Curatorial Assistant

Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre and one of the UK’s top five visitor attractions, occupying a 17 acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. We exist to present great cultural experiences that bring people together and we achieve this by providing the space for artists to create and present their best work and by creating a place where as many people as possible can come together to experience bold, unusual and eye-opening work. We want to take people out of the everyday, every day.

The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery as well as being home to the National Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. It is also home to four Resident Orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and four Associate Orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain).

We are looking for a Curatorial Assistant to assist the Hayward Gallery Touring team with the planning and development and delivery of British Art Show 9 and to provide administrative support to members of the Touring team. Recognised as the largest and most ambitious exhibition of contemporary British art, The British Art Show is presented every five years and tours to multiple venues across four British cities. The British Art Show has been a cornerstone of Hayward Gallery Touring and Hayward Gallery’s programme since 1979.

The Curatorial Assistant will contribute to the development of the project, from inception to delivery at the first venues in Manchester, and continuing with contributing across the four-city programme.

We are looking for someone to assist the Senior Curator and the Touring exhibitions team and undertake research for the exhibition curators and the Senior Curator, Hayward Touring. You will have experience of supporting the organisation of exhibitions and of liaising with artists and have experience of working in a visual arts organisation. You will have a willingness to travel within the UK.

We present work for everyone and we welcome applications from everyone. We particularly welcome applications from people from a BAME background or those who are Deaf or disabled as they are currently under-represented in our workforce.  If you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments for this role please indicate this on your application form and we will be in touch with you.

By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of backgrounds with diverse attitudes, opinions and beliefs we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.  We offer a stimulating and professional environment in which to work – and the pace and scale can be breathtaking. This is a remarkable place to work and our people require the ability to work in The Southbank Centre Way – to think, act and learn with speed and agility.

Contract: Fixed-term contract until April 2022

Closing date for applications: 10:00, Monday 17th February 2020

Interviews: Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd March 2020

We reserve the right to close the advert early if enough applications are received.