Strike A Light are looking for someone to join us as General Manager, one day a week. If you’re enthusiastic about beautifully organised admin, like being the go-to person in a small team and enjoy setting up systems to get stuff done, we’d love to hear from you.
About you
You might not have worked in the arts before but may have worked in a similar role in a small business, a charity or voluntary organisation. We’re looking for people who:
Have a solid understanding of finance, HR and admin processes for smaller scale organisations
Are excited by Strike A Light’s work and want to help make it happen
Are keen to be part of a small team where you can shape and set up working processes
Can use their initiative, put in ideas and manage their own workload
Salary and contract
The role is offered on a 1 day a week basis, £27,000 pro rata (0.2 FTE). We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements e.g. whether this work is carried out on the same day each week or split over 2-3 days to fit around other commitments. The majority of the Strike A Light team work Tuesday-Thursday and so working time on at least one of these days would be ideal.
Remote working is definitely possible- the Strike A Light team works mostly from home- but some time with the staff team and in the office would be useful, for example joining away days or planning meetings, and can be mutually agreed.
This is a new post so the role is offered on a one year contract initially and then will be reviewed with the post-holder as the organisation develops to ensure it’s still the right structure, number of days etc.
Working at Strike A Light
The general manager will be reporting to and supported by the Executive Director, Christina, as well as working with the wider team. We’ve been lucky to have Emma working with us over the last 6 months offering general management support, setting up systems and helping define this role. Emma will also be offering several days of handover for the new person in post.
Gloucester is a diverse city and we value having a range of experiences and perspectives to make things better. We want our staff team to be reflective of Gloucester’s diversity and welcome applications from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse candidates.
All the Strike A Light team are dedicated and passionate about their work but we understand that work is only part of who you are, so we are flexible about working patterns and ask questions about how we do things, to try and make the best working environment we can. As this post is part time it may be that you’re returning to work or balancing it with caring commitments. We’d like you to feel you can have conversations with us about what you’d need to make this work for you.
Please complete the above monitoring form and send it with your CV and cover letter. This information will be separated from your application and is used for monitoring purposes only, not as part of the shortlisting process.
Are you interested in shows, festivals or events? Do you enjoy meeting new people? Would you like to work in marketing or the arts?
We’re looking for an intern to work with and support our team to contribute to effective marketing and the smooth running of projects, shows and other events. The internship will also provide you with the opportunity to develop skills and learn more about marketing & administration and other job roles within festivals and events, to support your future career.
The internship is offered as a part time role (3 days a week)for one year.
Rate of pay: £8.91 per hour.
This is an internship position and so you do not have to have lots of experience or have worked in this kind of job before. The aim of the internship is to provide an opportunity to develop your skills and help you in your future career, whilst supporting the work of Strike A Light.
Ellie Maynard (previous Marketing and Admin Intern) talks about her experience of the internship. Ellie had a particular interest in dance so had the opportunity to expand her role to include experience in facilitating dance classes.
If you do have voluntary or paid experience doing any of the tasks listed in the job description above, even better. Let us know about this in your application.
Do you like sports, dance or outdoor activities? Do you have an interest in cooking, baking or healthy eating? Do you enjoy working with people, especially children and young people?
We’re looking for an intern to work with The Venture team in White City to support their activities to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in their local community. The internship will also provide you with the opportunity to develop skills and learn more about leading participatory activities and other job roles to support your future career.
This internship is offered by Strike A Light and The Venture who work in close partnership together.
The Venture provide free, open access play sessions and activities for children and young people in White City. They aim to raise the aspirations of young people in the local community, giving them opportunities to try new things to help show them what they can achieve in life. The intern will be hosted and managed by The Venture.
The internship is offered as a part time role (3 days a week) for one year and will be based at The Venture.
Rate of pay: £8.91 per hour.
Primary Purpose
Working under the general direction of the Play Co-ordinator at The Venture to assist in the planning and delivery of after school, weekend and school holiday activities for children and young people with a particular focus on developing and delivering a regular programme of health and wellbeing activities and opportunities.
This is an internship position and so you do not have to have lots of experience or have worked in this kind of job before. The aim of the internship is to provide an opportunity to develop your skills and help you in your future career, whilst supporting the work of The Venture.
If you do have voluntary or paid experience doing any of the tasks listed in the job description above, even better. Let us know about this in your application.
We are particularly keen to hear from people local to Matson, Robinswood and White City.
All roles within Strike A Light and The Venture that undertake working with children, young people or vulnerable adults will need to complete a DBS check.
This post is funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund.
In February 2021, Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) invited 25 of the country’s leading heritage bodies and charities to a meeting to tell them “to defend our culture and history from the noisy minority of activists constantly trying to do Britain down”. Arm’s length bodies are being given specific policies from central government on how they should manage their collections and deal with ‘contested heritage’.
This is the latest in a series of similar messages from government departments, The Charity Commission and MPs which present equality work and anti-racist work as pandering to a dangerous “woke minority”.
We held an open meeting to see if our concern was shared and in just a few days over 600 people signed up to attend the meeting or be kept up to date.
What now?
This issue is much bigger than just the arts or heritage. We are convening a cross-sector, and beyond-sector conversation to share responses and discuss action. The event, In Solidarity, will bring together people from across the political spectrum, from the arts, heritage, academia, the charity sector and others.
Event organiser role
We are seeking a confident event organiser, producer or campaigner with excellent communication skills, to work with us to make this meeting happen.
We would love to hear from you if you have:
A good knowledge of the issues and current situation which make this meeting vital
An understanding of networking in, and ideally relevant contacts in, one or more of the sectors above
Strong writing and research skills
Organisational skills and attention to detail
Experience organising digital events e.g. on zoom
This is a freelance role with a fee of £750, to support the Strike A Light team to research and invite attendees and then coordinate the online event on the day. We anticipate this role taking 3-5 days of work, spread out over several weeks. Our intention is to host the meeting online in May/June 2021.
UPDATE Applications for this role have now closed. Thank you so much to everyone who applied.
We are looking for an experienced producer who believes in doing things differently. We’re looking for someone to join the Strike A Light team who knows the arts industry well but who wants to make change- who is interested in producing a programme of work that is co-created with artists and communities. Someone who doesn’t see community based work as second best or an add on, but who understands that it can be a way to make amazing creative things happen that are relevant to ethnically and culturally diverse audiences and participants.
About the role
Over the last year we have been working with national artists, local artists and communities in Gloucester, giving them time and support to see what they create. We have re-focused our 2021 programme to continue working this way so we will be programming artists instead of shows and engaging community leaders to work as producers in Gloucester estates. We’ll team up community producers with brilliant artists to deliver a co-created programme of projects and events. This role will support those involved and project produce the co-created programme. This will include:
Working alongside community producers to identify local and national artists they want to work with as part of the Gloucester Presents programme
Bringing together local and national artists and community members and supporting them as they develop their ideas
Mentoring the community producers and providing practical support with aspects of producing their projects
Being the link between the artists and communities and Strike A Light
You can find out more about the kind of projects and events that artists and communities have devised in Gloucester so far here.
Gloucester presents… She Spoke
Gloucester presents… Fashion Show
About you
Gloucester is an ethnically and culturally diverse city and we are working with several community leaders from Gloucester’s Caribbean and South Asian communities, and so we are particularly keen to hear from producers whose own heritage reflects the communities we are working with.
We would also love to hear from you if you:
Have solid experience producing shows and/or arts projects
Enjoy mentoring, supporting and facilitating others to develop their leadership skills
Combine being efficient and capable with creativity
Understand when things need to be done in a certain way (e.g. for safety reasons) and when it’s good to challenge the rules of how we produce events or projects
Are genuinely excited about working directly with communities and artists to make things happen
Are friendly, resourceful and open to ideas
Contract and fee
This is an initial freelance contract for a 1 year role but the projects will continue over at least 2 years and the contract will be updated to reflect the developing projects at the end of year 1. There is potential for this role to expand during the year or develop into a longer term post. Fee of £15,000 based on £150-£200 per day.
Days/ times of work can be agreed to suit you but you will need some flexibility to be able to respond to messages during busy periods, meet with community producers at times to reflect their commitments etc.
We expect the majority of the work will be completed remotely and so you don’t need to be local to Gloucester, but where restrictions allow, face to face work with communities in Gloucester will be required. Strike A Light can cover reasonable travel/ accommodation expenses for this.
Applications are now closed. We’re very excited to be working with 4 Creative Community Activists to create experiences for those in lockdown over the next couple of months. More updates coming soon!
Are you aged between 18-30 and based in Gloucester?
Are you an emerging artist with an interest in making a positive impact in your community?
Would you like to take part in a new, paid, short term scheme with training delivered by Strike A Light?
Do you have a creative idea that would support your community during Lockdown 3 with a particular focus on vulnerable people, that you’d like to be paid for to develop and deliver?
What is it?
Strike A Light would like to support 4 young emerging artists/creatives, based in Gloucester between February – March 2021 to develop and deliver a creative idea that offers support and hope to people who are isolated and vulnerable during this latest lockdown. We are particularly interested in creative ideas that are not just digital, we know that many people are tired of interacting online or simply don’t have the technology to allow them to do that.
Do you have an idea that we could support you to make a reality that will develop you as a creative community activist and bring some joy to others in your community?
It could be a letter writing scheme
Deliver a painting to your neighbour
A pavement concert
A dance in the street
What we really want are your ideas, they’ll probably be much better!!!
What we will offer:
A fee of £1920, based on £120 a day for 16 days through February and March.
A budget of up to £200 for materials/costs to deliver your idea
An artist mentor to support you with your idea and help make it a reality
Access to the wider Strike A Light team, helping you think about what being a community artist can do and be.
A project manager to support you through the process.
How do you apply?
Share your ideas with us. Please let us know:
What you want to do?
Who is it for?
What you need to make it happen?
How and when will it happen?
What positive outcome you hope it will make?
This can be a written proposal (no longer than 1000 words), or a video (no longer than 3 minutes). If this application process doesn’t work for you then please email events@strikealightfestival.org.uk to arrange an alternative.
Please send your ideas to us by Wednesday 27 January 2021.
We will let you know whether your idea has been successful by the 3 February and you will have February and March to deliver your project (ideally starting week beginning 8 February).
We particularly welcome applications from those from under-represented groups in the creative sector or those who have experienced racism or discrimination.
Please send your application via email to Hannah at events@strikealightfestival.org.uk with the subject line ‘Community Activist Application’.
Awesome people making this project happen! 🙏🎉
This opportunity is funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund.
Applications for Stage 1 have now closed. You can still read over the information on this page for reference but the deadline for expressions of interest has now passed. You can follow the rest of the process as it unfolds on our Updates page. Thanks for your interest!
Earlier this year we put a proposal out there– what happens if you employ an artist for a year, to just be an artist?
The pandemic has highlighted the inequalities and challenges that artists face. We don’t want to go ‘back to normal’ and so we’re proposing a different way of working.
What would happen or change if you were employed for a year? If you were trusted to lead your own creative work, and have paid time to think, have conversations and create if you want? If you could get off the project treadmill for a bit and explore what being an artist means in this COVID/ post-COVID world?
What is the offer?
One full time and one part time role, on a year long contract at £27,000 salary (pro rata for the part time role). The roles would be PAYE so would include paid holiday, sick pay, pension, Christmas party- all the benefits that someone normally employed through an organisation would have.
We would provide support as you shape your year of work but what you do in that year is up to you. It’s about your creative practice, what you want to explore and develop. There is no pressure to create specific projects or shows. It is not an artist in residence role – you don’t have to deliver on Strike A Light programmes or work to particular themes.
Start date in March/ April 2021 to be agreed with the artist.
Who is it for?
Artists who are excited about the possibility of developing their work in this brave new world, embrace change and would relish the chance to have a year to explore what works and what doesn’t
Artists who work in artforms that lend themselves well to a collaborative process, both in the creation and sharing
Artists who have an idea of who their work speaks to, is for or is created with. Artists who are interested in working with communities as part of their work. This can be communities of geography, interest or other common factors and how, when and why this engagement happens is decided by the artist.
Artists who want to base their work in Gloucester and/or Bristol. This does not mean that the artists cannot work elsewhere or work nationally over the year, but this opportunity is for artists who are excited about working in these places and want to focus their work there
Artists who work in a self-directed way, create their own projects and have a clear creative vision and practice. This vision and practice can still be developing but the artistic work of the year will be driven by the artist
Artists who have something to say, and particularly those who are under-heard and under-represented in the industry
Artists who are happy to share and articulate their experiences to support the research/ documentation aspect of the process. (We are sharing this idea as it develops with the wider industry)
Artists who want to use this year to build things which can support the sustainability of their career in future
Stage 2 will consist of online discussion workshops through which applicants can ask questions and get to know us better, followed by a written, video or audio application.
Those who are shortlisted from this will move on to Stage 3. They will be paid for their time to plan and attend a final workshop/ interview, which they can design to suit them, in order to share their work comfortably.
FAQs about the role
Where did this idea come from and who is involved?
This is a conversation, and something we want to develop with you. For the artists we appoint we will work together to create a job description so you are clear about how everything will work but ultimately it’s about your creative practice, what you want to explore and develop.
What do you want me to make?
There are no specific outcomes that have been decided. It’s a question- what happens if you employ an artist for a year? You don’t have to do a specific number of projects or shows and can choose when and how you create.
Who’s the artist working for? What is the role of the partner organisations?
Strike A Light will be employing the artist on a year long contract and we will be the main point of contact and support. You will not be delivering for us or for the partner organisations though. Your job is to be an artist – to think, plan, have conversations, and explore how to develop your work and create in the world in which we find ourselves.
The partner organisations have come together to make this happen because they want to try a different way of working. They want to understand what experiences the artist has over the year, what works for them and what doesn’t, how they make work (or don’t) in a COVID/ post-COVID world. This can then support organisations to think about how they work with artists, employ, commission, programme etc in future. This is NOT about the artist providing a solution for the organisations but IS about their experiences and ideas being listened to. If you want to meet with some or all of the partners during the year then that would be great because they can provide a network of support, contacts, opportunities etc but you are not reporting to them.
What does full time and part time mean?
Strike A Light have standard full time contracts of 37.5 hours and so would expect a full time contract to equate to 5 days per week of work and the part time contract to equate to 2.5 days per week of work. Like all Strike A Light staff you would not be expected to do timesheets. Our working relationships are based on trust, commitment and mutual respect. We don’t check up on staff or scrutinise their hours- we work to the best of our abilities and work flexibly to suit our needs (childcare, mental health, working styles etc). For these roles, as with the rest of the SAL team, your time is paid for whether that’s planning, thinking, meetings, creating or delivering. If you’ve had a busy week you take time back the next week. This is not about forcing creativity into a 9-5. If you’re in the zone at midnight on a Sunday no one is going to demand you’re sitting at a desk at 9am Monday. We will create the contract with the artists and it is not set in stone- we can definitely have conversations about how the contract works, amount of time, working patterns, structure etc.
In my stage 1 expression of interest, what are you looking for? We’ve asked about which of the Strike A Light principles you particularly connect to. You can choose one or more to write or talk about. This isn’t a test, there’s not a right answer. We want to see what interests or excites you about working in this way. The whole application process is designed to help us get to know you, your work and your values, and vice versa, to make sure we’re a good fit.
We are holding informal information sessions on Thursday 7 and Tuesday 12 Jan 2021. You’ll be able to ask questions and hear more about the opportunity.
If you need to talk about a different way of applying please contact us.
Do you give feedback? For the first stage expressions of interest we will provide general feedback about the applications which we’ll share on email. For stages 2 and 3 we will give individual feedback wherever requested.
The fantastic Can’t Sit Still are recruiting Gloucestershire based artist-facilitators who have experienced pregnancy and birth, to lead groups for new mother’s and babies as part of their new arts & wellbeing project Invisible Thread.
We are seeking professional, freelance artist-facilitators who have experienced pregnancy and birth, to lead a series of 6 weekly ‘walking for wellbeing’ groups for new mothers and babies up to 12 months old, as part of ‘Invisible Thread’, an arts and wellbeing project devised and led by Can’t Sit Still.
The groups accommodate up to 12 mothers and their babies and will take place outdoors, adhering to social distancing and current Government Guidelines. Facilitators will work in pairs to deliver these groups.
Invisible Thread is a development of our pilot 2019 project that demonstrably improved maternal wellbeing. Funded by Gloucestershire NHS, Bristol City Council, Arts Council England, Barnwood Trust, Strike A Light, Gloucestershire Libraries and Kingshill House, this 2021 project has developed in recognition of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of those experiencing pregnancy and birth during this time.
Who are we looking for?
We want to meet people with any professional artistic practice (including but not limited to visual arts, performance, music and writing) who are likely to be experienced participatory arts practitioners and who feel that they are able to create and hold a space for new mothers to come together through outdoor creative practice to enhance wellbeing.
We believe that innovation occurs through the interactions of people with diverse experiences, expertise and points of view (Collective Genius – Hill, Brandeau, Truelove and Linebeck, 2014). This is why it’s important to us to welcome all voices into the Can’t Sit Still family. With this in mind we are very interested in receiving applications from people whose lived experiences are currently under-represented in our team. This includes people who:
experience racism
have physical disabilities, impairments or differences
are neuro-divergent.
Due to possible Covid-19 restrictions, we can only consider applicants who have a permanent residence in Gloucestershire.
What you will deliver
We are recruiting facilitators who will work 1 day a week for 6 weeks in pairs. Facilitators will lead 2 groups in 2 different areas of Gloucestershire per day – either Matson and Moreton-in Marsh (team MM), or Dursley and Lydney (team DL).
Before the sessions begin all facilitators will attend a planning and development day with lead artists from Can’t Sit Still. During the day we will discuss the wider context of the Invisible Thread project and what we hope to achieve. Together, we will share practice and co-design the session delivery and evaluation framework.
There will also be a paid weekly online reflection session with the other facilitators and Can’t lead artists lasting for 1.5 hours.
Essential criteria:
Professional artistic practice (including but not limited to theatre, dance, music, circus, visual arts, writing).
Experience of participatory arts practice.
Lived experience of pregnancy and birth.
Availability for ALL wellbeing groups sessions. We have some flexibility around which days of the week your sessions will run, but all sessions must run on the same day each week.
Availability for planning and development on Friday 8th January.
Availability for weekly 1.5 hour online reflection session, likely to either take place in the evening or first thing on a Friday morning.
Use of a car: travel between locations will be paid by Can’t Sit Still.
Current DBS check.
Public liability insurance.
Willingness to work outside, whatever the weather!
Timeline:
Deadline for applications: 9am on Monday 7th December
Interviews: 16th-18th December
Offers made: Week commencing 21st December
Planning and development day: Week commencing 4th January. Please note – our aim is to host this day IN PERSON at a venue in Gloucestershire, but this will depend on current Covid-19 guidelines.
Weekly groups begin: week beginning 18th January 2021.
Weekly groups finish: week ending 26th February
Fee offered:
£150 per day for wellbeing groups x 6 = £900
£150 for January planning day
£50 per 1.5 hour reflection session x 6 = £300
How to apply
Please email contact@cantsitstill.net:
A brief video, audio or written application to share why you would like to contribute to Invisible Thread 2021 and to demonstrate your suitability for the role.
A CV of your relevant work OR link to your website.
Whether you are applying to be on team MM or DL, or if it doesn’t matter.
Covid-19 restrictions:
We are working closely with Gloucestershire NHS and Public Health England to ensure this work can go ahead. If there are any changes imposed on us by the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions we will work with our facilitators, group members and partners to adapt and re-schedule wherever possible.
What do we mean when we talk about ‘co-creation’? How does creating together enrich our projects and ideas?How can it be challenging?
Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) and Strike A Light invite you to explore these questions on Tuesday 8 December, 5-7pm, as part of an interactive discussion event.
Find out who is co-creating creative work in your area, hear from brilliant people who are working together to make positive social change, and join us as we start to build a network of allies and co-creators in the region.
What you can expect:
a warm welcome
a discussion about co-creation: what is it? What has worked and what hasn’t?
four artists and community members sharing their stories of co-creation
time to ask questions and share what you are working on
find out who else is co-creating in our region
space to explore next steps, might this be the start of a regional network of co-creators, what might that look like?
The event is free and we have some bursaries to support access & childcare.
This is a workshop for Women of Colour to consider and reflect on the tools of resilience needed in leadership.
Drawing from her experience in business and activism Kalkidan will guide the audience through common patterns of discrimination, micro aggression, and racism experienced by BIPOC Women in Business. What to look out for, who relevant parties are and how to navigate them. She will instruct listeners on tools that can help them realise their goals despite adverse environments they may be placed in. This will focus on raising finances and managing others. Crucially illustrating that leadership for WOC is often learning to navigate the biases of those in your network who may be gatekeeping your success.
You will be asked to structure your experiences into the framework of your goals in order to build meaningful strategies for your life.
This hour long session has been programmed as part of a series of activities to support women who might wish to apply to the Women Leaders South West programme. This new project aims to enable women to tackle the barriers they face in becoming leaders in the arts.
About this Event:
Date & Time: Tuesday 3rd November 6 – 7.00pm
Location: Zoom
What you will need:
– A wifi connection and access to the internet
– The Zoom app downloaded on your laptop/phone/device. You will be sent a Zoom link & password on the day of the workshop
Access:
BSL interpreters Rabira Dachi and Pettra St. Hilaire will provide BSL interpretation.
Kalkidan’s presentation will be fully captioned.
Please let us know if you have any other access needs to help you participate in this event.
About Kalkidan:
Kalkidan Legesse is a social entrepreneur and black woman. As an ethical fashion activist, she is working to make the industry truly sustainable and truly inclusive. Find out more about Kalkidan at kalkidanlegesse.com or on Instagram at @wowsancho.
