Trustee - Crescent Arts

We are looking for two / three new Trustees, who can bring skills, knowledge and experience in the following areas: Finance; Legal; IT/ Digital; Business Growth; Communications / PR; work with children and young people; climate justice.

Who we are

Crescent Arts was founded in 1979, by and for visual artists in Scarborough, to support professional development of practitioners and public engagement with contemporary visual art. At the start of 2020, we undertook a comprehensive organisational review, leading to a new vision, mission and statement of values, informing new initiatives shaped by working in a more community focused and nimble way, responsive to nurturing creative artistic talent, and supporting critical conversation and work.

The role

We are also looking for two / three new Trustees, people who enjoy working as part of a supportive but rigorous team, who are passionate about the arts and the power they have to change lives.

Ideally you will know our work and the contemporary visual arts sector that Crescent Arts is part of. However, if you have not seen the work and are interested in using your skills and experience to support the arts, we are keen to hear from you. We are welcoming of new voices who feel they can constructively challenge us and the way we work, and we are keen to find people who may not have considered becoming a Trustee before.

We believe that Crescent Arts will be a stronger company with the support of Trustees who value and embody difference, diversity of background and lived experience. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background. We acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in the arts, and we are committed to doing what we can to address this.

We are particularly keen to receive applications from those who identify as global ethnic majority, d/Deaf or disabled (including ‘invisible’ disabilities or neurodiversity such as autism and dyslexia), as being LGTBQ+, and people who identify as working class now or in the past. As part of our aim to support emerging practitioners and arts workers to develop experience and skills, we encourage younger individuals to apply to become a Trustee. We can provide mentoring to develop your experience of governance.

Crescent Arts is based in Scarborough, and an important focus of the organisation’s work is engaging with communities in the Borough. Crescent Arts is also committed to developing work and relationships regionally, in the North, nationally and internationally. The increasing adoption and availability of technologies that support remote working, make it possible to welcome interest from prospective Trustees who may not have a local, physical base, but who are interested in supporting the work of the organisation.

As a Trustee of Crescent Arts, you will use your experience to help it achieve its full potential as a key, strategic contemporary visual arts orgnisation in North Yorkshire, within the context of Arts Council England’s (ACE) Let’s Create strategic framework.

This involves:
• Ensuring good governance and management to sustain the organisation’s financial stability and statutory compliance.
• Using your experience and knowledge to contribute to discussions and decision-making on relevant issues.
• Developing strategic plans and policies. – Meeting our obligations as an ACE National Portfolio Organisation (NPO).
• Supporting the organisation’s fundraising campaigns as appropriate.

The Trustees meet four times a year, usually during the evening on weekdays. Once a year we hold an in-person staff/Trustees Away Day for everyone to get together to address a training need, delve deeper into aspects of the organisation’s future plans, and chat informally. Trustee meeting papers are sent out approximately a week in advance. From April 2023, we will be monitoring our progress against targets set out in our NPO funding agreement.