Interpretation Designer for the MZ Heritage Hub
Title: Interpretation Designer
Responsible To: Heritage Activity Planner
Responsible For: N/A
Interpretation Design – Overview
The MZ Heritage Hub is a project run by Mount Zion Apostolic Church (MZAC) and funded by National Heritage Lottery Fund.
The project will ensure that MZAC’s building can open to the community seven days a week, bringing in new audiences who will participate in community projects and heritage themed activities. Original features, such as ceiling plasterwork, and the building’s art deco facade, will be restored and conserved; and essential repairs to the building will address current degradation and prevent further damage.
Volunteer-led research programmes will support the development of content for interpretation. This includes an oral history project engaging the community in what the building means to them, gathering memories of it as a 1930s cinema, a 1960s bingo hall, and most recently a place of worship and community centre. The research and oral history projects will be guided by freelance partners and organisations including Nottingham Community Artist Network (NCAN).
Interpretive themes will be developed as research and heritage activities progress.
Interpretation of the built heritage will include flexible and storable display boards; an outdoor LED poster frame; a display box; internal and external listening posts; and a community installation.
Brief
The Mount Zion Apostolic Church (MZAC) Heritage Hub is commissioning an interpretation designer to curate, design and deliver heritage signage within the church, and to curate and select content for listening posts.
Heritage signage will include flexible, storable display boards which will be placed in the church foyer and taken to local schools, community events, and external partner organisations. The signage will also include a series of posters for an outdoor LED Illuminated Poster Frame.
Four internal and external listening points will host sound pieces which bring together audio collected from research and oral history projects.
The interpretation designer will be responsible for:
· Assessing information and content gathered around the history of the building, the church and the local community, and suggesting interpretative themes. Sources include the activity planner’s research, the project’s conservation management plan, and content emerging from the oral history project and research project.
· Liaising with staff and Trustees, and partner organisations (such as NCAN) and agreeing what the themes will be that are featured in the heritage display boards and listening posts.
· Writing content for the interpretation boards; selecting images and ensuring any images have appropriate permissions; design of the boards to ensure that they are accessible for a wide range of people.
· Commissioning and overseeing the production of the interpretation panels.
· Selecting appropriate audio files for the listening posts.
· Writing, designing and producing explanatory signage for the listening posts. (Liaison with the listening post suppliers will be done by the client team.)
· Designing the initial poster for the external poster frame, which will promote the reopened church.
While budgets are relatively fixed, we would be interested in hearing about other potential interpretative methods that could be used within the church that the designer might suggest.
Timescale
It is anticipated that funding will be available to begin work in July 2026. Project completion will be negotiated with the successful applicant. We would like some completed material to be ready for the launch of the renovated building in Spring 2027.
Budget
The budget for professional fees for this work is £8,000
The budget for production of the signage is £5,000, and the consultant will be expected to commission and manage the production of the signage.
Listening posts will be procured and purchased by the MZAC.
Application Process
Please send an expression of interest with your relevant experience in the first instance. Suppliers who are considered suitable will be invited to a scoping meeting (which will include a tour of the building) and will be invited to submit a detailed proposal.
Please send your expression of interest to Lisa Robinson, Heritage Activity Planner, Mount Zion Apostolic Church, Churchfield Lane, NG7 5QS.
Pay: £8,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
