Call for Applications: Steering Group Members
Key Information
Role: Steering Group Member, Contemporary Visual Arts Network West Midlands (CVAN WM)
Reports to: CVAN WM Co-Chairs
Location: Quarterly meetings are hybrid, taking place online and at locations across the region.
Fee & Expenses: Voluntary role. Travel expenses included. Sponsored Steering Group members receive £200 per quarter, to attend 4 meetings each financial year.
Key Dates
Deadline: Sunday 22 June 2025, 11pm
Responses: Tuesday 1 July 2025, 5pm
Start date: First Steering Group meeting will take place in late July
Term: 1 July 2025 - 31 March 2028
The Contemporary Visual Arts Network West Midlands (CVAN WM) is entering an exciting new phase—and we’re looking for passionate individuals to help shape its future. We are now inviting applications to join our Steering Group and play a vital role in advocating for, supporting, and developing the visual arts across the West Midlands.
About the Opportunity
CVAN WM is seeking eight new Steering Group members to work alongside Co-Chairs Heather Peak and John Bloomfield, and Director Colette Griffin. Following a region-wide consultation and a four-year hibernation, the network is relaunching with renewed purpose as a sector support body.
The Steering Group will represent a diverse mix of voices from across the region’s visual arts ecology, including freelance artists and arts workers, artist-led and NPO organisations, and strategic bodies. Members will act as advisors, champions and collaborators—helping shape strategy and advocate for the needs of artists, arts workers and organisations.
This is a voluntary role, but CVAN WM offers sponsored membership (£200 per quarter) for unwaged or freelance members to support meeting attendance and participation. Travel expenses will be reimbursed for all members.
Who Should Apply?
We welcome applications from anyone living or professionally active in the West Midlands (Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire) who is passionate about visual arts and sector growth.
Informed by extensive regional consultation, we’re seeking members to represent the following roles:
- 1 x Mid-Career Visual Artist (Sponsored)
- 1 x Early-Career Visual Artist (Sponsored)
- 1 x Disabled, D/Deaf or Neurodivergent Visual Artist (Sponsorship & access support available via DASH)
- 1 x Curator/Producer/Facilitator (Freelance) (Sponsored)
- 2 x Arts Workers from Small/Artist-Led Organisations
- 1 x Arts Worker from a Large/NPO Organisation
- 1 x Arts Worker Representing a Strategic Body, Network or Organisation
You may connect with more than one category—please indicate all relevant professional representations in your application.
What’s Involved?
As a Steering Group Member, you will:
- Attend quarterly hybrid meetings
- Support CVAN WM’s strategic planning and advocacy
- Represent the network within your community and professional circles
- Contribute to governance and the annual review of our Terms of Reference
- Access 1-to-1 mentoring and professional development support
There is no personal liability associated with this role, and members do not bear financial or legal responsibility.
Why Join?
This is a unique opportunity to be at the heart of regional sector development—bringing your voice to a table that’s shaping the future of visual arts in the West Midlands. You’ll join a supportive network committed to equity, representation, and artist-centred practice.
We actively encourage applications from artists and arts workers who are Disabled, D/Deaf, Neurodivergent, global majority, working-class, or facing intersecting barriers within the cultural sector.
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted in written, audio or video formats and should include:
- Please express which professional representation is relevant to your application.
- A CV (max 2 pages in any format)
- A statement (max 500 words or 2 minutes) telling us:
- Why you want to join the CVAN WM Steering Group
- How you meet the person specification
- What the West Midlands visual arts sector means to you
- A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
- Email subject line: CVAN WM Steering Group_ [Your Name]
- Submit to: info@cvanwestmidlands.co.uk by Sunday 22 June 2025, 11pm