of creative workshops, tailored for a small group of young people aged between 5 – 19 who have a vision impairment. The workshops might take place at a school, at the museum or virtually depending on Government guidelines on Covid-19
• Plan the budget and procure materials/tools for delivery of creative workshops
• Provide training, support and advice where required
• Workshops must encourage the group to explore a range of portraiture techniques. Inspiration could be taken from their own personal experience, museum collection or the artist’s work
• Participants will then be encouraged to create a piece of artwork to feature in an exhibition at the museum in June 2021
• Artists must plan how to record the stories and information from the workshops that will complement the artwork created by the group
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation of project delivery
• Adhere to health & safety requirements and procedures
• Work to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Child Protection policy
• Have a current DBS disclosure
• Carry a minimum of £5,000,000 Public Liability Insurance cover

 

Part two: portrait micro-commission

• Create create a piece of artwork/portrait which reflects the artist’s professional practice
• Include an element in this piece that represents the community group they have worked with
• The piece can be any artform including painting, sculpture, photography, moving image, poetry and performance art but will need to be designed with the exhibition space in mind
• Artists will create a proposal for this piece first for the museum to approve, considering accessibility, duration and cost
• Ensure work is finished to a high standard

 

Artist fee

Artist will be paid a fixed fee of £2,500. This will include:

• Any team meetings, preparation, expenses and travel
• Artist led community group participation (Covid-19 safe), the equivalent of three half day workshops (including materials)
• Portrait commission (including materials)

 

Person specification

The group of young people have helped to co-create the person specification for the artist, below:

Are you a talented, enthusiastic artist who wants to inspire others to achieve amazing art?

• We are looking for someone who has plenty of energy and is well organised
• It is important for us that you are a clear communicator who can break instructions down into small chunks
• Please make sure you are kind and helpful but not afraid to let us experiment and learn from our mistakes
• It is essential that you see our potential, not our impairments, and you will need to think outside the box to help us to achieve our best
• We understand our vision needs pretty well so please be ready to listen to us too
• We may need more time than others to really shine so we are looking for someone with a bucketful of patience and a sense of humour to top it off

Does this sound like you? If so we can’t wait to work with you!

Selection criteria

The appointed artist will ideally have:

• Experience of working with young people and people with a sensory impairment
• An interest in producing artwork for or with their local communities
• Creative solutions to make art more accessible for people with a visual impairment
• Experience and understanding of portraiture techniques
• Experience in delivering high quality work and within budget

Covid-19 security and other documentation will be arranged by museum staff before any work is started.

How to apply

Please include a paragraph about the following and send to Adam Bligh, Community Engagement Officer, Preston Park Museum & Grounds, email Adam.bligh@stockton.gov.uk

• Why this project is of interest to you
• The artform, materials or techniques you might use to explore portraiture in your workshops with the vision impaired group
• A brief description of how you would approach the portrait micro-commission
• Your CV and Artist Statement
• Examples or relevant work

Preston Park Museum & Grounds particularly encourage applicants from those under-represented in the arts & culture sector, including those who identify as Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, deaf or disabled, LGBTIQA+ and self-defined as working class.

Deadline

Closing date and time for proposal return: midnight on Wednesday 21 April 2021.

Applications and enquiries to: Adam Bligh, Community Engagement Officer, Preston Park Museum & Grounds

Adam.bligh@stockton.gov.uk