University of Lincoln Careers & Employability

Jeremy Webster did not follow the conventional educational background for a visual arts co-ordinator.   In 1984 Jeremy Webster studied Human Geography at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth. After teaching abroad and continuing his fine art practice Jeremy completed a foundation course in art and design in order to do a PGCE in art and design. Although Jeremy no longer wanted to continue teaching the course further sparked his passion for the arts industry.

Through head warden posts and front of house roles in arts organisations such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Bridgewater Hall Jeremy developed his understanding and experience within the arts industry.

 In 1999 Jeremy then secured a position as public arts officer for Lincolnshire county council. This position was really the turning point in his career.  Within this local authority position Jeremy was involved in the commissioning of public art. In 2002 this position slightly changed to principal keeper at the usher gallery and then in 2010 Jeremy moved into the position of Visual Arts Coordinator for Lincolnshire County Council.

As Visual Arts Coordinator there is no typical day, Jeremy is responsible for the visual art exhibition programme at The Collection and The Usher Gallery.  This involves everything from the delivery of the exhibitions, the planning for the next exhibitions and researching for future exhibitions.  Within this role Jeremy also manages the budgets and deals with customs for international artists. Jeremy is also currently working towards a digital arts festival for Lincoln.

Artists need to  research the individual gallery. From this research artists will be aware that the collection and the usher gallery do not offer individual hire of spaces.

An artist needs to have a well-developed proposal and a proven track record to have an exhibition at the gallery. This track record may have been developed through other exhibitions but this will also come from peer reviews, the gallery need to know that the industry has noted their achievements in some way.

The Collection also research artists and attend as many private views as they can in order spot new work. Travelling to private views and exhibitions is also a major part of the Visual Coordinator role. 

Students should look for roles like visitor’s services assistants and invigilators as this is a great way to get experience and a foot in the door. You can also go on to post graduate study which will focus your career. MA courses include Curation, Art Museum and Gallery Education, Museum and Gallery Management and Art Gallery and Museum Studies.

Experience in this industry is especially important, if you do continue onto an MA try and get a part time position within the arts or get involved with volunteer opportunities. Contact Jeremy for more information in regards to volunteering at the Collection.  When starting out keep your expectations realistic. With the current situation competition will be extremely high and there will be a lot of disappointment so students need to be prepared for this.

Networking is very important for this sector, you need to develop contacts as who you know can really trigger opportunities. Through just knowing people you will hear about more opportunities and possibly be offered positions through this. You can join formal networking organisations both locally and nationally, such as Lincoln Artists Network and The East Midlands Visual Artists Network. It is important that you attend networking events and even through becoming a member you will hear about opportunities.

Jeremy highlighted the benefits of membership. If you are interested in Arts Education within the gallery it will be Engage, For Visual Arts in the Gallery is will be VAGA and for Museums it will be the Museum Association. This will provide you with networking events and courses you can attend while also giving you a further specific understanding and knowledge. Showing the membership to these organistations on your application will also show your dedication and passion.

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