Jobs

KANAL is looking for an artistic director (M/F/X)

As part of its regional interest mission, the KANAL Foundation is looking for an Artistic Director who is expected to start at the latest in September 2021 for a term of 6 years (renewable once for a period of 3 years, that is a maximum of 9 years).

The KANAL Foundation

The Foundation, as part of a structural partnership of 10 years with the Centre Pompidou (2017–2027), is pursuing an artistic goal whose principal objective is to create a place of art and cross-disciplinary culture and exchange open to all in the former Citroën garage at the Place de l’Yser to honour contemporary Brussels design and reinforce the cultural appeal of the capital.

Supported by the Brussels-Capital Region, this ambitious project aims at providing Brussels with a 21^st-century museum dedicated to modern art and multidisciplinary contemporary design (plastic arts, visual arts and performing arts) and the rich collections of architecture and urbanism of the CIVA Foundation. It will likewise house numerous multi-purpose public spaces as well as functional spaces among others dedicated to the neighbourhood. It is, therefore, the same museum concept that KANAL is aiming to reinvent.

The Foundation aims to promote and disseminate all forms of artistic design without exclusion and the greatest possible number of every study, research or project aiming at a better understanding of contemporary art.

The KANAL Foundation, the administrator of this future museum that will open its doors in the first half of 2024, will, in the meantime, pursue its artistic and societal experiments in a resolutely multidisciplinary approach, in the style of “Kanal brut” and “It never ends”.

Your tasks

The Artistic Director’s task is to lead the employees of the departments in charge of:

• The cross-disciplinary programming of exhibitions, performances and shows;
• The production of exhibitions, performances and shows and museographical management;
• The constitution and conservation of KANAL Foundation’s collections of works as well as the management of the archives and research projects;
• The editing of scientific and artistic publications (exhibition catalogues, monographs, etc.) as well as educational publications (visitors’ guides, educational tools, etc.);
• The audience development strategy in close collaboration with the Assistant Artistic Director in charge of this task.

Your responsibilities

As the Artistic Director, you are responsible for the multidisciplinary artistic project. You will carry out these various tasks autonomously in collaboration with the Managing Director and under the supervision of the Board of Directors. You are a member of the Board of Management. Your main responsibilities will be to:

• Define the artistic identity of the KANAL Foundation by drawing lessons from different experiments carried out since 2018;
• Harmoniously develop the partnership with the Centre Pompidou;
• Plan, organise, coordinate, monitor and update the work of the different departments under your authority to ensure effective and efficient task execution;
• Use and share expertise and experience to operate in the best possible way in the tracking of strategic files for the Foundation’s work and ensure the right information in the structure;
• Stimulate, monitor and improve the quality of work and results to best respond to the needs of the institution and its partners;
• Manage and motivate the collaborators to encourage them to achieve the optimal performance, engagement and development;

• Oversee the staff of the artistic department (employees, external providers, temps, students, interns) so that they can evolve individually and as a team and make the best contribution to achieve the defined goals;
• Stimulate initiative, with a focus on results, innovation and corporate culture to increase performance and efficiency in the implementation of the Communities and Partnerships department of the Foundation;
• Determine the annual budgets (order and invoice management, tracking of financial monitoring tools, setting up of statistical monitoring tools);
• Collaborate on the establishment of all administrative and legal documents: contracts, agreements, orders, purchase order commitments, etc.

Your profile

Your experience will allow the KANAL-Centre Pompidou to shine in Brussels and internationally. To do this, you have the following qualities:

• You have a university Masters degree or equivalent experience in the field of contemporary design, modern and contemporary art and multidisciplinary design;
• You have a minimum of 10 years’ professional experience as a leader in the museum/artistic/cultural sector with a minimum of 6 years’ experience in a programming and implementing role for a modern/contemporary and multidisciplinary artistic programme;
• You have a clear and convincing vision of the scientific, cultural and artistic development of KANAL-Centre Pompidou and are capable of presenting a diverse multidisciplinary cultural programme dealing with the entire scope of contemporary artistic design;

• Your vision and cultural outreach maintains a balance between a programme simultaneously accessible to the general public (as well as to school groups) and original/innovative for specialised audiences;
• You can ensure the financial stability of the projects and use the available budgets in autonomously and appropriately;
• You have a good knowledge of the cultural, artistic and museum sector in Belgium and globally in the field of contemporary design;
• You have a sense of leadership and responsibility;
• You possess good communication and analysis skills, allowing you to devise a cross-disciplinary programme in line with societal evolution;
• You prioritise the exchange of ideas and putting your vision in perspective when making decisions;
• You encourage innovation and a sense of initiative so that our services continue to grow and improve;
• You are flexible with respect to a new and changing environment;
• You have an excellent command (oral and written) of French and/or Dutch, and a good knowledge of English is a very important asset;
• You work rigorously and methodically and have practical common sense.

What we offer

• An open-ended, full-time contract in the form of a mandate (6 years, renewable once for a period of 3 years);
• A team of motivated professionals to help you accomplish your mission;
• Start date in September 2021;
• A salary and benefits commensurate to your responsibilities and experience;
• The opportunity to contribute to the development of a unique museum project in the heart of the Belgian and the European capital!

Recruitment procedure

• Send a full CV, a cover letter as well as a note of a maximum of 10 pages detailing your project for KANAL-Centre Pompidou to the attention of Jean-François LECONTE, Secretary-General. That is:
  • By post to: KANAL Foundation, Square Sainctelette, 11-12 à 1000 Brussels (marked “personal and confidential”);
  • By email to jobs@kanal.brussels (your email should state "Application for the role of artistic director at KANAL" in the subject line).
• Deadline for application: midnight on 15 February 2021;
• The selection board will consist of 4 members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, one representative from CIVA, one representative from the Centre Pompidou and 4 external experts;
• By the end of March 2021, this board will make a shortlist of selected candidates for an in-depth interview that will take place at the beginning of June 2021. In the process, the KANAL Foundation will (confidentially) provide you with documents relevant to the operation and commitments of the Foundation, if required. The candidates that are pre-selected will also be able, at their choice, to develop their artistic project/vision by submitting the documents that they deem necessary to the board.

For more information about this offer, please email Yves GOLDSTEIN, Director of the KANAL Foundation (ygoldstein@kanal.brussels).

Each application will be treated with the necessary due discretion, and the KANAL Foundation commits to diversity while guaranteeing equal opportunity, processing and access in its choices for all candidates.

Vacature Stage Cooerdinatie Vrijwilligerspool

Stagiaire Benevoles Nocturnes Fr

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