Job Title: Curator, Live Programmes
Department: Programmes Team
Main Job Purpose: To lead the development, programming and delivery of Serpentine’s cross-disciplinary Live Programme.
Salary: £45,000 per annum
Reports to: Director of Programmes and Chief Curator
Liaises with: All levels of contact, internal and external
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced interdisciplinary Curator to initiate, develop, and produce a dynamic Live programme that extends and activates the gallery’s exhibitions and curatorial vision. This role is central to how audiences experience Serpentine both within and beyond the gallery walls — through talks, performances, participatory experiences, and cross-disciplinary live formats.
This role will activate the Serpentine as a site of encounter, experimentation and exchange. Building on our flagship live programming strands such as the annual Marathons, Park Nights, Serpentine Cinema and Study Days, you will initiate and produce a live programme that runs alongside and through our onsite exhibitions – not as interpretation but as an extension, interruption and sometimes provocation.
The Live Programmes Curator will work closely with the Programmes, Production and Audience teams to create innovative, interdisciplinary programming that is rigorous, accessible, and responsive to diverse audiences.
Why This Role Matters
This position offers the opportunity to shape a distinctive Live Programme that expands the ways in which audiences encounter contemporary art, and the spaces through which artists produce it. The Live Programmes Curator will play a key role in positioning Serpentine as a site for experimentation, dialogue, and shared experience.
Main Duties
Programme Development & Curatorial Leadership
- Conceive, curate, and deliver a year-round programme of live events aligned with the gallery’s exhibitions, commissions, and broader artistic objectives.
- Develop new formats that bring art and visual artists into dialogue with other disciplines such as dance, music, film, literature, technology, design, and social practice.
- Identify emerging and established artists, thinkers, and collaborators whose practices resonate across disciplines.
Production & Delivery
- Lead the planning and delivery of live events, including talks, performances, workshops, screenings, and new formats.
- Take day-to-day ownership of programme delivery, managing event timelines and co‑ordinating closely with internal teams (Production, Development, Audiences and Editorial) and external partners to ensure activity is delivered on time, on budget and to a high standard.
- Oversee technical, spatial, and audience experience considerations to ensure high‑quality, well‑executed events.
Audience Engagement & Innovation
- Develop programming that attracts new, diverse, and multi‑generational audiences, both onsite and online.
- Experiment with participatory, immersive, and socially engaged approaches to live programming.
- Work with Audience and Editorial teams to articulate programme narratives and promote events effectively.
Collaboration & Partnerships
- Collaborate closely with curators, artists, and producers to ensure strong conceptual and operational alignment.
- Build relationships with local and international artists, collectives, institutions, and community partners.
- Contribute to cross‑departmental planning and strategic discussions around programming and audience development.
General duties
- Be a champion for Arts Council England’s Inclusivity and Relevance Investment Principle to ensure best practice through a proactive approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Follow and assist in the implementation of all Serpentine’s policies including Dignity at Work and Health and Safety policies.
- Any other activities as are necessary for the operation of the Programmes Team and its strategic objectives.
Person Specification
- Significant and demonstrated experience of curating and/or producing live programmes in a gallery, museum, festival, performance, or cultural context.
- A strong interdisciplinary curatorial approach, with experience working across multiple artistic forms.
- Proven ability to develop original ideas and translate them into deliverable live events.
- Excellent project management skills, including budgeting and scheduling.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills.
- Excellent contacts and professional networks and awareness of trends and policy in this field.
- Deep knowledge of and passion for contemporary art and current cultural discourse.
- Excellent people skills with the ability to work collaboratively within a team, building strong, trusting, effective working relationships.
- Experience engaging diverse audiences and communities.
- Familiarity with digital or hybrid live programming.
- Curious, imaginative, and conceptually driven.
- Comfortable working across disciplines and institutional boundaries.
- Audience‑focused, with a strong sense of accessibility and inclusion.
- Adaptable, proactive, and confident bringing new ideas into an established programme.
This job description is a guide to the nature of the work required of the Curator, Live Programmes and does not form part of the contract of employment. It is neither wholly comprehensive nor restrictive and does not preclude change or development which may be required in the future.
Salary
£45,000 per annum, dependent on skills, experience, and qualifications.
Hours
Our normal office working hours are 10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, although the jobholder will be expected, within reason, to work such hours outside these periods as are necessary for the proper fulfilment of the role.
We operate a hybrid working model, with employees attending the office 3 days per week with the option to work from home 2 days per week.
Duration of Appointment
This is a permanent appointment, subject to a 3-month probationary period.
Annual Leave
The annual leave entitlement is 25 days per annum pro rata rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service. In addition, staff receive 8 Bank Holidays per annum.
Pension
Participation in Serpentine’s auto‑enrolment pension scheme. You can opt out if you wish.
Other Benefits
- Discount on certain products such Limited Editions.
- Access to our employee assistance programme.
- Season travel ticket loans and a Cycle2Work scheme.
