Freelance Art Workshop Developer

Overview

People’s History Museum (PHM) is seeking a freelance artist to redevelop our Build A Banner workshop.

People’s History Museum is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future.  Explore the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for and be empowered by the past to make a change for the future.  We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.

PHM has been embarking on an exciting project to review its Learning Programme for children and young people, from formal (schools) and informal (youth and community) groups.  Our vision for the Learning Programme is to empower people with an understanding of how change can be achieved through individual, social, and political activity.  The review has given us the opportunity to ensure the programme is in line with PHM’s mission; to use its collection to inspire people to have confidence to speak up and take action on issues that are important to them.

In June 2024 we will launch a revised Learning Programme that will be challenging, relevant, and impactful.  This programme will include a banner making workshop where learners will explore issues that are important to them through engaging with the museum’s collection and making their own banner.

Learning Programme values

• We advocate debate, collaboration, and co-operation as a source of learning
• We promote the value and potential of all people
• We use PHM’s unique collection to provide evidence of how democracy, protest, and people have shaped society

About the role

 With support from the Art Fund, we are recruiting a freelance artist to look at our longstanding Build a Banner workshop and redevelop it to ensure it meets the values and aims of our new Learning Programme.

The Build a Banner workshop in its current form is a full day session where learners find out about the history and symbolism of PHM’s unique collection of historic and contemporary banners, and work with an artist to create their own banner on a theme of their choice.

As part of our evaluation process, we have been collecting feedback on this workshop from students, young people, teachers, and youth workers, and you will use this to inform your development ideas.  Working with PHM’s Learning Officers, we would like you to develop both a half day and a full day version of the workshop.  You will then run testing workshops with groups of young people and children from both formal and informal learning groups.  These workshops will mainly be based at the museum, though some sessions may need to take place in the groups’ own settings.  The evaluation from the testing sessions will inform any further changes we will make to the workshop, and whether it will be offered as a half or full day workshop.

Deliverables

• The workshop will be bookable for young people aged between 7 and 16 years old from school and non-school settings.
• The workshop and its supporting resources will be easily adapted to suit the needs of different learning ages and abilities (you should set out plans for how it can be adapted for different groups).
• The workshop will draw connections between historical examples of banner making and protest in PHM’s collection and contemporary issues relevant to young people today.  Inclusion of PHM’s collection is integral to the development of the workshop.
• Learners will explore the ways people have changed the world through the power of creativity, and be inspired to share their own ideas for change.
• The workshop and its supporting resources will link to the National Curriculum as well as feel relevant to children and young people on a personal and social level.
• You will work with PHM’s Learning Officers to regularly monitor, review, and improve the workshop to ensure all sessions are delivered to a high standard.
• A workshop plan will be produced that can be easily followed by PHM’s team of freelance artists, along with accompanying resources to support the delivery of the workshop.

 Who we want to work with:

• You will have experience of developing and delivering relevant workshops for a range of formal and informal learning groups, including primary, secondary, and community groups.
• You will have experience working within the cultural sector or within formal and informal learning environments.
• You will have competency and understanding of a variety of artistic mediums including making banners, using textiles, and print making experience and be able to show evidence of your own artistic
• You will have experience in designing workshops, programmes, and/or activities that cater to learners with a range of access needs. This could include but is not restricted to: ESOL, youth groups, adult groups, and groups with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• You will have experience of developing accompanying resources to support workshops.
• You will have experience of or readiness to engage enthusiastically with a  co-produced approach.
• You will be familiar with or willing to learn about PHM, its collection, its mission, and its values which underpin its Learning Programme.
• You will be willing to engage with trauma-informed approaches.
• You will be willing to work with the Learning Officers to regularly monitor, review, and improve the workshop to ensure all sessions are delivered to a high standard.
• You will have strong time keeping, planning, and organisational skills.
• You will be able to work independently, be proactive, and use your own initiative to deliver workshops.
• You will have a deep understanding of equality, diversity, and inclusion, and experience in developing and delivering workshops in an intersectional and socially informed way.

Other requirements

• To perform all tasks in line with the museum’s policies, including Equal Opportunities, Safeguarding, Environmental, and Health and Safety.
• A Basic DBS certificate (less than a year old) or willingness to undertake checks.

Timeline

• 12.00pm on Monday 8 January 2024: application deadline
• Wednesday 17 January 2024: interviews
• Thursday 18 January 2024: successful candidate informed
• Week commencing Monday 22 January 2024: successful candidate in post
• January to March 2024: session development
• Late February to April 2024: session testing
• June 2024: Learning Programme launched with workshops bookable

Fee

The total fee for this work is £1,400. This does not include travel expenses or other out of pocket expenses, which will be reimbursed at PHM’s discretion and are subject to approval in advance.

Expressions of interest

Please submit an expression of interest, with the following information to Jackie Royle, Finance & Operations Officer at hr@phm.org.uk by 12.00pm on Monday 8 January 2024.  You can submit an audio or video recording if preferred.

• Brief CV that includes relevant examples of workshops you have delivered and/or developed (maximum two sides of A4).
• A statement of your suitability for this work and why you would like to undertake it (maximum 500 words).
• A costed proposal for delivery of this brief, including timescales.
• Two testimonials/references.
• Relevant examples from your portfolio or website.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Each application will be assessed against the criteria for the role detailed above.  If you have any questions or would like to arrange a chat to discuss the role, please contact Rum Samuel, Learning Officer at rum.samuel@phm.org.uk.  (Please note Rum will not be available to discuss the role between 23 December 2023 and 1 January 2024).

People’s History Museum will be closed 24, 25, and 26 December 2023 and will close to the public on Sunday 31 December 2023 and re-open on Thursday 1 February 2024 so that it can carry out further work as part of the Welcome Project at PHM, which stems from the museum’s vision to be an exemplar for accessibility.

Equity

PHM prides itself on being a welcoming and inclusive organisation, profoundly committed to advancing equality and diversity in the broadest sense.  We highly value the benefits that diverse perspectives bring to PHM’s mission.

We recognise the museum currently underrepresents people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people and those with intersecting identities in our workforce; PHM is actively working to address this and encourages applications from these backgrounds.  While the successful candidate will be selected purely on merit, in the event of a tie between two candidates with equal experience, we may select a candidate who helps us better represent the communities the museum serves.