Photography has always held an important place in Scotland ever since its announcement in 1839. The relative freedom with which photographers in Scotland could practice Talbot’s calotype process was instrumental in establishing a nucleus of amateur and professional photographers who quickly became masters of their art. Throughout the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries Scottish photographers have continued to engage with the medium producing engaging art and documentary work.
This book, written by two of the collection curators, sets out to provide an overview of the Scottish National Photography Collection (SNPC) which is held at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The collection features not just Scottish photographers from the 1840s to the present day, but also the work of others. Bill Brandt, Annie Liebovitz, Edward Steichen and Diane Arbus, for example, are all represented within the collection. Set up in 1984 to collect, research and exhibit Scottish and international photography the SNPC now houses some 38,000 photographs. It has also produced some forty books or exhibition catalogues and held over eighty exhibitions, more than fulfilling its original aims. It continues to have a dynamic acquisitions policy, adding new historic material through donation and purchase, within carefully thought-through criteria. Equally important, it is continues to commission new work to ensure that it remains engaged with current practitioners and to add their work to the collection.
This book highlights over 200 photographs from the collections of the SNPC and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It starts with a daguerreotype of Dr Andew MacLagan from 1843, moves through the calotypes of Hill and Adamson, and concludes with an image from David Williams from 2000. Several more recent works are also included. Geographically the photographers and subject range from Scotland, to the United States, Europe and Asia. An introduction by Sara Stevenson, who has been the driving force behind the collection, provides a wider perspective on it and its aims.
The book is not a catalogue of the SNPC. Instead, it offers a careful selection of photographs from the collection. These can be seen individually, or collectively as a way of looking at the wider history of photography. It does this extremely well with good reproductions of the photographs. Each image is accompanied by a physical description and text outlining an historical and contemporary context. Overall the book reinforces the important role that Scotland has played and continues to play within photography. It also shows the care and thought that has gone into forming what has, undoubtedly, become one of the world’s great photograph collections.
This book, which is excellent value, is highly recommended.
A Companion Guide to Photography in the National Galleries of Scotland
Sara Stevenson and Duncan Forbes
Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2009
ISBN: 978 1 906270 20 9
£9.99, 224pp, paperback, 220 illustrations
Reviewed by Michael Pritchard
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A spokesperson from the National Media Museum issued a short statement about the museum's London presence following the announcement of the appointment of Charlotte Cotton as Creative Director. Cotton starts in her role in October 2009: "We're unable to disclose information about the venue until we have approval from the government.'Disclosing the venue at this stage could jeopardise the project. We hope to be in a position to open in 2011/12, subject to fundraising and government approval."
Recent speculation has suggested that the presence will be at London's Science Museum and that plans for the space are advanced. See: http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=849485Read more…
The National Media Museum, Bradford, have now issued a formal press release regarding Charlotte Cotton who is joining the museum in October 2009.
National Media Museum Appoints
Creative Director for London Galleries
The National Media Museum in Bradford has appointed Charlotte Cotton to its new role of Creative Director for its future London Galleries. Charlotte will be charged with delivering an exciting vision for the content of the Museum’s special exhibitions programme for its London presence, building on the strong reputation of exhibitions already staged at the Museum’s Bradford base. She will be driving an advocacy programme and helping with fundraising for the project, for which the Museum is currently awaiting government approval on its preferred venue in the Capital.
Charlotte is currently Head of the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the largest art museum in the Western United States. Before joining LACMA, Charlotte was a Curator of Photography at the V&A for 12 years and then Head of Programming at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. Charlotte will start working for the National Media Museum in October 2009.
Colin Philpott, Director of the National Media Museum, said: “We are delighted that Charlotte has chosen to further her career with the National Media Museum, working to build our brand in the short, medium and long-term through our programme of special exhibitions and to help us achieve our long-held ambition to establish a presence in London. Our home will remain in Bradford but having a presence in London will enable us to bring our exhibitions programme and items from our Collection to a wider audience.”
Charlotte Cotton said: “The opportunity to play a leading role in the programming for the UK’s most important collections relating to photography, film and television and the conception of its London presence is absolutely thrilling for me. I am really looking forward to realising the most timely, pleasurable, and culturally nourishing experiences of both the collections and contemporary creative talents within the media realm.”
Whilst at LACMA, Charlotte has built the Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography’s programme, visibility and relevance in the Californian photographic community as well as nationally in the States. The world class historical photography collection of Leonard and Marjorie Vernon was acquired during Charlotte’s tenure, a group of more than 3,500 prints forming one of the finest histories of photography and collections of masterworks from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Charlotte has led on creating a world class and locally relevant events programme at LACMA including debates, conversations, screenings, performances, commissions and publications.
During her career Charlotte has worked on an extensive body of exhibitions and publications. During her time at the V&A Charlotte developed a number of exhibitions and publications including Imperfect Beauty: The Making of Contemporary Fashion Photographs (2000), Stepping In and Out: Contemporary documentary photography (2001), and Guy Bourdin (2003). Charlotte has taught at universities and art colleges including as visiting professor at Yale University (2005/6) and visiting critic at SVA, New York; Art Institute, Chicago; Cranbrook College, Detroit; UCLA, Los Angeles; Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City.
Charlotte has written a number of books including The Photograph as Contemporary Art (2004), an extended and updated version of which will be re-published in September 2009. As well as numerous articles and essays. Charlotte was the founder of the discussion forum www.wordswithoutpictures.org, a summary of which has recently been published in print-on-demand form.
Last year the National Media Museum in Bradford attracted over 700,000 visitors with exhibitions including securing the only UK venue for Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Scrapbook, Photographs 1932-4, working with Hedy van Erp and Iris Sikking of the ICON Foundation on the exhibition Baby, Picturing the Ideal Human 1840s – Now and the Museum generated show; Live by the Lens. Die by the Lens: Film Stars and Photographers.
The Museum is home to the National Photography, Photographic Technology, Television and Cinematography Collections. The National Photography Collection contains key images by numerous influential historic and contemporary practitioners such as; Anna Atkins, Sir John Herschel, Martin Parr and Eve Arnold, and includes the earliest known surviving negative, which is part of the William Henry Fox Talbot Collection. The Museum also holds The Royal Photographic Society Collection, the Kodak Museum and the Daily Herald Archive.
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Charlotte Cotton is to join the National Media Museum in Bradford as Creative Director. Rumours had been swilling around the photographic community for five or six weeks and I am now able to confirm this news. Cotton had recently left her job at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she had been curator and head of the photographs department. The NMeM had yet to officially confirm this news which was first reported in the Los Angeles Times this morning.
The newly created role of Creative Director at the National Media Museum was advertised and reported on here in January 2009. It is believed Cotton will report directly to the head of the museum, Colin Philpott, and will become part of the museum's senior management team. The new position has the key goal of creating a showcase gallery in London. This is museum's long-vaunted London presence which 'aims to raise the profile of the Museum with new audiences in the nation's capital and to further enrich the city's cultural life'. Cotton's past relationship with the V&A Museum may stand her in good stead. An exhibtiion space has been identified at the Science Museum but funding has yet to be put into place to convert and run the new galleries. The NMeM's chair of trustees, Michael G. Wilson, producer of the Bond movies, has been driving this project forward in recent months. There is a wider discussion on the London presence here.
Cotton joined the the LACMA in 2007 and while there she oversaw the acquisition of the Leonard and Marjorie Vernon collection of about 3,500 prints, organized an exhibition of Philip-Lorca diCorcia's work and presided over a lively series of performances, conversations and screenings. Previously she had been in New York since 2005 to organizing a cultural program for the Art & Commerce agency and was a visiting professor at Yale University (2005) and visiting critic at SVA, Bard, CCA and Cranbrook (2005-7).
She had been head of programming at the Photographers' Gallery in London (2004-05) and was Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1993 to 2004. She has curated many exhibitions of historical and contemporary photography including, Imperfect Beauty: the making of contemporary fashion photographs (2000), Out of Japan (2002), Stepping In and Out: contemporary documentary photography (2003) and Guy Bourdin (2003).
Cotton is the author and editor of publications such as Imperfect Beauty (2000), Then Things Went Quiet (2003), Guy Bourdin (2003) and the well-regardedThe Photograph as Contemporary Art (2004). She was founding editor of wordswithoutpictures.org.
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A selection of images taken from the Benjamin Baker: Bridging the World Exhibition can be seen on line for those who are unable to visit the venue in person. The exhibition will be shown in London later in the year and I will forward relevant details as and when they become available.In addition, in September there will be a symposium on Photography and Engineering organised by the Ordine degli Ingeneri di Padova and Venice University in the Autumn.Details will follow as soon as I know more.The Exhibition at Rook Lane Arts:http://www.rooklanearts.org.uk/baker/index.html exhibition home pagehttp://www.rooklanearts.org.uk/baker/gallery.html images as thumbnails-viewable via greyboxBenjamin Baker's activities took him far and wide. Not only to Egypt but also to the US when Fowler & Baker Ltd took over the work on the Hudson Tunnel and was also responsible for the design of the now defunct Manhattan Elevated Railway - see "Edison Clip" and a second by the Mutascope Company" which shows more complete view of the structure. Courtesy of Youtube's Narragansett55michaelgray@imageresearch.org
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Many months ago I reported here that Brian May and Elena Vidal's book on series of stereographs of the 1850s photographer T. R. Williams Scenes in Our Village was going to be published in October 2009. Well, the project continues on schedule. The book is currently in press and the stereoscope that will accompany it has been designed, prototyped and is being manufactured.
There is more on Brian's own blog here: http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html (10 July).
For more on TRW visit the London Stereoscopic Company website here: http://www.londonstereo.com/trwilliams/index.html.
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What is claimed to be the world's smallest gallery opens in a former BT telephone box on the green in Settle, North Yorkshire, on 11 July. The gallery will be opened by the Mayor of Settle, Councillor Barbara McLernon.
The decommissioned box was restored in a project led by local volunteers, with help from the local council. 'Contributions are welcomed from members of the public and must be no larger than a postcard,' said the gallery's curator Professor Roger Taylor (pictured) who lives on the green. Taylor was previously a curator at one of the world's largest museums, the former National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford. He said: 'We are very excited to see such a creative use of the phone box and it's great to have a bit of fun as well as involve the wider community in a contemporary art and photography project,' The opening exhibition features postcard-sized work from local artists and schoolchildren, as well as examples by more renowned figures such as Ansel Adams, Paul Hill, Samuel Palmer and Toulouse Lautrec. 'We are very excited to see such a creative use of the phone box and it's great to have a bit of fun as well as involve the wider community in a contemporary art and photography project,' said Taylor who is Professor of Photographic History at De Montfort University.
The Gallery on the Green will exhibit photographs, paintings and drawings, and visitors are asked to make contributions of 'postcard art'. One-man shows and thematic shows are planned for the future.
The gallery website can be found here: http://www.galleryonthegreen.org.uk/index.htmlRead more…
Two new jobs at De Montfort University have been advertised. De Montfort University has a well established reputation for providing web access to primary research sources in the history of photography. You will help to shape and to realise our long term plan to establish us as a centre of excellence, by delivering this ambition in partnership with other organisations that share our zeal for the subject.
Research Fellow in Photographic History (0.2FTE). Part Time. Grade F: £30,594 - £33,432 per annum (pro rata).
With a recently completed PhD (or equivalent), or currently undertaking one, you will contribute to the teaching of the MA in Photographic History and Practice, developing and delivering a module in Photography and Industry. You will undertake personal research related to the subject area.
Senior Research Fellow in Photographic History (0.6 FTE). Part Time. Grade G: £34,435 - 43,622 per annum (pro rata). With a PhD (or equivalent) and teaching experience at Masters level, you will contribute to the teaching of the MA in Photographic History and Practice, including a module related to Photographic Ethnographies. You will pursue personal research and undertake Photographic History bid writing.
The closing date for applications is: 13 July 2009. Application forms and further details are available from: www.jobs-dmu.co.ukRead more…
The Museum of English Rural life at the University of Reading (UK) would lke to invite you to visit the Farmer and Stockbreeder collection online exhibition at http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/research/countrysideimages/merl-list.aspCategories include: Agricultural Labour and People; Cattle; Children and Young Farmers; Crafts; Crops and Fruit; Harvesting and Picking; Haystacks, Ricks and Thatching; Horses; Land Cultivation; Machinery; Marketing and Packaging; Milking and Dairying; Pigs; Poultry; Rural Buildings and Landscape; Second World War and Agriculture; Sheep;Shows and Competitions; Women in Agriculture; Women's Land Army.In September 2008 the Museum started the Digitisation of Countryside Images Project to digitise and catalogue 13, 000 glass negatives from the Farmers Weekly and Farmer and Stockbreeder photographic collections. Images date from 1920 to 1965 and represent the two most comprehensive collections of documentary photogrpahy relating to British farming and the countryside in the 20th century. The project is funded by JISC as part of the Enriching Digital Resources programme, a strand of the Digitisation programme.The Farmers Weekly collection online exhibition will be available in September 2009.
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This publication will be available from November 2009 to coincide with the British Library's major autumn exhibition highlighting photography within the Library.The book, for the first time, brings together a selection of images from the Library's collections. It examines the history, diversity and influence of photography from its invention and early years up to the growth of a popular amateur market in the early twentieth century. Begining with the work of William Henry Fox Talbot and other influential pioneers, the book includes many of the celebrated names in nineteenth-century photography from across the world including Francis Frith, Felix Teynard, Samuel Bourne and Peter Henry Emerson, as well as numerous lesser-known names who made significant contributions to the medium. Organised by subject matter in a broadly chronological arrangement, it asks: Who was taking the photography and why? Section by section, items are presented within their cultural contexts, exploring some of the major themes of the nineteenth century, from imperial expansion to industrialisation and the emergence of new scientific and social disciplines in an era of rapid social change. The final sections of the book will examine the ways in which the development of simplified cameras and accessible technology responded to the demands of a developing mass market for photography, which continues up to the present day.
Points of View. Capturing the 19th century in photographs
Edited by John Falconer and Louise Hide
British Library, London
Hardback, £29.95 / Paperback £15.95
ISBN 978 0 7123 5081 5 / 978 0 7123 5082 2
176 pages, 100 colour illustrations
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Evelyn George Carey Forth Bridge | Testo di Michael Gray & Angelo MaggiFederico Motta Editore | Milano 2009 | 144pp 260 x 290 mm | Duotone | Hardback | Italian & EnglishQuoting from the text:"The building of the Forth Bridge was marked and controlled through photography; the official photographer: Evelyn George Carey, a young engineer and personal assistant to the designer, Benjamin Baker worked on the project over a period of eight years between 1882 to 1890. His pictures capture, clearly and lyrically, the scale, tensions and inherent dangers of such a project.""In a sense, the scale and importance of Carey’s achievement has yet to be fully appreciated. The body of work created by this young engineer-photographer between 1882 and 1890 as an employee of Fowler & Baker stands as an exemplar for all photographers working within this increasingly complex ever evolving domain. The photographs are pre-eminently sequential, tracing and recording the progress of the bridge’s construction, with an informed and critical eye. According to Patrizio, “Carey’s photographs are the visual expression of a very particular engineering ambition which is fully understood by the photographer.” The later, modernist fascination with such structures may be understood through a study of his series as a whole; the Forth Bridge shows, in Michael Baxandall’s terms, ‘a kind of expressive functionalism’ "University of Venice, Department of Engineering | Ordine degli Ingeneri di Padova | National Archive of Scotland
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Although this blog is not intended as a buying/selling forum, BPH members might be interested to learn that a UK bookseller has the following books available. As most of you will be aware these volumes are very useful sources for the period:
British Journal Photographic Almanac - 1871, 1874, 1876, 1877, 1880 (all paper covers); plus 1892, 1894 (lack covers)
Year Book of Photography - 1880, 1882, 1886, 1889, 1890, 1891 (all paper covers)
The bookseller is: Modern First Editions which can be reached on 01943 608596.
If you go after them please mention Michael Pritchard sent you.
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Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal is launching its call for the Guest Curator for the 12th presentation of the international biennale of contemporary photography that will take place in September 2011.Every two years since 1989, Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal produces an innovative photography event that serves as a catalyst for artists, other specialists of the image and the general public. This event promotes different tendencies in contemporary photography and creates international exchanges between photographers, the public at large, curators, the media and collectors. Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal works with artists, museums, galleries, artist-run centres, universities, and a large group of other partners to present a stimulating event that, by virtue of a series of mostly solo exhibitions spread across the city, transforms Montréal into one immense coherent group exhibition organized around a single unifying concept or theme.Since 2003, Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal has invited a Guest Curator to elaborate the theme of each new presentation of the biennale. All the exhibitions, educational activities, the colloquium and the publication are all organized around a singular theme defined by the Guest Curator. For information regarding the curators and themes of previous events, please consult our Web site at www.moisdelaphoto.com where you can also find more information on the organization, its history, and mandate.The Guest Curator for 2011 will develop a, new, bold and innovative theme that lends itself to a coherent program of exhibitions, publication, colloquium, etc., that will distinguish Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal internationally and provide opportunities for our visitors to develop a better understanding of the theme and issues in contemporary photography in general.For more details, please http://mail.moisdelaphoto.com/appel/Guest_Curator2011_fr_eng.pdf.Please let us know by e-mail if you do not want to Mois de la Photo à Montréal's E-Bulletin at info@moisdelaphoto.comLe Mois de la Photo à Montréal www.moisdelaphoto.com661 rue Rose-de-Lima Local 203 | Montréal (QC) | Canada | H4C 2L7 | (514) 390-0383 | (514) 390-8802
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Hello everyone,As a result of unfortunate circumstances we've lost our summer intern and are seeking a post graduate level student or recent graduate to work with our team in the Photographic Collection of the University of St Andrews library.This placement would begin in mid-July and last for 6-8 weeks. Candidates must have training or keen interest in working directly with photographic materials, and have in-depth knowledge of photographic history. The work would consist of preventive conservation, rehousing historic photographic material, participating in a negative freezing programme, conducting historic research for attribution and dating, as well as creating indices and finding aids for photographic collections. It will be a well rounded experience.Those interested in finding out more, please feel free to contact me directly.Many thanks!Marc
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De Montfort University is pleased to announce the availability of one Wilson Fellowship for its new MA in Photographic History and Practice. The Fellowship offers £5,000 toward the defrayal of tuition and other costs related to the MA, and is open to all students UK, EU and International. To apply for the Wilson Fellowship, please submit a piece of recent writing on photographic history no longer than 10,000 words, in English, to the Admissions Committee. For applications to the MA, please contact Student Recruitment at the Faculty of Art and Design at artanddesign@dmu.ac.uk or apply online at ukpass.ac.uk. For questions about the MA programme or the Wilson Fellowship please contact Programme Leader, Dr Kelley Wilder at: kwilder@dmu.ac.uk.
The MA in Photographic History and Practice is the first course of its kind in the UK. It lays the foundations for understanding the scope of photographic history and provides the tools to carry out the independent research in this larger context, working in particular from primary source material. In addition to our collaboration with the Wilson Centre for Photography Studies in London, we will work with the collections of the National Media Museum, Bradford, the Central Library, Birmingham, the British Library and private collections throughout Britain. Students handle photographic material, learn analogue photographic processes, write history from objects in collections, compare historical photographic movements, and debate the canon of photographic history. They also learn about digital preservation and access issues through practical design projects involving Website and database design. Research Methods are a core component, providing students with essential handling, writing, digitizing and presentation skills needed for MA and Research level work. Further modules will encourage independent thinking in theory and in history writing, introduce students to methodologies commonly encountered in photographic history, and set the students on a course for finding their own MA dissertation topic. Students receive expert advice on the thesis topic of their choosing, which is written in the summer months and submitted in September, one year after the course begins, in the case of full time study, or two years in the case of part-time.
For further details on the course and application process, please download a course brochure from http://kmd.dmu.ac.uk/kmd_photohistory_page/HOPP.pdf.
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In a blog entry reporting on a conference dealing with the cultural sector’s use of social media, broadcasting and the web Tristan Roddis reports on a presentation by Peter Lawther, the Senior Online Marketing Executive at the National Media Museum in Bradford's. Roddis notes... Lawther outlined the opportunities and pitfalls of publishing photographs on the Flickr Commons. In brief, the upsides were a huge increase in reach and engagement (they even got a contribution of a new set of historical photographs after a member of the public recognised the style as being the same as some old prints he found in his attic), as well as marketing potential due to the fact that their collections were covered by both the press and bloggers. The only real downside identified was that it can impact on revenue from picture library purchases, although several delegates pointed out that similar experiments have not shown a decrease in revenue as a consequence.
Read the full blog entry at http://blog.cogapp.com/2009/05/22/museums-social-media-broadcast-and-the-web/Read more…
The National Media Museum, Bradford, is looking for an Exhibition Organiser. As an Exhibition Organiser you will manage the development of exhibitions, co-ordinate project teams and other stakeholders to ensure exhibitions are delivered on time, budget and to the highest standard. You will be involved in all aspects of exhibition preparation and delivery, you will co-ordinate all exhibition administration, co-ordinate the development of interpretation strategies and plan and oversee installations. The salary is £21,900pa.
With experience of working in a similar role in a museum or gallery, you will already have an understanding of exhibition administration and delivery procedures, as well as a sound knowledge of developing interpretation strategies and exhibition display techniques. You should also have experience of managing projects and co-ordinating the work of internal and external stakeholders. If you can combine these attributes with excellent communication, organisational and IT skills, you’ll help us deliver a superb programme to our visitors.
The National Media Museum is an interdisciplinary organisation recognised for the strength of its world-class collections, acclaimed temporary exhibitions, international film festivals and its unique permanent galleries.
The Museum’s annual programme of temporary exhibitions and displays draws from its comprehensive and internationally acclaimed collections and also regularly commissions contemporary practitioners to make new work for public display.
Contract Type: 2 Year Fixed Term (35 hours per week)
Closing Date: 31st May 2009 Interviews: 8/9th June 2009
To apply, please write with full CV and covering letter to: The HR Department, National Media Museum, Bradford BD1 1NQ or email: recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
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The National Media Museum, Bradford, is advertising for one full-time and one part-time context developer to undertake research to a given brief and to be assigned to a project for a defined period to support Exhibition Organisers, Curators or Web Developers. You will undertake picture research and rights clearance and liaise with outside institutions to obtain information. The salary is £18,900.00 per annum (pro rata for part-time).
The National Media Museum is an interdisciplinary organisation recognised for the strength of its world-class collections, acclaimed temporary exhibitions, international film festivals and its unique permanent galleries.
The Exhibitions & Displays team is responsible for delivering 6 exhibitions per year, up to three displays, exhibition associated web sites, audiovisual content, and a publication entitled Archive.
As a Content Developer you will assist with the production of all of these areas of activity. You will be required to undertake research to a given brief and will be assigned to a project for a defined period to support Exhibition Organisers, Curators or Web Developers. You will undertake picture research and rights clearance and liaise with outside institutions to obtain information.
This role calls for an informed interest in photography, film, television or new media and a good understanding of museum-based exhibitions and learning resources. You should also have strong writing, research and organisational skills, supported by experience of managing projects, working as part of a team and following briefs.
Closing Date: 31st May 2009 Interviews: 8/9th June 2009
Contract Type: 1xFull Time role (35 hours per week) 1xPart Time role (21 hours per week)
To apply, please write with full CV and covering letter to: The HR Department, National Media Museum, Bradford BD1 1NQ or email: recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
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