Applications are invited for an Arts and Humanities researcher to undertake an internship, supported by a stipend, to develop their digital skills. The internship seeks to develop skills in managing digital images within a research project – in particular, it will support the intern’s skills in identifying and bringing together digital images and associated data for inclusion in an image repository (to be made available via a website by the wider project team). The internship and image repository are linked to the research programme ‘Making Visible the Storeroom’.
Context: ‘Making Visible the Storeroom’
The research programme, ‘Making Visible the Storeroom’, is led by Dr Claire Wintle, University of Brighton, and Professor Rebecca Brown, Johns Hopkins University, interrogates the recent turn to ‘visible storage’ in museums and archives by asking 1) how practitioners, artists, and community groups have responded to collections stores, historically and more recently, and 2) how this knowledge of historic and contemporary barriers can support new approaches to accessible, sustainable and dynamic storage spaces. Many museums and archives are working to revolutionise public access to their storehouses, transforming them into sites of creativity and community engagement with heritage. This democratising process must be informed by a deep understanding of how these spaces have been perceived by those who work in cultural institutions, and by their diverse audiences and stakeholders over time. The repository of images will be designed to support that process.
Internship
During the internship, in consultation with the project team, the researcher will:
- Research, source and select images of museum and archive stores held by museums and archives themselves, and also those produced by artists, activists and community groups.
- Investigate copyright and other permissions and costs.
- Commission and collect digital versions of select material for inclusion in a database and website.
- Collect and process appropriate metadata for inclusion in the repository and website.
- Identify the metadata required and the best system for storing the collected information.
- Prepare this material for sharing with the wider project team to support the development of the image repository.
- Produce a short public blog sharing their work and detailing their experiences.
The internship requires 75 hours of work over 12 weeks (flexibly arranged) and will be supported with a stipend of £1,300. The intern will largely work from home with regular online meetings with project staff. There may be some short research trips to image repositories required, to be agreed with the project supervisor. The intern will be supervised by Dr Claire Wintle, Centre for Design History, University of Brighton.
The successful intern would be asked to participate in an optional evaluation reflecting on their placement and skills development in order to inform a potential future Centre for Digital Skills in Visual and Material Culture.
Requirements
It is expected that the criteria below regarding knowledge, qualifications and interest will be met by the successful candidate. It is essential they have:
- Good first degree, preferably at 1st or upper 2nd class level, in the Arts or Humanities
- Excellent written communication skills
- Excellent team working skills
- Interest in learning digital skills
- Interest in museum and heritage practice
It would be desirable they have:
- An MA in the Arts and Humanities (or working towards completion)
- Experience in museum and heritage research
To apply
The deadline for applications is by the end of Wednesday the 5th of April, 2023. Please send your CV and an expression of interest with evidence of how you meet the requirements for the internship to: c.wintle@brighton.ac.uk
Interviews will be held online on the 12th April, 2023.