Vacancy for Touring Exhibitions Coordinator

The Horniman Museum and Gardens in south east London has been open since Victorian times, when the tea trader and philanthropist, Frederick John Horniman first opened his house and extraordinary collection of objects to the local community. Since then, our collection has grown significantly and includes internationally important collections of anthropology and musical instruments, as well as an acclaimed aquarium and natural history gallery – all surrounded by 16 acres of beautiful Gardens offering breathtaking views across London.

MAGNET (the Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring) is a newly established network of twelve museums and galleries who aim to pool resources, develop curatorial expertise and share their collections with diverse national audiences. MAGNET will do this by co-curating collections-based exhibitions with high-quality inter-disciplinary content designed to tour nationally. Art Fund is supporting a pilot of the network for 18 months (which is now 6 months in) This pilot is developing an exhibition, Hair, which will open at the Horniman in late 2021 and then tour to Museums Sheffield and Tullie House in Carlisle. Working on a practical project with three partners will enable learning to be shared across all members of the network.

Job description

You will play a pivotal role in MAGNET, developing the network amongst the 12 partners; arranging workshops, establishing agreement on streamlined loan conditions, commercial contracts and courier and transport arrangements across the network, setting the foundations for future tours and preparing future exhibition proposals for the group which will be put forward for further funding. You will also work closely with the Curator and project teams to assist with realising the Hair exhibition and in particular to arrange all practical aspects of the tour, including agreements, transport and storage.

We are looking for a personable individual with experience of working with (and ideally setting up and developing) networks and partnerships between museums or similar organisations. You will also have expertise in touring exhibitions in or for museums or galleries, including administering loans. You will be a highly organised project manager and happy working under your own initiative, as well as part of our friendly Exhibitions and Design team.

Current MAGNET partners

Horniman Museum and Gardens (lead), Birmingham Museums, Bristol Museums, Derby Museums, Glasgow Museums, Manchester Museum, National Museums Liverpool, Norfolk Museums Service, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Museums Sheffield, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. The majority of the partners are based outside London allowing for a rebalancing investment agenda across the UK.