De Appel is looking for three new members for its supervisory board
De Appel Amsterdam provides time and space for contemporary art and culture, with exhibitions, a world-renowned Curatorial Programme, an Archive, and a library. We’re looking for three supervisory board members, specialising in the arts, finance, and law. Could you help to oversee the organisation?
We help artists and allies to ask essential questions. Our wide range of public programming serves people with different backgrounds and perspectives in a spirit of openness, hospitality, cooperation, and experiment. Together, we help to shape art and culture in this worldly city.
What we do
De Appel was founded forty-seven years ago, and now enjoys a proven reputation as an experimental space for contemporary art. Partly through our Curatorial Programme, set up in 1994, we have built an established international network of contacts. This is a place where art meets critical reflection and new curatorial ideas, and over the decades we have amassed a unique archive of material about performance art.
We programme, respond, initiate, and listen. We have done this from various locations in the city over the years, and in 2017 we found a new site in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. We believe in the essential role of art in contemporary debate, are not afraid of taking sides, and provide opportunities to think about and work on particular issues over long periods.
We ask artists and designers to adopt a similar perspective and prefer to commission new work from them that will strengthen both our local roots and our national and international resonance.
Pillars
Our three pillars – the public programme, the Archive, and the Curatorial Programme – are closely interrelated and are developed in parallel. The managing director is responsible for maintaining a clear vision of all three, and for determining their current and future focus.
De Appel is a non-profit foundation with a staff of 6.4 FTE, an extensive network of freelance colleagues, and an annual budget of approximately €1 million. It is financed by the city of Amsterdam, the Mondriaan Fund, and various other public and private funds. Its current location is about to undergo a renovation.
Management and supervisory philosophy
At the beginning of this year, we adopted a supervisory board model. The foundation is administered by two administration directors. The supervisory board has three roles: oversight, advisory, and employer of the administration directors, and carries these out in a professional and independent manner.
The supervisory board ensures that the foundation is managed in accordance with its mission and programme and delivers excellent performance. It focuses on key strategic issues, main policy outlines, achievement of goals, finance, and performance agreements.
The board’s involvement in the organisation is fully transparent to employees, directors, and the outside world. It achieves this by maintaining constant contact with stakeholders, and actively gathering information[A1] .
It sets its agenda and priorities in consultation with management, is responsible for its own operations, and carries out a critical self-evaluation review once a year. The board meets in accordance with a fixed schedule, at least four times a year. Members are unpaid, though travel costs are reimbursed.
The board has a set of rules laying down its modus operandi and responsibilities and has directors’ liability insurance.
Membership of the supervisory board
The board is made up to ensure that it carries out its responsibilities in accordance with the law, the cultural sector governance code, and other regulations and codes of conduct. It comprises a mix of ages, experience, genders, and backgrounds, with members complementing one another in terms of knowledge, experience, and contacts.
Members must have a full knowledge, experience, and/or affinity with the foundation’s mission and responsibilities, the supervisory role, and the needs of stakeholders.
The size of the board is such that it can carry out its role effectively and responsibly, and each member’s talents make a specific contribution.
What we require of members
You must be able to make a critical and independent contribution to decision making, so you must not have any conflicts of interest. You will need a broad social outlook, and an affinity with our mission, ambitions, and areas of operation. You’ll be closely involved with the foundation, and work as part of a team, but also able to take a step back and be critical when necessary.
Other requirements include a good insight into social and political issues, relevant knowledge and experience, and a wide-ranging network of contacts in the business, charitable funds, and culture sectors.
You must have sufficient time to carry out your responsibilities, prepare for and attend meetings, and step in to manage the organization in the directors’ absence.
Who we’re looking for
Arts:
A prominent artist or curator
Finance:
Knowledge and experience of finance and management, preferably with supervisory or other experience in the arts or other publicly financed sector.
Law:
Young at heart, with an affinity for public law and for the arts sector. You should ideally have experience with a medium-sized law firm and access to various disciplines and expertise.
Recruitment
The executive search bureau Colourful People is helping us with this procedure. If you’d like more information about these positions, call their senior partner, Winfred Voordendag, on 06-2828 4706.
If you’re interested, please send them a CV and covering letter via the website by Friday 23 September. There will be two rounds of interviews: one on Tuesday 4 October and one on Thursday 6th October, both in the late afternoon and early evening.