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HTML - Call out for Visual Note-taker - Baby Steps to Reading Wellbeing 2026

Baby Steps to Reading Wellbeing: Call out for Live Illustrator / Graphic Recorder / Visual Note-taker 

Who we are: 

Inspire: Culture, Learning and Libraries is a charitable community benefit society delivering cultural and learning services across Nottinghamshire. Our mission is: “To inspire people to read, learn and enjoy culture”. Our website is inspireculture.org.uk 


What is Baby Steps to Reading Wellbeing? 

Baby Steps to Reading Wellbeing is a new programme from Inspire that aims to support adult confidence in sharing books with their very young children and provides accessible reading initiatives for time-poor parents to connect with reading for their own wellbeing. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, the programme will see us working with parents and babies (aged 0–3) in libraries and Family Hubs in Ashfield and Mansfield. 


What we want: 

We are looking for a Live Illustrator / Graphic Recorder / Visual Note-taker with experience of working across an extended project. We want to visually document our whole project: you will observe and record training sessions, Book Babies workshops and parent-focused events, collecting families’ experiences and illustrating the impact of what we do. 

You will be working alongside creative practitioners with a passion for books and reading, who will design and deliver playful and creative book-based sessions in libraries and Family Hubs for parents and their early years children (aged 0-3). You will also attend events designed for parents to explore their own reading, which may be led by authors or storytellers. 

Sessions will take place in Kirkby-in-Ashfield Library and Mansfield Central Library, and in Family Hubs in those areas. Further dates will be negotiated as the project takes shape. 

Our aims for this commission are to: 

  • graphically capture the parent and infant experience. 
  • enhance traditional evaluation methods. 
  • amplify key messages and make the project findings more accessible. 
  • support marketing and promotion of activity. 


Project timeline overview: 

  • Planning opportunities will take place during September/October 2026. 
  • Initial training for Creative Practitioners: Thursday 8 October 2026 – Visual Note-taker to attend if possible. 
  • Book Babies session delivery will take place between November 2026 and July 2027. 
  • Parent-focused events will take place between December 2026 and November 2027. 
  • Specific dates for events to attend will be negotiated as delivery dates are confirmed. 
  • Evaluation documents and legacy materials will be produced during January and February 2028. 


Our commissioned artist will: 

  • Work collaboratively with Inspire and our project partners.
  • Negotiate with flexibility to attend an estimate of 6 half-day events in a variety of venues across Ashfield and Mansfield Districts. 
  • Travel between venues with any materials and equipment needed. 
  • Record events visually to contribute to the project’s wider evaluation. 

 Inspire will: 

  • Work collaboratively and support the creative development of all practitioners 
  • Programme the sessions in libraries and Family Hubs, and work with the Visual Note-taker to decide which they should attend. 
  • Support practitioners to deliver the project. 
  • Record the overall project through photography, video and other evaluation processes. 


Timeframe for submissions: 

  • Deadline for seeking clarifications on brief: Friday 4 September 2026. Please email reading@inspireculture.org.uk 
  • Deadline for submission: Sunday 13 September 2026 
  • Delivery period: October 2026 – February 2028  


Fee  

Maximum £4500 (inclusive of VAT and all costs). There will not be additional budget for travel or accommodation. 


Application Process 

What we need from you: 

1.  A short proposal outlining how you will approach this work and deliver the intended outcome within the required timescale.  We will accept this is any format.  This might be: 

  • Written (Max one side of A4) 
  • Audio (Max 2 mins) 
  • Filmed (Max 2 mins) 
  • Something else…? 
2.  We would also like to see some examples of your work, that will help us know more about your practice. We will accept these in any format. 


Please include a CV which details your experience to undertake the work and two referees who could support your suitability to work on this project. 

We are committed to attracting and recruiting diverse candidates and welcome applications from underrepresented groups. Please contact us at reading@inspireculture.org.uk if you have any questions or need us to make any adjustments for receiving your ideas. 


 Closing date for submissions 

Submissions should be made by Sunday 13 September 2026 to reading@inspireculture.org.uk  


Thank you for taking the time to review this brief.