The search begins...As reported back in December in BPH the current Director of the National Media Museum, Colin Philpott, is to leave in April. The search for his successor - re-designated as museum Head has now started. See: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nmem-director-ph... for the original report.  

Head of the National Media Museum
UK, Bradford

Award wining, visionary and unique the Media Museum houses world class collections in photography, film, broadcast and new media.

As Head of the Media Museum you will have the drive and imagination to commission creative content and embrace new thinking, technologies and approaches for our collections, exhibitions and programmes.

The Museum is based in the heart of Bradford.  It is one of a group of four museums including the Science Museum, the Railway Museum and the Museum of Scienceand Industry Manchester.  Together we reach over 5 million visitors.

The role includes:

• developing a vibrant programme of innovative exhibitions an programmes for local and national audiences
• leading the external promotion of the museum and its collections to a wide array of stakeholders
• building cultural partnerships across a local and national landscape
• developing and coaching an effective leadership team to ensure they reach their full potential
• working with the science museum to develop and deliver Medial Space – a new exhibition and programme venue for the MediaMuseum in London.

For an information discussion, please contact Heather Mayfield on 0207 942 4862, for further information please visit www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/aboutus.

APPLICATION DETAILS

You may wish to upload a single document in Microsoft Word format which includes both your CV and a covering statement.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title:  Head of National Media Museum

Department: Media Museum

Location:   Bradford

Reports to: Deputy Director, Science Museum

Date:  25 January 2012

Purpose of the Job

To lead the Media Museum at Bradford, ensuring its future success and maximising the impact of its exhibitions and programmes for local, and national, audiences.

To develop a clear strategic and business plan for the national media collections held by NMSI, and ensure optimum public access through exhibitions, display, digital delivery and research.

Work with colleagues to ensure that Media Space becomes a landmark cultural venue, and ensure that a creative programme for the Media Space enhances the cultural offer in Bradford.

Key Deliverables/Accountabilities

1. To manage national collections of film, photography and television at Bradford.
2. To lead the collections and exhibitions teams ensuring they stay abreast of contemporary practice to produce high quality, innovative, visitor focused products that enhance the Museum’s reputation and expand audiences.
3. Develop and motivate an effective senior team, coaching them to reach their potential.
4. Setting of and managing of standards across all areas of responsibility
5. Support the Deputy Director (Science Museum) to maximise access to the collections and ensure that a deeper of understanding of the collections is achieved through scholarship and other research.
6. Support the Deputy Director (Science Museum) to devise the exhibition, seminar and learning programme for the Media Space and display galleries in Bradford.
7. Work towards the recognition of Media Space as a major cultural offering, working closely with the arts team at ScienceMuseum, and curatorial team in Bradford and London.
8. To ensure a strategic approach to building the collection, and robust de-accessioning where holdings no longer have public value.
9. To lead the external promotion of the museum and its collections to a wider array of stakeholders.
10. To work devise an audience strategy, working closely with the Directors of Learning and Enterprises, to create targets that maximise visit numbers, whilst also balancing reach and financial impact.
11. Support the Deputy Director (Science Museum) to recruit an excellent Advisory Board; and lead on its management and participation.
12. Build partnerships and alliances with regional cultural, governmental and commercial players.
13. To work with the Director of Master plan and Estate, Deputy Director (Science Museum) and other relevant NMSI colleagues to develop a long-term master plan for the Bradford museum and its collections.
14. Cultivate corporate and individual sponsorship and patronage.
15. Take care of your personal health and safety and that of others and report any health and safety concerns.  Ensure proactive compliance with NMSI H&S Policies, including risk assessments and implementing safe systems of work

Working Relationships and Contacts

• Direct working relationships with the Deputy Director Science Museum and the NMSI Executive group
• Strong working relationships with: the Director of Master Plan and Estates, the Director of External Affairs and the Director of Development.
• Strong working relationship with the local authority in Bradford, local cultural organisations, and specialist audiences
• Strong working relationships with the creative industries represented in the MediaMuseum’s content

Line Management and Budget Responsibility

Directly line manages: 4-6 people

Indirectly line manages: 50-60 people in multidisciplinary teams

Budget Holder of  £4,000-5,000k

Candidate Profile

Experience

• A strong track record of creative success at strategic level in museums and/or galleries
• A strong track record of commissioning creative content, in display and learning programmes in a museum setting
• The proven ability to translate ideas into effective action speedily and within a tight budget.
• Comfortable with change, and effective at promoting it
• A strong interest in media and associated technology
• The ability to be a successful ambassador for the museum, communicating the Museum’s core messages effectively at all levels internally and externally
• A strong track record of building effective partnerships in cultural organisations nationally and internationally
• Experience of building and championing national venues/galleries/cultural institutions outside London

Skills, Knowledge and Relevant Qualifications

• Educated to post-graduate level in a relevant subject and\ or evidence of substantial experience of developing and delivering successful creative museological content in different organisations.
• Demonstrates strong leadership and management skills that will deliver strong performance
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent networking skills
• Strong negotiating skills, able to focus on museum priorities and achieve a coherent approach to branding across a wide spectrum of activity. 
• A demonstrable track record of working effectively with different types of collections

Behaviours

• Leads the team to increased output, higher levels of creativity, stronger connections with science and art content for local and national audiences
• Ensures a strong outward focus for all activities aligned with meeting the needs of visitors and scholars
• Leads an effective and pro-active management team that delivers world-class museological outputs
• Is strongly focused on innovative creative content that directly connects visitors with the Museum’s collections and the creative industries
• Is strongly committed to developing and delivering a world class media museum within a group of science and industry museums
• Looks for and develops suitable synergies within the NMSI group to increase capacity and capability in the team at the MediaMuseum

Scope for Impact

• Will lead the MediaMuseum to be a leading cultural venue in Bradford and London.
• Will develop and secure strong and meaningful relationships with the public and industry in Bradford and West Yorkshire.

Please note:

• This job description is not exhaustive and amendments and additions may be required in line with future changes in policy, regulation or organisational requirements, it will be reviewed on a regular basis.
• This role is subject to a Disclosure Scotland basic criminal record check

For further information see: https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk/VacancyDetails.aspx?VacancyID=102

Closing date 5 March 2012

We welcome applications from all sections of the community in which we work. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people and we guarantee interviews to suitably qualified disabled applicants.  

John Hillelson, who owned the John Hillelson Agency and was the London agent for Magnum from 1958 until 1987 died  on 13 February following complications after a heart operation. John was born on 13 April 1923 in East Prussia and arrived in Britain in 1934 fleeing from Nazism. He was classified as an enemy alien in 1939 but secured a job as a caption writer at the Keystone picture agency. He then served with RAF as a wireless operator rejoining Keystone after the war.

He opened the John Hillelson Agency in 1958 at 145 Fleet Street, representing Magnum Photos in the UK.He maintained close links with Magnum until his death.

His son writes: “After serving in the Royal Air Force during WWII, John Hillelson embarked on a career in journalism that took him to Paris in the early 1950s, to run the United Press picture desk. In 1958, following his return to London, he was invited to represent the Magnum photographers' co-op, and, during the 1960s, he collaborated with a new generation of weekly magazine editors to publish photo-reportage by Magnum photographers and gain exposure for less-known work, such as the pictures of apartheid smuggled out of South Africa by Ernest Cole in 1966-7.

The John Hillelson Agency became one of the most respected picture agencies of 70s and 80s, expanding its stable to include the French Viva and Sygma agencies, and many independent photographers. The Agency's library, overseen by Judith Hillelson with her incomparable visual memory, was an important resource for a generation of picture researchers.

Alongside his love of good contemporary photography, John was a pioneering collector of early photographs specialising in historic images of the Near and Far East by the likes of Felice Beato, Hill and Adamson, and James Robertson. These two strands of interest spanned over a hundred years of photographic development, and came together to confirm John's position as a leading advocate of human interest photography”.

For more information see: http://lalettredelaphotographie.com/entries/5628/the-death-of-john-hillelson http://www.pressphotohistory.com/?p=744 and http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=vsr4oG0Nve/WORKS-FILE/190150156/9

Special places have a magical power. They inspire people with extraordinary stories, Lacock Abbey & House is no exception. Set in rural Wiltshire, Lacock is famous for its picturesque streets, historic buildings and its more recent role as a television and film location. The Abbey, located at the heart of the village within its own woodland grounds, is a quirky country house of various architectural styles, built upon the foundations of a former nunnery. Visitors can experience the atmosphere of the medieval rooms and cloister court, giving the sense of the Abbey’s monastic past. In 1835 William Henry Fox Talbot invented the photographic negative at the Abbey, taking an image of the oriel window, making Lacock the birthplace of modern photography. The contents within the Abbey reflect 800 years of life here.

Sharing our love of places and people, you’ll manage the care of the Abbey and its collections while striving to improve the visitor experience through offering a glimpse into the incredible stories of the people who’ve lived here. You’ll be bringing this fascinating property to life for all of our visitors. And you’ll need to use all of your creativity and enthusiasm to make sure visitors keep coming back. There’ll be challenges. But, you’ll be ready for them. In fact, you’ll face them head on. Leading and managing a great team of staff and volunteers, you’ll be confident showcasing your big, bright ideas and helping to develop engaging plans across the property with the Lacock team, to improve visitor enjoyment which in turn will generate income and support important conservation activities. You’ll also focus your energies on making sure that the Abbey has effective security and fire protection at all times.

As part of this role involves providing out-of-hours security cover (on a rota basis), you’ll be expected to live in the provided on-site accommodation. This will include evening, weekend and Bank Holiday working. 

About you

Alongside an understanding of collections management and experience in a conservation role, you’ll have an impressive track record of managing people and places. You’re an inspirational leader and enjoy motivating your team with your exciting ideas. You’ll be happy working with big budgets and hitting big targets too. We’d also like you to have a degree or commensurate experience in a relevant field. You’ll enjoy getting things done and making things happen at this special place, like putting smiles on faces.

Incredibly rewarding

We expect a lot, but we’ll offer a great deal in return, starting with stimulating and challenging work and the opportunity to help us achieve our bold ambitions. We value your contribution, recognise the importance of a work-life balance, and are committed to your continued development. You can also look forward to free admission to all our incredible places, plus a helpful 20% off at our shops, cafes and restaurants. But they’re just the benefits we can tell you about here.

About us

Here at the National Trust, we want even more people to enjoy our extraordinary places, spaces and collections. We want people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved with them, be inspired by them, and love them as much as we do. That’s why we’ve put some bold ambitions in place. We want everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to feel like a member of the National Trust and, by 2020, we want to have grown our membership to more than five million.

Apply

To be part of something special, please visit our website. Closing date: 29 February 2012. Provisional interview date: 14 March 2012.

For more information see: http://vacancies.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/job-detail.asp?id=7790

Employer: NATIONAL TRUST

The Courtauld History of Photography Research seminars start on 22 February:

Courtauld History of Photography seminars:

Research Forum

The Courtauld Institute of Art

Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN

tel: 020 7848 2909

Email: researchforum@courtauld.ac.uk

www.courtauld.ac.uk

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is showing Silver, Salt, and Sunlight: Early Photography in Britain and France from February 7, 2012-August 5, 2012. It has been curated by Anne E. Havinga.

The invention of photography in 1839 was a pivotal achievement that changed the course of cultural history. The early years of the medium were rich in experimentation. As each process and technique was invented, artists enthusiastically explored new possibilities for visual recording and expression. This exhibition celebrates the golden age of early photography in France and Britain, the two countries in which the medium was simultaneously invented.

Arranged according to theme and exploring a range of photographic approaches, “Silver, Salt, and Sunlight” features some rare early photographs from the Museum's collection. Among the photographic pioneers included are William Henry Fox Talbot, Hill and Adamson, Roger Fenton, Edouard Baldus, Gustave Le Gray, Nadar, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Francis Frith.

For more information: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/silver-salt-and-sunlight and for a review: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/2/14/MFA-early-photography-exhibit/ 

Image: Gustave Le Gray’s “Cloudy Sky—The Mediterranean with Mount Agde.” The photograph is an albumen print from wet collodion glass plate negative.

On the occasion of Szathmari’s birth bicentennial (1812-2012), the “G. Oprescu” Institute of Art History takes great pleasure in inviting you to the Szathmari, Pioneer Photographer and his Illustrious Contemporaries conference to be held on 14-16 May, 2012, at the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania.

Conference Objective and Goals

The three-day conference will present the results of new, unpublished research on Szathmari’s work and in works by other outstanding photographers of his time. The proceedings of the conference will be published in a book.

Conference Themes

- Carol Popp de Szathmari (1812-1887), his life and his work

- Outstading European photographers in mid and late 19th century

- Szathmari and his contemporaries (statesmen, painters, writers, journalists)

- Szathmari’s albums and pictures in state and private collections outside Romania

- Scientific investigation into Szathmari’s photographs

- Conservation and preservation issues related to Szathmari’s plates and prints

We have the pleasure to announce that our keynote lecturer is Prof. Larry J. Schaaf, an independent photo-historian based in Baltimore, USA, and an expert on the invention and early history of photography. Dr. Schaaf is the author of numerous book.  He was the 2005 Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University and is the founder and Editor of the online Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot.

 Related Events

Conference participants will enjoy the unique and unprecedented opportunity to view a selection of the most important pictures by Szathmari in the collections of the Library of the Romanian Academy.  The Cotroceni National Museum is organizing a Szathmari retrospective exhibition. One night the participants to the international conference will be the guests of that museum. A guided tour of Bucharest, pointing out the monuments pictured by Szathmari will complete the conference offering the participants a bit of 19th century Romania. The event will close with a gala projection of the documentary movie The Eyewitness (2002, directed by Gabriel Cobasnian, screenplay and starring A-S. Ionescu).

The organizer is providing free accommodation to all participants.    

Procedure

Please send the title and an abstract of your paper (max. 300 words) as well as a curriculum vitae, to the following address: adriansilvan@hotmail.com 

Deadline: 31st March 2012

The papers can be filed in English, French, German, Italian or Romanian but the language used during the conference will be English and Romanian only. Authors of selected papers will be notified by 15 April 2012.  We would highly appreciate if you would be prepared to submit your paper of max. 10.000 words (notes and bibliography included) before 30 April 2012.

For further information please contact adriansilvan@hotmail.com

The board of organization:

Adrian-Silvan Ionescu, Alan Griffiths, Ruxanda Beldiman, Cornelia König

Our world is constantly in motion. The National Media Museum’s exhibition In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement explores our fascination with movement and the desire to capture it through photography, film, television and new media.

Showing from 9 March to 2 September 2012, this free-to-enter multimedia exhibition  showcases the Museum’s unrivalled National Collections alongside specially commissioned works by contemporary artists. It reveals the many ways motion has been captured and simulated through a variety of moving images and images of movement, and examines the relationships between art, science, entertainment, sport and historical record.

In the Blink of an Eye is the National Media Museum’s contribution to imove, Legacy Trust UK’s cultural programme for Yorkshire, and part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. With this programme Legacy Trust UK is creating a lasting cultural legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK.

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity for people of all ages to understand more about how movement has been captured and displayed – from Victorian optical toys like the zoetrope, to a CGI motion-capture suit. It will feature new artworks and many rare objects and images from the National Collections of Photography, Television, Cinematography and New Media.

Classic images by photographers as diverse Harold Edgerton, Eadweard Muybridge, Roger Fenton, Richard Billingham and Oscar Rejlander will be shown alongside historic items of equipment, films and interactive displays. The exhibition also examines how high- speed, time-lapse and time slice photography have revealed a world invisible to the naked eye.

For the newly commissioned pieces, artists Quayola and Memo Akten will be unveiling Forms, an interactive video installation inspired by Eadweard Muybridge’s seminal studies of movement. Bob Levene and Anne-Marie Culhane have created Time Frame an artwork filmed at the UK Olympic training centre in Loughborough. Barnet Fair is a new animation by Jo Lawrence, which is inspired by the theme of the exhibition.

Together they tell the fascinating story of media and movement.

Image: The Juggler, c1860, Oscar Gustav Rejlander
© Royal Photographic Society collection at the National Media Museum

In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement

9 March-2 September 2012

National Media Museum, Bradford

Partridges auctioneers of Macclesfield, Cheshire, is holding an auction called The Great Exhibition Auction 1851 to Present Day on 11 February 2012. The auction includes printed material, ceramics, posters, textiles and, of particular interest to BPH readers is an extensive collection of some 10,000 stereo cards, lanterns slides and photographs. The auction begins with the 1851 Great Exhibition and continues with all the major international and national exhibitions up to date. The auction is the property of one collector.

For more details and the online catalogue see: http://www.adampartridge.co.uk/lots/  

Wandsworth Museum presents Portrait of London, a new photography exhibition, presenting a collection of fascinating historic images from both the Museum of London’ and the Wandsworth Museum, never before seen together.

The images, on loan from the Museum of London, include dozens of images dating back to the 19^th century. The collection highlights include the earliest known photographic image of London from 1839, a captivating photo of a Suffragette stand at the woman’s exhibition of 1909 and a view of Trafalgar square from 1857 taken by Roger Fenton who is regarded as the most pular and influential British photographer of the 1850s.

In addition to Museum of London’ images, the exhibition will also include an exciting selection of historic photos of the Borough of Wandsworth from Wandsworth Museum’s own collection.  Most of the photos have not been exhibited for over a decade. These 19^th and early 20^th century images are drawn from all reaches of the borough: Balham, Battersea, Earlsfield, Putney, Roehampton, Southfields, Tooting and Wandsworth.

The exhibition offers a glimpse of a forgotten London and gives visitors the chance to see some of London’s iconic historical buildings before they were demolished - delving into the development of one of the world’s greatest cities. The images of Wandsworth allow local visitors to discover how their neighbourhood has changed over the decades.

Portrait of London                                                                     

Historic Photographs of London & Wandsworth

 8 March - 12 August 2012   

£4 Adults and £3 Concession, Children 6 and under are Free

Wandsworth Museum, Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00am – 5:00pm.

38 West Hill SW18 1RX.

Tube: East Putney; Rail: Wandsworth Town or Putney; Bus: 28, 37, 39, 44, 87, 156, 170, 220, 270, 337, 485.

BBC Two Daytime has commissioned Reef Television to produce Britain's First Photo Album, a 10x30-minute series on the extraordinary achievement of Francis Frith, the pioneer Victorian photographer who embarked upon a colossal project to photograph as much of the United Kingdom as possible during the second half of the 19th century. The series will air from 12-23 March 2012. 

The pictures taken by Frith and his staff are viewed as one of the first and most comprehensive pictorial records of the UK, a wonderfully evocative record of our shared history, and equally a present-day insight into the social landscape of Britain.

Presented by John Sergeant, each episode will focus on four storylines, all inspired by a Frith photo. Over the series, 40 of Frith's best images will be showcased, demonstrating his remarkable endeavour to visually capture Britain on camera, along with another 40 new ones that John will take himself.

To get to the heart of each picture, John will look to unfold the significance of each image, bringing them to life by meeting present day people who have a connection to these stories from the past. Each show will have a fascinating mix of different stories, taking us on a journey across Britain.

This is the first time Frith's collection has been brought together in one series, and so Britain's First Photo Album will offer viewers a look back on this astonishing visual record of our nation: at what has changed; at what remains the same, and ultimately, what it tells us about who we are today.

A book with the same title will be published in February to accompany the series. John Buck of The Francis Frith Collection said: “We are delighted to be part of this project, which showcases our archive photographs in such an entertaining way. This tie-in book from the TV series will link the evocative Frith images with an insight into present-day Britain, forming a fascinating record of our shared history and the social landscape of our country, past and present.”

The book will include a selection of Frith’s photos, plus those taken by Sergeant of the same locations in the present day. Each chapter will focus on four storylines inspired by Frith’s photographs, as Sergeant travels the country to meet those with a connection to the images. Sergeant will also write a foreword.

In addition to the television programmes and book, and to harness the enthusiasm generated from the programme, BBC Learning is  working with a range of partners, including museums, libraries and historical societies to support free events which will tie in to the series. The programme airs at the beginning of March, with a call to action at the beginning of the series, and events will take place from the weekend 16-18 March.

How you can get involved

Organisations will be encouraged to host events and activities which encourage the public to find out about their local heritage and the history of photography. There are lots of ways to get involved - host an event or talk, design a walk, showcase local photographer’s work or the work of Francis Frith and much more.

BBC Learning is producing a number of resourses to support events and activities of many sizes these include:

 - Suggested Activity Guide

- Marketing Materials e.g. Posters and Postcards

- Souvenir learning booklets to accompany the series

- Stickers

- Downloadable bunting

Want more information?

If you are planning to run a Britain’s First Photo Album event, open workshop or exhibition the team can also offer support and help add your event to the Things To Do website, www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo  

If you would like more details about Britain’s First Photo Album, or would like to order resources, please email:  britainsfirstphotoalbum@bbc.co.uk

Designed by award-winning Irish architects O'Donnnell + Tuomey, the building features three dedicated floors of gallery spaces. By doubling the exhibition area we will be able to showcase established and high-profile artists alongside emerging photographic talent from around the world.

Situated at the heart of the building is the education floor, which will host a busy schedule of talks, workshops and events as well as a Study Room.

Complementing the exhibition and education floors will be new spaces for the Bookshop, Print Sales Room and Café, creating a lively street level meeting place.

Find out more

As many researchers and museum visitors will be aware the National Media Museum's Insight research centre has been closed while the Collections were reorganised. Insight has just re-opened. Brian Liddy, Curator of Collections Access, explains what has happened - and why it needed to happen...

The Star newspaper reports on Simon Robinson's collection of photographs taken by street photographers which is 'exciting' officials at the National Media Museum which is organising an exhibition on them in 2012. A book is also being published.

Simon Robinson had been collecting old photos for more than three decades when, two years ago, his sister noticed something rather peculiar. Among the thousands of snaps bought in bulk from antique shops, jumble sales and postcard fairs were hundreds of strikingly similar pictures of people walking along town streets. They featured different subjects in different places from different decades but the style was always virtually identical – person mid-stride, rarely looking at the camera, urban-life carrying on all around them.

“I hadn’t noticed the similarities before,” says the 57-year-old of Stannington. “But I was fascinated – especially because some were clearly taken in Sheffield. I had no idea what the connection was.” Two years on, his quest to find out has seen him travel across the country, discover hundreds more photos, and will, this year, result in a unique book which is already exciting officials at Bradford’s National Media Museum... The full report can be found here: http://www.thestar.co.uk/community/the-diary/a_brisk_walk_down_memory_lane_1_4176252

Simon is still looking for more ‘walkies’ for the book. If you have one which might be suitable email admin@easyontheeye.net or call 0114 233 3024.

Colin Harding, Curator at the National Media Museum has undertaken extensive research into 'walkies', the photographers and companies which led to the exhibition Sunny Snaps. 

Brass, a Leeds-based marketing agency, has been appointed by the National Media Museum to help it launch and attract visitors to the museum new gallery called Life Online which will open in March 2012..
Life Online will be the world's first gallery to explore the social, technological and cultural impact of the internet and web. It will trace the history of the internet, show how it has changed people's lives and track the latest trends.

Brass is engaged to work with the National Media Museum, to devise digital content and social media strategies that will generate physical footfall to the gallery and provide long term interaction with various digital exhibits being created to keep the Life Online content up to date and relevant to changing trends and technological advances.

Mark Kelly, Andrew Brown and Ally Manock from Brass are also part of the Museum's Life Online Advisory Panel tasked with informing elements of the exhibition content and audience marketing.

Commenting on the creation of Life Online, Tom Woolley, curator of new media at the National Media Museum said, "Life Online is an exciting project which will be powered by ideas, thoughts and opinions of physical and virtual visitors to the gallery. We hope to create an invaluable and continuous public archive of society's relationship with the internet and web."

Mark Kelly, digital solutions director at Brass said, "This is a fascinating assignment for Brass to be associated with and will ensure that we remain at the forefront of knowledge with regard to the evolution of the internet and web based communications and how they change and impact on people's daily lives".

The National Media Museum's London presence, MediaSpace, at the Science Museum moves a step closer. A contract has been issued for preparatory works at the Science Museum:

• Enabling works contract - located at Science Museum London.
• Reconfiguration of 4 existing galleries on 2nd floor of Museum.
• Erecting hoardings.
• Demolition of existing walls and removal of existing steel mezzanine structure.
• Removal of existing false ceiling.
• Strip out of mechanical and electrical installations.
• Removal of all waste from site.

Purpose of the Job

Delivers day to day records and enquiries management duties including:

•efficient processing of enquiries;

•facilitation of retention of corporate information held in paper and electronic records current and closed;

• facilitation of compliance with regulatory and legal requirements and information rights legislation across NMSI; and

•provision of advice and easy and appropriate access to information for internal and external researchers.

Key Deliverables/Accountabilities

1.Supporting delivery of efficient and legally compliant records management and enquiries service congruent with national museum and non-departmental public body status.

2.Operates within extensive statutory and regulatory framework.

3.Provides advice and appropriate access to information to all NMSI staff and visitors.

4.Contributory care for the physical care and organisation of the corporate record (c 80,000 paper records and for electronic records as they are established).

5.Promoting the service across NMSI in order to ensure buy-in from all teams.

6.Supervision of volunteers on specific projects.

7.Technical advice regarding records management and access to information issues.

8.Take care of own personal health and safety and that of others and report any health and safety concerns appropriately. Ensure proactive compliance with NMSI H&S Policies, including risk assessments and implementing safe systems of work.

Working Relationships and Contacts

•Corporate Information and Enquiries Manager (line-manager) and Head of Corporate and Collections Information (CCI) for direction, guidance and support.

•Liaising with colleagues in CCI team and the wider Information Group to receive and provide support and advice and to work on joint projects.

•Staff at all levels of NMSI to provide advice and guidance on access to information issues and records management.

•Supervision of volunteers and interns regarding specific records management projects.

•Providing support to members of the public regarding enquiries or granting access to paper records.

Line Management and Budget Responsibility

Directly line manages: 0

Indirectly line manages: 0

Contractors/freelancers: 0

Budget Holder of £ 0

Candidate Profile

Experience

•Sufficient experience to be able to undertake records management tasks without direct supervision.

•Familiarity with the main elements of records management theory and practice and best practice standards including legislative requirements for access to information enquiries.

•Ability to work methodically with an analytical approach to problem solving taking the initiative within policy and precedent.

Skills, Knowledge and Relevant Qualifications

•Good written and oral communication skills to obtain and impart knowledge

•Knowledge of legislation, guidance and directives governing records management and information rights and an appreciation of their impact

•Good working knowledge of standard information technology packages and their applications and the ability and willingness to adapt to new systems

Behaviours

•Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills

•Pays meticulous attention to detail

•Ability to use judgement and make decisions within policy and precedent

•Supportive and collaborative team working style

•Ability to follow procedures and protocols consistently

•Actively explores ideas for improvement

•Takes pride in delivering work to a high standard

•Uses initiative

Scope for Impact

The NMSI Corporate Information & Enquiries Team delivers best practice records and enquiries management procedures which support effective administration across NMSI. Such policies and procedures, incorporating a robustly operated Retention Schedule and Publication Scheme, ensure efficient use of resources – both staff and space – and facilitate appropriate access to information in the spirit of transparent operations.  The jobholder delivers core functions which underpin our status as a national museum and ensure accountability and legislative compliance and operates within an extensive framework of statutory obligations and responsibilities. Failures in this area could result in administrative and regulatory lapses and potential legal and/or financial liability.

Please note:

•This job description is not exhaustive and amendments and additions may be required in line with future changes in policy, regulation or organisational requirements, it will be reviewed on a regular basis.

•This role is subject to a Disclosure Scotland basic criminal record check.

National Museum of Science and Industry

Job Details

Job Title: Corporate Information and Enquiries Officer, NMSI

Department:      Corporate & Collections Information, NMSI

Location: NRM and NMeM

Reports to: Corporate Information and Enquiries Manager, NMSI            

Date:     7 December 2011

Please apply via our recruitment website https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk

Closing date is 22nd January

Interviews will be held on 10th February

Maternity Leaver cover for 6 months

Based at National Railway Museum in York and the National Media Museum in Bradford

Location:              National Railway Museum York and National Media Museum Bradford

Category:            Administration

Salary:   £16,500

Type of Contract:             Contract

Hours:   Full Time

added: Jan. 12, 2012       deadline: Jan. 22, 2012

More information

Downloads: http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/jobs/job/2425/

Below are details of the Courtauld spring term programme for the Research Seminars which relate to photography Seminars are free and open to all. They will be held at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN – unless stated otherwise.

• Monday 9 January – Sylwia Serafinowicz (The Courtauld Institute of Art): Photography and Temporality at the First Biennale of Spatial Forms in the Polish People’s Republic (Elblag, 1965). 6.00pm, Research Forum South Room
• Monday 6 February – David Low (The Courtauld Institute of Art): Moments of Crisis: Photographs of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-16. 6.00pm, Research Forum South Room
• Tuesday 10 January – Professor Christopher Pinney (University College London): Gandhi, Camera, Action: Popular Visual Culture and the Graphic of Iterability. 5.30pm, Research Forum South Room
• Wednesday, 22 February – Jan Banning (photographer): Bureaucratics and Other Unorderly Subjects. 5.30pm, Research Forum South Room
   
• All seminars are free and open to all

Further information : http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/calendar.shtml

Research Forum

The Courtauld Institute of Art

Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN

The National Media Museum in Bradford has started work on the world's first gallery to explore the social, technological and cultural impact of the internet and the web. Set to open on 30 March 2012 the gallery will be the first in the world to link the history of the internet with its impact on how we live our lives.

The gallery will bring together historically significant content, multimedia displays, and a programme of special exhibitions exploring contemporary trends and issues related to how the internet and the web are changing society.

The £2 million project will explore various themes, including the origins of the internet, global communications, issues of online identity and the nature of digital communities and businesses.

Life Online will be made up of two spaces in the Museum. The permanent gallery on the ground floor will reflect and interact with the story of the internet and the web, from the very first email, to the rise of home computing and the non-stop evolution of social and technological communication. It will also explore the future of the internet.

The exhibition space will showcase experimental temporary exhibitions dedicated to exploring the ever-changing relationship between society and the internet. The first Life Online exhibition, called [open source], will focus on the open source online culture of sharing and collaboration, whilst examining current threats to net neutrality which could signify the end of online culture as we know it.

Visitors will be able to actively participate with the Life Online gallery, exhibition space and online presence - through a series of interactive elements. This will enable Life Online to be powered by the ideas, thoughts and opinions of both physical and virtual visitors. This model of engagement will ultimately create an invaluable public archive of society's relationship with the internet and the web in the 21st century.

An additional purpose-built learning space will house an exciting programme of workshops and events investigating the processes of producing online content and issues surrounding our relationships with the web as we explore our online world.

Tom Woolley, curator of new media at the National Media Museum said: "We have been planning for this gallery for a long time and it is fantastic to see the building work commence for our new permanent gallery Life Online. Although other galleries tell the story of the internet, no other links that ever-evolving history with the impact the internet has on our lives and we are very excited to house the world’s first gallery of its kind here in Bradford. There are many exciting milestones ahead as we build towards the gallery opening in March 2012 and we look forward to sharing the finished gallery with visitors."

The content of the gallery has been informed by a variety of web experts and pioneers including Ben Hammersley, the UK Prime Minister’s Ambassador to TechCity and editor at large of Wired Magazine; representatives from Google and Microsoft; Freeserve co-founders Rob Wilmot and Ajaz Ahmed and Helen Milner, the managing director of UK Online Centres. A senior member of the Virgin Media broadband team is the most recent addition to the gallery advisory panel. A variety of Universities have also advised including Oxford, Bradford, Nottingham Trent, Southampton, Brunel, Manchester Metropolitan and Lancaster.

Life Online is funded by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the DCMS Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. The project also has a number of corporate supporters such as Virgin Media; Brass, one of the UK’s foremost creative and digital marketing agencies; and by leading environment, brand and interaction agency Start JudgeGill who are assisting with the creation of the Life Online Exhibition space.

Image: Joe Brook, Life Online Gallery Development Manager holding a scale model of the National Media Museum foyer and Life Online gallery

A number of full-time University of Westminster Studentships are available to candidates with either Home or Overseas fee status in any area of Arts, Film, Photography and Cultural Criticism starting in September 2012. The Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM) is a leading centre for research across the disciplines of visual arts, photography, film and digital media. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise CREAM was rated 20% 4*, 55% 3*, 25% 2*. The Times Higher Education Supplement ranked CREAM in the top six art and design departments in the UK and the number one department in this field in London.

With 30 research active staff, and 35 doctoral students, CREAM is a leading provider of both practice-based and theoretical PhD research in photography, film, digital media, ceramics, visual art and moving image work. The research practices of its members also cover a broad field including arts-science, music, Asian cinema, and theoretical and critical writing.

The Studentship consists of a fee waiver and a stipend of £16,000 per annum for three years full-time. Successful candidates will be expected to undertake some teaching duties.

Prospective candidates wishing to informally discuss an application should contact Prof. Joram ten Brink, J.tenbrink@wmin.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is 5pm Friday 3 February 2012. 

For further information, including how to apply, please visit

http://www.westminster.ac.uk/courses/research-degrees/research-areas/media,-arts-and-design/research-studentships

Of all the sciences it is arguable that images have played the greatest role in astronomy, both for the professional and for the interested public. This discussion meeting will consider both the history and technology of imaging in the era of the telescope, and the implication of representing physical phenomena by images created by visualisation techniques, particularly where the radiation is invisible to the eye. Capability and limitations will be traced from drawing and painting, through photography and image intensifiers, to the digital era at all wavelengths. Discussion will be encouraged about the role imaging has played in constructing the astronomical object, and in shaping the public’s view, delivered by astronomers, of the nature of the sky and its contents. We hope to reinforce interaction between practising astronomers and historians of science by reflection from philosophers and historians of art.Royal Astronomical Society

Specialist Discussion Meeting

'The History of Astronomical Imaging'

13 January 2012

10:30–15:30 in the Geological Society Lecture Theatre, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG

The day includes: 

Peter Hingley (Royal Astronomical Society) on The Reception of Photography in the Royal Astronomical Society

The programme is at:

http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/ras_pdfs/meetings201112/January%202012%20Geological%20Society%20Meeting.pdf

There is no prior registration but a charge of £15 to non-members (£5 to

students) for all or part of the day, cash or cheque only, will be collected at the door. Admission to the subsequent Open (Monthly A&G) Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society is open to all, at no charge.