Disconsortia is a disabled artist led collective based in the North East of England and is seeking a Project Manager for a freelance fixed term contract for 3 months Feb-May 2021. We are delighted to have been awarded Arts Council England funding and to be starting the next exciting phase of our development.

The Project Manager will be an experienced, proactive and organised disabled arts manager, taking on the lead role in delivering our Towards a Takeover project. You will be a dynamic, self-starter with excellent communication skills, with a minimum of three years senior project management experience. Your skills and experience will enable you to enter the role and swiftly put a multi-strand project plan in place, working closely with the board of directors and core membership of the collective. You will deliver the project to a timely schedule and on budget.

Disconsortia is a key voice in the arts in the North East, contributing to regional and national dialogue on disability arts. Towards A Takeover will be entirely online and includes: a consultation phase as we plan a regional artistic takeover with key partners; 2 networking meetings for North East disabled artists; a profile-raising postcard art project; a series of mini-micro commissions for our core membership to be shared online; report writing; and co-ordination of disability equality masterclasses and training the trainers workshops, delivered by a freelance practitioner. Support and supervision will be available from the Board of Directors.
 
Disconsortia is a disabled-led organisation, passionate about disabled peoples’ position in society, art and culture. Experience and knowledge of this area of work is essential. We are seeking to appoint a disabled person to the role and welcome applications from all intersectional communities.
 
Reporting to: Board of Directors

Term: 3 months freelance – 30 days (210 hours)

Place of work: All work on this project will be online

Freelance Fee:  £5,400.00 (30 x 7hr days at £180 per day) - Project Manager Responsible for own tax and NI

Deadline:  Strictly Midday on 4 February (we cannot accept applications after this deadline)

Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in the afternoon of 10 February (no other interview date is available due to availability of the panel)

Please note: The successful candidate must be able to commence the role in February and have their Access to Work in place, if required. 
However, if this is not the case please do get in touch to discuss this further. Email disconsortia@gmail.com

How To Apply: You will need to down load a Project Manager Application Pack and complete an a Project Manager Application Form and Equality Monitoring Form (all below) and email them to us by the deadline. There is information on how to submit applications in alternative accessible formats in the pack. Contact us with any questions disconsortia@gmail.com

Project Manager Application Pack
Project Manager Application Form
Equality Monitoring Form

A group of 17 North East based professional disabled artists are presenting a highly unique exhibition online with a private view on 8 October 6.30-7.30pm. You’re invited to bring drinks and nibbles from the home bar and to tune in via zoom to hear more about Disconsortia – the name of the collective – their work and their big, big plans!

The artists got together almost a year ago to explore how they could improve opportunities to share their work, which is in a range of artforms including comedy, visual art, animation, projections, sculpture, theatre and film, and to reduce the barriers they experience in the arts world.

The group have held a number of real world events including a conference, a cabaret night and a few artist led discussions and workshops, before the pandemic hit which obviously changed everything.

Disconsortia put a strong bid together and were fortunate to receive Arts Coucil England Emergency funding, which meant that the artists could still keep working together, and in fact, make themselves a stronger unit.

“The pandemic has presented us with many challenges, but as a group of people with natural resilience and innovation, we’ve found ways to continue to develop our work, to support each other, to create these commissions and to plan ahead for our next big venture – an artistic takeover across the North East with a variety of arts sector partners”, the group said.

Disabled people have experienced many barriers to full involvement in our communities and in the arts, a space to share ideas about humanity, and so we were already thinking about the mythical decision making tables of power we rarely get invited to. We decided to take matters into our own hands and make a table from which we can share our voices, experiences and a rich vein of stories.

The group said, “At The Table is a bridging point – we’re telling you who we are, in all our diversity, at this point in time, and that the future must be different. It’s just not acceptable to leave 25% of the population out of the picture, out of the story, and out of our national culture”.
So we’ve got a lovely event planned to share work that covers a sex-positive podcast, food parcels, an animation for Deaf children and families, a film about a sketchbook, an empty page, a piece of work refusing to be an ‘outcome’, getting shirty with tee shirt art, dignity defying comedy and so very much more.

You can meet some of the artists and hear them chat about their work and about Disconsortia. And we’ll also be revealing how more disabled artists from the region can get involved. All are welcome, it’s free but booking is essential and you can do that here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/123035298891 tickets are limited so don’t delay.

You can get more information about the work on show here. https://www.disconsortia.co.uk/at-the-table-announcement.html

And we’ll be sharing more info with ticket holders nearer the time.

You can contact us at littlecog@rocketmail.com