Cove Park – Call for Trustees
Closing date 7 June 2021
Cove Park is an international artists’ residency located on an outstanding rural site
on Scotland’s west coast, one hour north of Glasgow. In the last 20 years, Cove
Park has hosted nearly 4000 national and international artists, writers and thinkers
working in all art forms and at every career stage. It is committed to supporting
artists by offering the time, space and freedom required for research, peer-topeer exchange and the development of new work, and fostering a stimulating context in which new ideas can be developed, tested and shared. Between 10 and 20 residents can stay at any one time, creating collective opportunities for the
discovery of alternative approaches and the acquisition of new knowledge. Our fifty-acre site overlooking Loch Long on the Rosneath peninsula in Argyll and Bute used to be a conservation park and is now partially managed woodland, with ponds, grazing sheep and highland cattle. There are nine shipping containers that have been converted into studios and accommodation units, and two oak-framed
huts. An award-winning communal building was built in 2016 with spaces designed for classes, rehearsals, workshops, and events; a large dining area doubling as a workspace, administration offices, a library, and two adjacent accommodation units and studios, one of which fully accessible. The Cove Park team presently consists of our newly appointed CEO, Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey, who leads a
cohort of seven professionals responsible for all aspects of the organisation’s
operations. Under this new leadership, Cove Park is moving beyond the boundaries of the
traditional ‘time, space, freedom’ residency towards an enquiry-based model for
producing cross-disciplinary work and collective intelligence around pressing global
concerns. This vision hinges upon a deeper engagement with our geographical and
socio-economic context in the belief that working at a hyperlocal level helps us to understand and affect change at a planetary scale.
We believe artistic research is uniquely placed to unpack some of the most intractable, multi-scalar problems of our times, and that art’s transformative power is amplified when the arts work in collaboration with other disciplines. Cove Park is expanding the artforms and disciplines that are welcome to the residency, and is also enlarging its horizons towards other sectors – such as those of academic
and scientific research, technological innovation, including the creative industries
as a whole.
We believe artistic research is uniquely placed to unpack some of the most
intractable, multi-scalar problems of our times, and that art’s transformative
power is amplified when the arts work in collaboration with other disciplines. Cove
Park is expanding the artforms and disciplines that are welcome to the residency,
and is also enlarging its horizons towards other sectors – such as those of academic
and scientific research, technological innovation, including the creative industries
as a whole.
About the role
We are looking to appoint new Trustees committed to supporting Cove Park’s
mission at this key moment in our history – addressing the urgent issues and
challenges of these unprecedented times, building a sustainable and nurturing
environment to provide creative residencies within the international cultural
landscape. We welcome all applicants who wish to commit their time, energy, and expertise
to the next era of Cove Park’s evolution. The Board of Trustees is responsible for
the overall governance of the charity, its financial stability, and the safeguarding
of its assets, and for providing support to the CEO and her team.
We seek individuals who can bring knowledge, experience, and expertise to the
Board in the following areas:
– team development and HR,
– environmental concerns and land management,
– fundraising and organisational development,
– property management,
– equality, diversity and inclusion policy,
– artistic practice,
– academic and scientific research,
– communications and digital practice.
We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and
we are committed to having a Board that is made up of diverse skills, experiences
and abilities. We actively encourage applications from African Diaspora people;
South, East, and South-East Asian Diaspora people; Middle Eastern and North
African Diaspora people; ethnically diverse people; people with disabilities; and all
those who have been historically underrepresented on charity boards. Our
intention is to better reflect society as a whole on our Board in terms of race,
religion, ability, gender, age and socio-economic status.
We hold four regular Board of Trustees’ meetings a year, usually at Cove Park or in
Glasgow. During the pandemic, we have held our meetings via Zoom which will
continue in the future when necessary. We encourage Trustees to also sit on a
Board subcommittee when possible. At the moment, the longer-standing
subcommittees are Finance, Fundraising & Development, and Facilities; while
some shorter-term subcommittees are formed for specific projects such as an
anniversary Benefit, etc. Trustees volunteer their time to the Charity and the role
is unremunerated, but reasonable travel and other agreed expenses will be
reimbursed.
Trustees are also encouraged to attend events and act as ambassadors for the
organisation occasionally. Each Trustee is appointed to serve an initial term of
three years, renewable at the invitation of the Board for a further four years.
The Board currently has nine members; two will retire this year. The Chair is
Lauren Dyer Amazeen who undertook the role in 2019. Cove Park’s stalwart
founders, Peter and Eileen Jacobs, are also members of the Board of Trustees
contributing a rich perspective as we move forward into our 21st year.
To Apply:
Please submit a CV and a short covering letter [2 sides of A4 max] by
noon on Monday 7th June (Please Note this is a 2 week extension from original date of Monday 24 May). Applications should be sent to [email protected]
Interviews will be held via zoom in early June.
We will accept submissions in audio or video formats if this is preferable to a
written application. If you consider yourself to have a disability please tell us if
there are any reasonable adjustments that we can make to assist in your
application. Hard copies of your application may be sent to:
Kerrie MacQueen, Cove Park, Peaton Hill, Cove, Argyll & Bute, Scotland G84 0PE
If you have any questions, please contact Kerrie MacQueen on the email above. We
will respond via email or phone accordingly.
Cove Park is committed to safeguarding privacy and related data within
recruitment processes and abides by all appropriate General Data Protection
Regulations.