Paid Work Experience Placement (Exhibitions)

This placement at Dundee Contemporary Arts offers a comprehensive overview of the Exhibitions team’s work, providing valuable insight into research, curation, programming, exhibition planning and production, artist liaison, and administrative processes.

You will have the opportunity to explore the rich history of artists, curators, and programmers who have contributed to the organisation’s gallery programme. This legacy is documented through a wide range of materials, including photographic records, posters, and paper-based archives.

The Exhibitions team is currently undertaking an ongoing project to digitise and catalogue these materials, improving accessibility and developing a valuable resource for researchers, artists, curators, and the wider public.

In addition to assisting key team members across all aspects of the exhibitions programme, you will undertake a focused project contributing to wider digitisation and cataloguing initiatives related to the organisation’s exhibition history. This will involve working with a variety of archival materials, including slides, transparencies, posters, and digital files; helping to preserve and enhance access to an important cultural record.

This is an ideal opportunity for those with an interest in exhibition histories, archives, digitisation, and cataloguing. This placement offers the chance to engage with over 25 years of exhibition-making in Dundee while developing valuable professional skills in a dynamic arts environment.

DCA is committed to collaboration, inclusion and equity, and acknowledges the under-representation in the arts and cultural sector of people who are Black, Brown, Asian, dual-heritage, or from racialised ’ethnic minority’ backgrounds. This placement is offered as a positive action measure under Section 158 of the Equality Act 2010. It is designed to help address the underrepresentation of people from global majority backgrounds in the arts and cultural sector.

Under Section 158 of the Equality Act 2010, applications for this placement will only be accepted from anyone from a global majority background.

We acknowledge intersectional backgrounds and identities and strongly encourage applications from those who also identify as disabled, LGBTQIA+ and/or those from working class or lower socio-economic backgrounds.

The placement is for 16 days in total, over an agreed period of time with the expectation that you will work at least one day a week, although in some cases, two days a week will be possible over a shorter timescale.

Proposed dates can be consecutive days or split over several visits - we will work with the selected applicant to create a flexible schedule based on their needs and the requirements of each programme area.

If you interested in this opportunity, then we would love to hear from you.

Please send us a letter or video explaining why you are interested in this placement.

We are particularly interested in hearing about why it would be helpful for you and your practice or career plans. We are not asking for formal CVs but it might be helpful to the people reading your letter to explain how your work, volunteering, studying or life experiences to date reflect your interests and learning, as well as a summary of your future plans.

We would love to hear from you in your own words to get a sense of you and what you hope to get from a placement. The letter should not be longer than 2 A4 sides (though writing less is completely fine) and a video should not last longer than 5 minutes. You will also need to complete an application form and an equalities monitoring form, which are not shared with the shortlisting panel - download these below.

Deadline for completed applications is 12 noon, Tue 14 July 2026.

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 27 July 2026. The questions will be circulated in advance of the interview.

The successful applicant will be required to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK before starting the placement.

If you require this advert or application form in an alternative format please email dca.recruitment@dca.org.uk or call Box Office at 01382 213 610 and they will direct your call to the appropriate person.

DCA is supported by Dundee City Council and Creative Scotland

DCA is committed to addressing the inequality that prevents equal access to opportunities in the arts and will be implementing a policy of positive action when selecting candidates. We encourage applications from those who are underrepresented in the arts and cultural sectors and who face barriers to access.