CCA is proud to be announced as one of the eight organisations hosting the upcoming Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator programme.

Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator is a new pilot scheme to support curatorial and leadership development for UK-based visual arts curators from low socio-economic backgrounds. Through a 12-month cohort-based learning and mentoring programme, curators will develop new networks, skills and knowledge to enable them to lead and impact the future of the visual arts sector.

There is a dearth of specific research into socio-economic backgrounds of curators, but what there is suggests the level of diversity of UK-based curators is very low: only 21% of museums and gallery staff are from low socio-economic backgrounds and there is a lack of ethnic diversity, disabled and women in senior leadership roles across the visual arts sector.* This programme responds to the need to address this, acknowledging the role of curators as ‘gate keepers’ to the diversity and breadth of art that is programmed and visible publicly.

Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator is focused around eight two-day residential training and networking intensives taking place in different locations across the UK. Each one is built around a host arts organisation who will support wider engagement with artists, curators, art leaders and arts organisations locally. Across the 12-months this is complemented by an online programme of workshops and talks co-created with the Accelerator Fellows, alongside individual mentoring.

The host organisations are:

~ Centre for Contemporary Art, Derry~Londonderry

~ Dundee Contemporary Arts

~ Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

~ Peak Cymru

~ Somerset House

~ Turner Contemporary

~ Yorkshire Sculpture International

The host organisations have been appointed to offer the fellows access to a wide breadth of approaches to curatorial practice and place, as well as organisations of different scales, type, and location.

Each host organisation will be supported to create a two-day programme of engagement for the Fellows, to introduce them to their work, networks, and communities. Hosts will also develop a network of organisations across the UK, committed to increased diversity in curatorial practice who will share research, knowledge, and ideas, to continue improving access to curatorial roles.

The programme will support ten early-career curators from low socio-economic backgrounds who have overcome barriers already to be working in the arts. There is no educational eligibility requirement, and we encourage both those with an independent or institutional employed curatorial practice as their main role, or those who curate as part of a second or freelance role they support by other employment. Accelerator Fellows will be selected by a focused open call via Jerwood Arts and host organisations networks launching in Spring 2022. Keep an eye on CCA's Opportunities page and social media for details.

Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator is funded by Arts Council England and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation with support from Art Fund. It is part of Arts Council England’s Transforming Leadership Programme, through which Jerwood Arts is also delivering the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme and Alumni Fund 2020-22.

Read the press release from Jerwood Arts here.

*Source: Brook, O., O’Brien, D. and Taylor, M. (2018) Panic: Social class, taste and inequality in the creative industries.