ARTFUL ARCHIVIST

About the Role

The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts is an inspirational centre of training excellence and innovation for contemporary dance, music, and acting. Vibrant and diverse, we are the only centre offering courses that incorporate all performing arts genres, including classes dedicated to Indigenous cultural fusion.

We’re funded by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and the Department of Education and Training. We also rely on philanthropic and volunteer assistance to keep the fees for attaining our nationally accredited courses as affordable as possible, especially now that VET Student Loans are no longer offered for arts training.

At the end of 2016, we moved into our new studios at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. This new milestone in our proud history (the first classes were held in 1998), prompted us to think about how we conserve our records and artefacts.

We need your expertise in archiving and information management to ensure we pay proper respect to our heritage and make it accessible when needed for our students, staff, and other stakeholders.

Initially, we’d like you to assess the job so together we can work on an achievable, realistic plan. We estimate the job to take a few days a week for a couple of months but with your expert eye you may suggest a different time frame.

Working with us to collate and conserve our heritage will give you enormous satisfaction, from knowing you are enriching the learning experience for young people pursuing their dreams of a self-determined future in the arts.

Your knowledge about contemporary Australian performing arts will expand as you learn more about the contribution ACPA makes to our national culture, arts exports, and the economic benefits of preparing young performers for continuous employment.

We are a very community-spirited organisation that values loyalty and commitment. As a member of our support crew, you’ll be invited to special occasions such as graduations and showcases to see how your efforts are making a difference.

Duties and responsibilities

• Assess the value of all records (documents, letters, photographs, audio recordings, videos, etc.)
• Recommend (and where possible establish) appropriate storage and retrieval systems for different types of records in line with Queensland Government Archival conventions
• Recommend (and where possible establish) appropriate de-accessioning procedures for items not considered to be of archival/conservation value

Key competencies

• Ability to recognise the potential provenance and value of historical records and artefacts
• Excellent organisational proficiency – especially with creating systems for less proficient people to operate
• Operate autonomously within the organisational structure of ACPA.

Desirable competencies

• Knowledge of the performing arts sector
• Familiarity with Indigenous cultures