Call for applications: National Arts Festival artistic director

The ideal candidate should have a strong vision for the place of the arts in evolving society and the enthusiasm to take the NAF in an exciting new direction.

Application

Interested individuals should send a current CV, outlining their formal qualifications and experience and with three contactable references. Applicants should send a cover letter of no more than three typed pages, outlining what they believe they will bring to the role and articulating their artistic vision for the festival.

Applications need to be sent to: ADvacancy@nationalartsfestival.co.za by no later than 4pm on 24 June.

“The artistic director will guide and shape NAF’s artistic programme, with overall responsibility for the formulation and implementation of the festival’s artistic vision across the Curated Main, Selected Main, Arena and Fringe festivals, as well as to input into our other year-round projects and festivals,” the NAF said.

Key responsibilities:

• Chair NAF’s artistic committee
• Constitute the committee by identifying and contracting curators across all genres
• Oversee the process of developing the curated programme, in collaboration with specialist genre-curators, and sign off on all final selections
• Brief the artistic committee on available budget, technical and venue resources and ensure that choices are aligned with those resources
• Oversee the process of programme selections that enhance the overall offering of the festival
• Lead the process of selection from proposal stage through to contracting and implementation

Skills and experience

The candidate must:

• Have existing relationships with international festivals, embassies, funders and arts institutions
• Be exceptionally well networked in the South African arts industry and have relationships with key institutions in the arts sector as well as with independent producers, companies and artists
• Have a proven track record of curation and/or artistic direction, can lead a team towards realising a clearly articulated vision
• Have a vision for the role that NAF plays in the South African and African arts landscape
• Have a proven track record of curation and/or artistic direction, and lead a team towards realising a clearly articulated vision
• Be well versed in at least two artistic disciplines
• Be able to translate concept and vision into programming
• Understand the relationship between audiences and art works
• Have been actively involved in issues of redress and transformation in the South African context
• Have occupied a senior artistic management position in a recognised institution for at least five years

Personal attributes

The artistic director needs to:

• Be a self-starter, able to work independently without direct day-to-day supervision
• Be focused on getting the job done effectively and efficiently
• Be curious and knowledgeable about artistic trends in the country, on the African continent and globally
• Be able to manage large budgets and take accountability for expenditure
• Work under pressure and tight deadlines
• Be a strong communicator and highly consultative in style
• Work as part of a diverse and energetic team
• Demonstrate resourcefulness and creativity in working within financial constraints
• Contribute to the festival’s fundraising activities through the identification of partnership opportunities

Job specifics:

The artistic director role is a part-time position. The current expectation is that the incumbent would be expected to commit a total of 80 hours (ten days) a month to the role. An additional 50 days a year would form part of the contract.

The incumbent may reside in either Johannesburg, Cape Town or Makhanda (Grahamstown), but would need to commit to working from Makhanda for four-six weeks in May and June each year.