Exhibition organiser

Closing date for applications: 17th November 2025 at 11.55pm

Salary: £36,900 to £40,850 including Inner London Weighting

Contract type: Full-time, fixed term 12 months

Help bring bold exhibitions to life that inspire audiences and celebrate art, architecture, fashion, photography, film, and more at the Barbican.

The Barbican’s Visual Arts team is looking for an exhibition organiser to work across its dynamic programme on a 12 month fixed term basis. This is a key role in our team that ensures coordination and logistical arrangements are in place for the Visual Arts programme.

Our visual arts programme embraces art, architecture, design, fashion, photography and film. Many of our exhibitions explore the interconnections between disciplines, periods and cultures, and aim to imagine the world in new ways. Designers, artists and architects are our collaborators in this process. The Curve gallery is one of the few galleries in London devoted to the commissioning of new work and allows audiences to experience it for free. In 2023 we launched an ambitious programme of public art across the Barbican’s spaces that allows artists to directly engage with the architecture and public spaces of this modernist icon.

The exhibition organiser reports to the senior manager and works with the whole Visual Arts team, to ensure the highest standard of practice in relation to the care of exhibits, our work with artists, coordination and logistical arrangements for our exhibitions and commissions in London and at partner venues internationally.

• You’ll have excellent communication, administrative and organisation skills, with the ability to work well under pressure both independently and as part of a dynamic and supportive team.
• You’ll bring proven experience of the art world, in particular exhibition delivery and registrarial work along with previous experience of working on artist commissions.
• You’ll be working across multiple projects so will need to demonstrate relevant practical experience.

Responsibilities

Exhibitions and events

• Support the coordination of exhibitions and liaise with lenders, transport and insurance agencies and others as required, maintaining excellent relations throughout
• Work with the curatorial and production teams to organise exhibition and commissions logistics and ensure procedural compliance, best practice, and cost efficiency for exhibitions at Barbican and partner venues
• Work within all registrarial and exhibition organisation procedures and industry best practice, and support the senior manager to ensure systems and procedures are fit for purpose
• Draft schedules and coordinate the logistical coordination for the planning, installation and take down of exhibitions and commissions at the Barbican
• Coordinate all preparations for the installation and take down of exhibitions and commissions including liaising with couriers/ lenders to confirm transport and travel arrangements
• Collate and maintain exhibition data to support indemnity and insurance applications, transport, display and security requirements, working in liaison with Arts Council England, Corporation of London insurance team, transport agents, lenders, Curatorial and Production teams as necessary
• Work directly with partner venues and to manage specific partnership projects, in close communication with the senior manager and project curator
• Assist in the preparation of contracts with other institutions / individuals as necessary
• Carry out loan administration and the condition checking of works, liaising with museum/gallery couriers as necessary

Administration

• Work within set budgets, prepare requisition orders and invoices, maximise income to the Centre, as directed by the senior manager
• Update and maintain systems for filing and archiving
• Undertake administrative and other duties as required

Knowledge, skills & experience

• Degree qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience in a humanities subject, with a demonstrable interest in and knowledge of the visual arts
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to multi-task
• Results-oriented, fast and effective working style
• Excellent word processing skills (familiarity with Microsoft Office, including Word, Outlook, Excel)
• Ability to work to tight deadlines and maintain a calm, ordered approach
• Diplomacy, flexibility, ability to get on well with people and have a
  professional attitude; the ability to work independently and in a team, customer focus
• Willingness and ability to travel
• Demonstrable knowledge of best practice in the organisation of loans and exhibitions in a major and/ or public gallery or museum
• Demonstrable experience of supporting the organisation and coordination of transport and insurance for international loan-based exhibitions
• Demonstrable experience of working with couriers, condition checking and an understanding of care of artworks and artefacts
• Demonstrable experience of working with artists on commissions
• Excellent administration skills and a sound knowledge of exhibition
  coordination and registrarial work
• Experience of working within budgets

For further information please see the full job description and person specification via the 'Apply' button.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.