Applied Arts Scotland (AAS) is a maker-led membership organisation supporting the talented making community in Scotland.
We have secured funding from the Creative Scotland ‘Recovery Fund for Organisations’ to deliver an open exhibition for our Members, 30 years after our first one. This will take place at Custom Lane Gallery, Edinburgh, opening Saturday 27 May 2023 and running until Saturday 10 June. The physical exhibition will be accompanied by an online version of the exhibition and a Scotland-wide programme of events to raise awareness of the exhibition and of professional making practices. We are seeking experienced craft curatorial support to help us deliver this landmark exhibition that celebrates the creative heart and soul of professional making practice in Scotland today.
About the exhibition
All Professional Members will be invited to submit work for exhibition, with the guarantee that at least one submitted work will be exhibited. All Associate Members will be invited to submit work which will be selected from.
A call to AAS Members for work to be exhibited will be launched in late January, focusing upon showcasing the diverse approaches to contemporary applied art, design and craft from within the AAS membership through the presentation of existing or new work. Submissions will be made online through the AAS website. The curation of the submitted and selected work should challenge the boundaries of how craft practice is perceived and valued.
The exhibition team
AAS Board Members involved are Lynne Hocking, Clare Waddle, Stefanie Cheong and Carrie Fertig. Their roles cover project management (including budget), workshop programming, submission processes and digital presentation of work. They will support the Curator with selection of work, where this is required.
The Curator will work as part of a team that includes these AAS Board Members as well as AAS in-house communications team and an external PR agency.
The role
The Curator will develop and implement a curatorial approach to the physical exhibition, which will be replicated online for the digital exhibition. This will include selection of work (where required); identification of appropriate themes based on the works submitted; planning physical layout; development and procurement of interpretation materials for visitors to the exhibition; and briefing invigilators. The Curator will also be responsible for guiding install of the exhibition (with technical support provided).
This role can be undertaken from anywhere in Scotland. The Curator must be available in Edinburgh for the first day of install on Thursday 25 May.
Fee
The Curator will be contracted for the work described above on a freelance basis, for five days at Scottish Artist Union 2022 day rates as appropriate to their expertise (https://www.artistsunion.scot/rates_of_pay), payable upon invoice at the end of the exhibition run. Separate budget for travel and exhibition display materials is available and will be managed by AAS.
To apply
Please email a note of interest by 23:59 on Wednesday 1 Feb 2023 with subject “Curator Application” to hello@appliedartsscotland.org.uk, This can be in any format that best allows you to express yourself (e.g. text, audio, video) and should describe your interests in this role and outline your experience curating craft-based exhibitions. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to meet with the AAS team during the week beginning Monday 6 February to discuss your approach to curating this open exhibition.
Applications may be submitted by individual curators or by a curatorial team.
Questions?
If there’s something we haven’t covered or is unclear, or if you’d like to arrange a chat, email hello@appliedartsscotland.org.uk with subject “Curator call enquiry”.
