Deadline
for applications: 16h00 on June 24, 2019.
The National Arts Festival (NAF) seeks to
appoint a dynamic, highly networked Artistic Director on a three-year
fixed-term contract.
The ideal candidate should have a strong
vision for the place of the arts in South Africa’s evolving society, and the
enthusiasm to take this Festival in an exciting new direction.
The National Arts Festival is an annual
11-day event that aims to showcase the best in South African talent across all
genres.
The Artistic Director will guide and shape
the NAF’s artistic programme, with overall responsibility for the formulation
and implementation of the Festival’s Artistic Vision across the Curated Main,
Selected Main, Arena and Fringe festivals as well as to input into our other
year-round projects and Festivals.
Key
Responsibilities:
1. Chair the National Arts Festival’s
Artistic Committee. In that capacity they will:
- Constitute the Committee by identifying
and contracting curators across all genres
- Oversee the process of developing the
curated programme, in collaboration with specialist genre-curators, and sign
off on all final selections.
- Brief the Artistic Committee on available
budget, technical and venue resources and ensure that choices are aligned with
those resources.
2. Oversee the process of programme
selections that enhance the overall offering of the Festival.
3. Lead the process of selection from
proposal stage through to contracting and implementation.
Skills
and Experience:
The candidate must:
- Have a vision for the role that the
National Arts Festival plays in the South African and African arts landscape;
- Have a proven track record of curation
and/or artistic direction, and lead a team towards realizing a clearly
articulated vision;
- Be well versed in at least two artistic
disciplines;
- Be able to translate concept and vision
into programming;
- Have an understanding of the relationship
between audiences and ‘art works’;
- Have been actively involved in issues of
redress and transformation in the South African context;
- Have occupied a senior artistic
management position in a recognized institution for at least five years;
- Be exceptionally well networked in the
South African arts industry and have relationships with key institutions in the
arts sector as well as with independent producers, companies and artists;
- Have existing relationships with international
festivals, embassies, funders and arts institutions;
- Have a proven track record of curation
and/or artistic direction, can lead a team towards realizing a clearly
articulated vision.
Personal
Attributes
The Artistic Director needs to:
- Be a self-starter, able to work
independently without direct day-to-day supervision;
- Be focused on getting the job done
effectively and efficiently;
- Be curious and knowledgeable about
artistic trends in the country, on the African continent and globally;
- Be able to manage large budgets and take
accountability for expenditure;
- Work under pressure and tight deadlines;
- Be a strong communicator and highly
consultative in style;
- Work as part of a diverse and energetic
team;
- Demonstrate resourcefulness and
creativity in working within financial constraints;
- Contribute to the Festival’s fundraising
activities through the identification of partnership opportunities.
Job
Specifics:
The Artistic Director role is a part-time
position. Our current expectation is that the incumbent would be expected to
commit a total of 80 hours (ten days) a month to the role. An additional 50
days a year would form part of the contract.
The incumbent may reside in either
Johannesburg, Cape Town or Makhanda (Grahamstown) but would need to commit to
working from Makhanda for 4-6 weeks in May and June each year.
Application
Please apply by sending a current CV,
outlining your formal qualifications and experience and with three contactable
references. Please include a covering letter of no more than three typed pages,
outlining what you believe you will bring to the role and articulating your
artistic vision for the Festival.
Applications need to be sent to:
ADvacancy@nationalartsfestival.co.za by no
later than 16h00 on June 24, 2019.
Only shortlisted candidates will be invited
to an interview.
Employment
Equity statement of intent:
Employment Equity is not just a governance
imperative for the National Arts Festival – it is a critical part of us being a
Company that acknowledges, understands, reflects and celebrates the diversity
of our country which, in turn, enables us to be the more effective and relevant
in the work we do. And so we strive to make appointments that ensure that our
team composition reflects that diversity.
(To link direct to the NAF site click on
the large banner that runs across the top of this blog or visit
https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za or visit Facebook:
www.facebook.com/nationalartsfestival; Twitter: @artsfestival or Instagram:
nationalartsfestival)
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