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Jobs & Opportunities
Creative Opportunities
We are looking to connect with artists from a range of art forms to work alongside, young people, teachers and students across our Culture Start programme.
We want to meet artists of all art forms from beatboxers, dancers, poets, illustrators, theatre makers, composers, singers, circus artists, designers and the list goes on!
We are looking to expand our pool of artists working on this project for taster sessions and longer-term projects.
We are inviting selected artists to find out about the project and to run a short (5-8 min) activity that would demonstrate a typical example of your practice on Wednesday 6th May, 4:30pm-7:30pm at Arts Centre Washington.
Invited artists will be given refreshments and a fee of £60 to attend the event. Due to capacity, we will be inviting selected artists who have submitted an application form to attend the session.
What is Culture Start?
Culture Start is a citywide programme. It aims to provide better access to cultural and creative opportunities for children and young people from low-income families in Sunderland. This will improve life changes and choices for children and young people. Furthermore, this will help to reduce the long-term impact of poverty.
We are looking for artists who:
- Are North East based
- Have experience working with young people
- Hold a current DBS check (Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service) and Public Liability Insurance (PLI)
- Are flexible and responsive while responding to a creative brief with deadlines
- Thoughtful, reflective, and responsive to information/experiences shared by young people
- Are passionate about working with children and young people
We are looking for artists to work across our programme which includes four main strands:
- Schools and Communities: Working across schools, colleges, youth and community settings to deliver creative projects and workshops.
- Under 12 Programme: Deliver a series of after-school clubs and creative sessions during school holidays.
- Young Peoples Programme: Delivery regular creative groups and support young people connecting with creative industries via our Future Creatives community.
- Supporting the Cultural Sector: Supporting cultural organisations and venues to be more accessible to children, young people and families.
We are seeking to commission an artist to work with young people and the project teams to collaboratively design and install a mural on an outdoor sturcture/s at Rainton Meadows as part of the Green Spaces, Shared Places project.
The Green Spaces, Shared Places team are in the process of developing a co-produced touring exhibition with young people from Sunderland. This will be the first of two touring exhibitions being developed by the Green Spaces, Shared Places network during the programme period from 2025 – 2030.
In anticipation of Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens being closed in Spring 2027 for a redevelopment project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Tour will be based at Durham Wildlife Trust’s headquarters Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve and will involve working with young people and communities from the Coalfields area of the city.
This mural commission is focused around the Rainton Meadows Nature Park strand of the project. The artist will work with the Rainton Meadows Conservation Rangers (14–18-year-olds), the Durham Wildlife Trust team, the Rainton community and the Green Spaces, Shared Places team to collaboratively design and install a mural on an outdoor structure or structures at Rainton Meadows.
At a glance
Contract: Freelance
Fee: £3000 (including travel and VAT)
Location: Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve
Timeline: 7 April – 30 May 2026
Deadline: 26 March 2026
Sunderland Culture’s Creative Work Experience programme is back and open for applications.
Young people aged 15-18 and interested in pursuing a career in the arts sector are invited to apply.
Our work experience programme provides an innovative insight into the cultural world with a full programme of activities that will enable you to develop your skills, build confidence and learn more about the variety of career opportunities available in the arts sector.
Placements dates:
Spring – Tuesday 14 – Friday 17 April
Summer – Tuesday 14 – Friday 17 July
Application deadlines:
Spring – 27 February
Summer – 29 May
Vacancies
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