Background and Introduction
• The Uist Arts Association (UAA) is a membership organisation made up largely of practicing
artists most of whom are based in Uist and Barra, or have strong links and ties to Uist, Barra, and
the Outer Hebrides.
• It is run by a small committee of volunteers made up from the membership
• Their flagship event, their Open Summer Exhibition is held each year in conjunction with Taigh
Chearsabhagh and in the studio galleries behind the café in Taigh Chearsabhagh
• The exhibition is free for all members to submit work to, and is a selling exhibition, typically
showing a variety of works including small items and cards, that show off the full diversity and
range of their members’ skills and talent
• To encourage sales, and to facilitate buyers, many of whom are visitors to the islands, there is a
practice of sold works being able to be taken away at point of sale, and for there to be regular
rehangs of new work to fill the “sold” gaps throughout the duration of the exhibition.
• In development of the show over the last few years with Taigh Chearsabhagh we have
established that the presence of gallery invigilators greatly enhances the visitor experience and
helps with sales.
• The show’s professional aspect and quality of the work is always well noted.
• In the last few years, the sales and management of the show has grown significantly.
• Last year’s sales in total were over £19,000 which was a great triumph for all who took part,
both as exhibiting artists, volunteer invigilators and, of course our colleagues and partners in
Taigh Chearsabhagh.
• For 2025, we are looking to build on the experience and growing success of the last few years.
Proposals for the 2025 UAA Summer Exhibition
1. The day-to-day gallery invigilation will be carried out by a rota of UAA volunteers (made up
mainly from exhibiting artists) this will be managed via a whatsapp group and emails (as last
year).
2. The volunteer invigilators will complete paperwork for all sales, and all packaging of items sold,
but payment itself will be taken in the Taigh Chearsabhagh shop by the front entrance before
works can be taken away (as last year).
3. Payment to individual artists for their sales will be made by Taigh Chearsabhagh at the end of the
show following final reconciliation of sales.
4. The hanging of the show for the opening and preview night will be carried out as usual by a small
team of UAA volunteers.
5. A paid coordinator will be appointed by the UAA on a freelance part-time basis in a role
equivalent to 1 day a week for the duration of the show to be the main person responsible for
managing and overseeing the 2025 Summer Open Exhibition for the UAA. Full description
follows.
Job specification for UAA Summer Show coordinator
1. This will be a freelance part-time role (1 day a week) with the successful applicant responsible
for their own tax/NI/pension/incidental expenses etc.
2. Dates: the role will be for the duration of the show, which is 7 weeks, plus a day in the week
before the show opens and plus a day in the week after the closure of the show to make sure all
the paperwork and sales info is complete and correct and handed over to Taigh Chearsabhagh.
i.e. the role is for 9 weeks in total.
Exhibition dates: 28 June -16 August 2025 – 7 weeks
Duration of contract: start 23 June and complete 23 Aug 2025 – 9 weeks
3. Summary: Overall responsibility for management of the show for the UAA, including
responsibility for all day-to-day key decision making regarding the show.
4. Hours: One full day a week (8 hrs) with at least half a day each week on site in Taigh
Chearsabhagh to manage rehang and summaries of sales and make sure all sales paperwork upto
date and clear. The other half day to be spread flexibly to be able to manage
communications/emails/paperwork etc.
5. Main Tasks
• organisation and management of volunteer rota via whatsapp group and by email
• finalising list of submitted works and numbered sales list. UAA have organised for form
upload via website to assist with preparing master list of works submitted
• communication with artists directly re sales or replacement work
• updating sales lists at least weekly and reprinting with TC to make sure that current info is
available in the gallery for visitors
• coordination with TC staff over all show issues
• weekly check and reconciliation of all sales info in the previous week, and making sure all
the records in the gallery folder are correct for the volunteer invigilator team
• coordination with UAA website manager for making sure that any news or info about the
show is updated clearly
• coordination with anyone managing UAA/TC social media
• making sure the show is kept looking clean and good and upto date including managing
regular rehanging throughout the duration of the show.
6. Reporting: this role will report to the committee of the Uist Arts Association.
7. Financial: The coordination role will be contracted at a rate equivalent to £230 per day for a total
of 9 working days spread out at rate of one day a week over 9 weeks as described above. A total
of £2,070.00 is to be invoiced by the coordinator to UAA at the end of the project.
Key Person Skills required
• good organisational skills
• good record keeping
• proactive and solution focused
• good working knowledge of word processing /spreadsheets for managing artist and sales
data efficiently
• ability to work on your own with no supervision
• experience of team working
• public facing experience
• eligibility to work in the UK
Applications
to be sent by email to uistarts@gmail.com by midnight on Sunday 20 April 2025
Your brief application should be no longer that 1 side of A4 – stating the reasons why you would like
to do this role, and a summary of your experience and skills that you could bring to the role.