From February - October 2021 b-side will train and support 5 emerging curators from Dorset to learn more about curating events and artworks that are responsive & specific to place / people / geography / history & take the lead to curate an event / artwork for b-side festival 2021.

***UPDATED 07/01/2021***

Are you interested in how we curate and commission artworks and events for the Isle of Portland? Do you want to try and test it out yourself

ABOUT THE B-SIDE NEW CURATORS

From February 2021 - October 2021 b-side will train, mentor and support 5 emerging curators from Dorset to:

• Learn more about curating events and artworks that are responsive & specific to place / people / geography / history

• Take the lead to curate an event / artwork for b-side festival 2021

The New Curators will develop skills in the following:

• How to curate site-specific artwork 

• Responding to a brief

• Project management and marketing

• Demonstrating social impact and telling stories digitally

• Income generation, fundraising and budgeting 

• Working with communities

Through the programme the New Curators willvisit (if safe to do so) relevant organisations, sites and events, receive input from cross-sector organisations and expand their networks and knowledge in the sector.

They will receive support from professional curators from both within and in addition to the b-side team. The professionals will have expertise in rural programming, curating for heritage sites, curating for non-arts spaces and co-curating with the community.

As a b-side New Curator you will receive:

• Training & mentorship from b-side & other professional curators

• A bursary of £675 to go towards travel and time spent on the programme

• A budget of £100 (minimum) to go and see new work

• A group budget of £2,500 to curate an event/artwork for b-side festival

• Ongoing support from b-side team (main contact to be Molly Scarborough)

Eligibility:

The b-side New Curators programme is a training & support programme for those who are new to curating or site-specific curation.

You do not need any curatorial experience to apply. 

The aim is to support New Curators in Dorset (or nearby) in building confidence and the experience to lead and curate further projects in the future. Therefore, we're looking to support individuals who are interested in pursuing curation as a career - particularly those with an interest in learning more about curating events / artworks that are responsive and/or specific to place (and community). 

You have to be 16+ to apply and live in Dorset (or nearby). 

What is expected of the New Curator?

• To attend all training and development sessions led by the b-side team

• Maintain regular communication with b-side & the New Curator team

• Work closely with the other New Curators to programme an event / artwork for b-side festival 2021

• Respond to sections of the Common Lands theme that is of importance and interest to the community on Portland

TIMELINE 

Application deadline: Monday 18th January 2021, 8am

Video call interviews: Monday 25th January

New Curators selected by: Monday 1st February

New Curators first meeting: Tuesday 9th February, 6pm – 8:30pm

Meetings are currently scheduled between 6pm - 8:30pm on: 

• Tuesday 9th February
• Tuesday 23rd Feruary
• Tuesday 9th March
• Tuesday 30th March
• Tuesday 13th April
• Tuesday 27th April
• Tuesday 25th May
• Tuesday 8th June
• Tuesday 22nd June 
• Tuesday 13th July 
• Tuesday 27th July
• Tuesday 10th August 
• Tuesday 24th August
• Tuesday 7th September 
• Tuesday 5th October 
• Tuesday 19th October 

These timings are liable to change and adapt in accordance with the availability of the group and how the programme develops. 

Additional training / development dates may be scheduled on Saturdays. We are looking at the following as potential training / development days: 10th April, 8th May, 12th June, 10th July, 7th August.

Other dates for the diary: 

• 14th - 16th May = Od Arts Festival 

• 11th - 19th September = b-side festival 

• 17th - 26th September = Inside Out Dorset 

• 1st - 3rd October  = Bournemouth Arts by the Sea 

HOW TO APPLY 

Please complete the online application form via Curatorspace.

You will be asked to give your contact information and to answer the following 2 questions:

1. Why would you like to be one of our New Curators? [up to 500 words]
   Think about what previous experience you have, what you could bring to the group and what you want to gain from the experience too.
   

2. What does Common Lands mean to you? [up to 500 words]
   What is your interpretation of Common Lands? Which one of our research areas (in our b-side festival 2021 brief) are you most interested in exploring and why? What excites you about Portland or the programme?
   
   

If you want to submit responses to any of the above in video (instead of a text response), please film your video response, save it on Youtube / Vimeo / Google Drive / Dropbox and then add the link to the video within the form (where the text response would usually go). Please keep videos under 5 mins.

If you need support in applying, please contact us through Curatorspace or via: molly@b-side.org.uk

FURTHER INFORMATION

Find out more about b-side on our website.

You can download the b-side artist brief & more information about Common Lands here.

If you have any further questions / queries please contact us through Curatorspace or via: molly@b-side.org.uk