Ten.8 Research & Curatorial Fellowship

Role: Ten.8 Research & Curatorial Fellowship

Organisation: International Curators Forum (London, UK)
Project Partners: The New Art Gallery Walsall and The Photographers’ Gallery

Details of Fellowship:
Part-time, flexible but equivalent to two days per week
1.5 year contract, beginning in October 2024
Annual Fee: £20,000
(Please note we have secured £20,000 towards the fellowship fee and are actively fundraising for the remaining 6 months and are confident we can secure this funding)

Location: London and the West Midlands
Reports to: ICF’s Deputy Artistic Director and Artistic Director
Place of Fellowship: The outputs from the fellowship will take place in London and the West Midlands, with research and site visits to both places also being necessary. However, a significant amount of the development work can take place remotely.

Application Deadline: Sunday 23 June 2024 at 11.59pm UK time
Send to: info@internationalcuratorsforum.org

Fellowship Description:

International Curators Forum (ICF) is accepting applications for an emerging or early career UK-based Black or Brown researcher/curator with an interest in working on an exciting, new project addressing the legacy and contemporary relevance of Ten.8 Magazine. Their research into the Ten.8 archives will inform their development of:

• A public event, which they will curate and produce with the ICF programmes team, at The Photographers’ Gallery in London to correspond with an archival exhibition on the legacy of Ten.8 in January 2025.
• A major exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall activating the Ten.8 archive and bringing it into dialogue with artworks and other materials set to take place between April and September 2026. There is scope for the selected curator to work closely with ICF and The New Art Gallery Walsall to fundraise in order to commission new artworks for the exhibition.
• Digital programming or outputs activating the Ten.8 archive.
• A contribution to a new publication on the legacy of Ten.8, bringing together key existing texts and new commissions.

The fellow will have ongoing engagement with and will receive ongoing development support from ICF throughout the fellowship. They will have an opportunity to work closely with the ICF team every week as desired, gaining insight into our wider programme and access to our network. We are welcoming applications from researchers/curators across the UK who can work remotely during the development of the project outputs but can travel to attend events, installation, development and site meetings when required. This travel will be covered by the project.

More Information

Aim of the Project:

The exhibition and public programming developed through the fellowship will strive to question how the presentation and re-presentation of Ten.8 work can help shape the ‘post photographic image’ of the present and its bearing on the here and now. It will engage participants with curatorial strategies, cultural content and exchange relating to Ten.8, reflecting on how and what institutions collect and exhibit as cultural heritage for future generations. The publication and wider project will encourage new thinking for emerging creatives whilst renegotiating the nature of public ‘archives’ and collections. This curatorial fellowship will be a journey taken closely with the ICF team and project partners, resulting in a series of projects and engagements that will be at the forefront of art history, social criticism, contemporary arts conceptualism, visual language and educational thinking, particularly within the realm of creative practice.

Throughout the fellowship, including the research and development phases, as well as the public delivery of the projects, we will work with the selected curator to build a new archive around the processes, reference points, key texts, recorded conversations and interviews, and in response to the Ten.8 archive which can be activated and shared through digital programming and outputs.

Who Else is Involved:

The fellow will work closely with The Photographers’ Gallery and The New Art Gallery Walsall (including Deborah Robinson, Head of Exhibitions) on the delivery of their programming at each institution.

This project will be unique in that it is being led by the photographers and editors behind the magazine (including ICF’s Artistic Director, David A Bailey, Derek Bishton and Darryl Georgiou), providing direct access for the participating curator to the full Ten.8 archive, and prioritising the professional development of emerging practitioners, ensuring the participation of a new generation and new voices in this work.

The fellow will receive regular mentorship from ICF (David A Bailey, Artistic Director, Jessica Taylor, Deputy Artistic Director, Yewande Odunubi, Producer/Project Manager, and Joanna Risvik, Assistant Project Manager). The curator will also be supported by Ten.8 original editorial team members Derek Bishton and Darryl Georgiou.

Person Specification/Required:

• UK-based with a right to work in the UK
• Identifies as Black or Brown
• A degree in the arts/social sciences and/or recent experience (within the last 5 years) curating and producing exhibitions/public programmes in the arts or other relevant fields
• Interest in and foundational knowledge of Ten.8 magazine
• High interest in theoretical, historical and contemporary debates around curatorial and artistic praxis
• Interest and experience in research and writing
• Interest and experience in working digitally
• A commitment to working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds
• Interest and experience of working with other creative practitioners and in a multidisciplinary team

Summary of Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Curate and produce a public event at The Photographers’ Gallery in London to correspond with an archival exhibition on the legacy of Ten.8 in January 2025.
• Curate and produce a major exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall activating the Ten.8 archive and bringing it into dialogue with artworks and other materials set to take place between April and September 2026. The selected curator will be tasked with managing the project budget with support from the project partners. There is scope for the selected curator to work closely with ICF and The New Art Gallery Walsall to fundraise for additional funds for commissioning new artworks for the exhibition and further professional development.
• Digital programming or outputs activating the Ten.8 archive.
• Contribution to a new publication on the legacy of Ten.8, bringing together key existing texts and new commissions.
• Conducting independent research to inform the delivery of the above programming/outputs.
• Selecting and liaising with event and exhibition participants with support from the project partners.
• Participating in ICF’s Evaluation process for projects.

General Expectations:

• Be inclusive and anti-racist, and operate in accordance with the ICF’s access, diversity, safeguarding, employment, health and safety, equal opportunities and other practices, policies and procedures.
• Take responsibility for your own administration, devise and implement appropriate processes and procedures to achieve agreed objectives.
• Attend meetings remotely, report on relevant areas of work and disseminate information as required.
• Maintain a commitment to training and professional development.
• Be an advocate and effective representative of ICF at events and programming.
• Be able to attend occasional research and site visits in-person during the fellowship, as well as be present in-person in London for the delivery of an event at The Photographers’ Gallery in January 2025 and in Walsall for the installation of the exhibition in March-April 2026.
• Have the ability to work evenings and weekends in-person occasionally when programming for this project is taking place.
• And undertake other duties as may be reasonably required.

How To Apply:

Please send the following to info@internationalcuratorsforum.org

• Curriculum Vitae (no more than two sides of A4)
• Cover letter or supporting statement (no more than two sides of A4) answering the following questions:
  – Why this fellowship and exhibition is of interest to you?
  – Why this fellowship would be helpful to you at this stage in your practice?
  – Why are you interested in Ten.8 and photography?
  – Why do you want to work with ICF and the project partners?
• Examples of at least 3 projects you’ve curated or produced on in the last 5 years (no more than 6 sides of A4)
• The contact details for two references (either on your CV or in the body of your application email)

The deadline for applications is Sunday 23 June 2024 at 11.59pm UK time. Please submit the above documents in a single PDF or Word document.

You can confidentially contact us should you require any reasonable adjustments to the submission process in order to apply. Please contact us via email at least 1 working day before the deadline.

We can offer an interview to any applicant with a disability who meets the required criteria listed in the person specification. If you wish to disclose a disability to us, please do so in your cover letter or in the email that you send to submit your application.

Shortlisting/Interviewing:

The shortlisting process will take place during the week commencing 1 July 2024.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by email and invited to attend an interview with a panel featuring ICF staff and/or board members.

Interviews will be held via Zoom during the week commencing 15 July 2024.

Anyone invited to an interview will also be invited to share any access needs in advance so these can be addressed. We can provide a budget to support individual access requirements. You can confidentially contact us should you require any reasonable adjustments to attend an interview.

Unfortunately we are unable to write back to all applicants at the shortlisting stage, or to give specific feedback on why you have not been shortlisted. If you do not hear from us by 31 July 2024, please assume that you have not been shortlisted in this instance.

Inclusivity and Equity:

ICF is committed to inclusivity and equity. Across all of our work, both critically and practically, we are committed to challenging the barriers to equality and inclusivity within our industry. This fellowship has been developed to provide a professional development opportunity for a UK-based Black or Brown researcher or curator. We actively encourage applicants of different ages, genders, social and economic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations and people with disabilities, specific access needs, caring responsibilities and health considerations.

Onboarding Process:

Before beginning the fellowship, the selected curator will participate in an onboarding process with the ICF team. This will include an open discussion about the fellowship agreement, ICF’s ways of working and our evaluation process for the fellowship itself and for any programming/outputs delivered during the course of the fellowship. We will also invite the fellow to share their access needs, preferred modes of communication, and any other factors or considerations that would help us improve their experience on the fellowship. ICF’s evaluation process will include regular check-ins with the fellow throughout the fellowship to address their aims, development goals and any concerns or changes.

About the ICF and our Approach

International Curators Forum (ICF) was founded by artists and curators in 2007 to offer a programme of commissions, exhibitions, projects, publications and events that respond to the material conditions and cultural contexts impacting creative practitioners today. ICF is a registered charity (1189228) and an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO).

We provide tools and platforms for professional development and facilitate an open peer-to-peer network inviting participants to be part of a generative ecology of skills and knowledge sharing. Across all of our work, both critically and practically, we are committed to challenging the barriers to equality and inclusivity within our industry.

Through all aspects of our programme we engage with the concept of diaspora as a critical framework through which we can address and complicate notions of identity, test and explore new innovative curatorial models, and create space for artistic and discursive interventions into historical narratives and systems of representation.

Based in London, ICF has conceived and produced projects with artists, curators, and thinkers who engage with the diaspora in the UK, Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.

Project Partners

About The New Art Gallery Walsall

The New Art Gallery Walsall is a world-class building, which opened in February 2000 to national critical acclaim. The Gallery presents, collects and interprets historic, modern and contemporary art through a dynamic programme of exhibitions, displays and engagement opportunities. The changing exhibition programmes focus on the contemporary visual arts. Presenting both solo and group shows and reflecting the diversity of current practice and the communities it serves, the programme seeks to support the development of living artists and to engage, involve and challenge audiences. A purpose-built Artists’ Studio provides the base for the Gallery’s long-standing and respected residency programme. This programme exists primarily to support artists based in the West Midlands region to test ideas and develop new work within a public-facing studio context.

The New Art Gallery Walsall is also home to the prestigious Garman Ryan Collection, gifted to the town in 1973 by Lady Kathleen Garman (1901-1979) widow of renowned sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein, and her friend Sally Ryan (1916-1968). Gallery architects Caruso St John placed this important collection at the heart of the building, creating unique gallery spaces for a remarkable collection that includes both European and non-European works and paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints by artists such as Picasso, Braque, Gericault and Delacroix. The Collections Galleries are also home to the Gallery’s Archive Room, specially designed by artist Bob and Roberta Smith. In addition to the works on display, the Gallery holds an impressive and expanding Permanent Collection of over 3,500 works of art, as well as a publicly-accessible Art Library.

About The Photographers’ Gallery

The Photographers’ Gallery explores how photography is connecting, captivating and radically changing our world today. The Gallery’s programme and spaces – from exhibitions, events and digital platforms to the galleries, shop and café – all explore the beauty, complexity and future of photography. Right outside the Gallery, the very best of contemporary photography is shown for free, day and night, in Soho Photography Quarter.