Art for Tolworth: Co-creation artist commission for Tolworth Hospital - Storytelling & Co-design, 'The Narrator'

Job Summary

The Community Brain, in partnership with South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, is inviting artists and creative practitioners to become part of a creative programme for the new Tolworth Hospital. This brief is for the Storytelling & Co-design, ‘The Narrator’ opportunity.

Job Description

Storytelling & Co-design, 'The Narrator'
Core commission: £7,200
Location: Central Art Space / Programme-wide
Application: Expression of Interest

Alongside the individual artwork commissions, we want to create an opportunity to capture and creatively interpret the story of the programme as it develops.

We are therefore looking for an artist, collective or creative team to act as 'The Narrator' for Art for Tolworth.

The Narrator will work across the programme, developing relationships with the people involved and finding creative ways to gather, interpret and make visible the conversations, ideas, experiences, processes and making that emerge.

We are not looking simply for conventional project documentation. We want the process of observing, gathering, recording and interpreting Art for Tolworth to become creative work in its own right.

The final form is deliberately open. It might involve visual art, drawing, writing, photography, film, sound, illustration, publishing, objects, installation, digital work, participatory practice, archives, collected material or combinations of different approaches.

We are currently seeking Arts Council England funding to extend the Narrator commission beyond the core £7,200 commission. Following the Expression of Interest stage, we expect to shortlist a small number of applicants and invite them to an informal conversation.

Once the funding position is clear, we will either appoint one or more practitioners to deliver the commission within the total core commission of £7,200, or expand the scope and potentially invite shortlisted applicants to develop their proposals further, supported by a development fee. Final selection is anticipated by January 2027.

Please read the relevant brief and application guidance before submitting through the Google Form.

Job Requirements

Creating with and for people with lived experience, patients, staff, carers and the wider Kingston community is central to Art for Tolworth.

Participation and co-creation should be embedded within the development of commissioned work, with artists encouraged to create meaningful opportunities for people to contribute ideas, experiences, knowledge and creative responses as the work develops.

For Art for Tolworth, we understand:
- Co-production as working in partnership with people who use mental health services, carers and communities, involving lived experience from the early stages of development.
- Co-creation as bringing together people with different lived and professional experiences to participate meaningfully in the creative process.
- Co-design as developing aspects of the artwork and the engagement process collectively.
We are not looking for artists to arrive with a fixed artwork and use participation simply to validate an existing idea.

Job Responsibilities

We want proposals to demonstrate how artistic ideas can evolve through listening, exploration, collaboration and exchange, and how participants can meaningfully influence the development of the work.

The artist remains responsible for the artistic direction, professional delivery and realisation of the commission. Co-creation does not mean removing the artist's creative voice; rather, it means allowing the knowledge, ideas and experiences of participants to have a genuine influence on the process and outcome.

Different opportunities will naturally involve different forms and levels of participation. This might include workshops, conversations, skills sharing, collective making, selection processes or other approaches proposed by the artist. We welcome practitioners who can develop methods appropriate to their practice, the particular commission and the people involved.

Useful Links

Job Overview

Job Title: Art for Tolworth: Co-creation artist commission for Tolworth Hospital - Storytelling & Co-design, 'The Narrator'
Salary: £15k-£20k
Hours: Full time
Artform: Visual arts
Role: Creative
Contract: Contract
Closing date: Sun, 01 Nov 2026
Location:

London

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Job: Art for Tolworth: Co-creation artist commission for Tolworth Hospital - Storytelling & Co-design, 'The Narrator'

Organisation: The Community Brain

Postcode: KT6 7QU

How to Apply

Key dates and information
Online artist Q&A: Thursday 8 October 2026 at 2:00pm UK time
Applications close: Sunday 1 November 2026 at 11:59pm UK time
Questions: [email protected]

Please read the wider programme information on the website alongside your chosen brief, then submit your application through the relevant Google Form. Each brief sets out the full application requirements and selection process.

Contact name: Charlotte Levy
Contact email: [email protected]

Apply now

About The Community Brain

The Community Brain uses the widest range of the arts, local history, social enterprise and community-led regeneration in order to give places renewed importance and pride. We help people to imagine and command their own story – instead of following those written for them by others.

Find out more