Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities

Host organisation: Fruitmarket

Project title: Research Assistant on ‘Surrealism from Below’ publication

Project description

We are seeking a PhD intern to assist with the research and editorial work for the publication ‘Surrealism from Below’ that will accompany a major group exhibition curated by Dawn Ades and Gavin Grindon at Fruitmarket opening in Summer 2027.

Opened in 1974, Fruitmarket is a space for contemporary culture in central Edinburgh, developing and presenting a diverse programme of exhibitions, commissions, publications, performances, events and engagement activities. Our award-winning publications are an important space for artists and audiences. They are created to extend the life, reach, and impact of our creative programmes and projects and to give artists and curators a tool to further communicate with audiences and develop their careers. All publications are edited, designed and production-managed in-house, working directly with artists, estates and foundations, curators and writers.

The exhibition ‘Surrealism from Below’ (July – October 2027) explores surrealism and dada’s global relationship with protest and activism. Most accounts of surrealism and dada’s politics address ‘politics’ as an abstract theme, but this exhibition will instead look ‘from below’ at concrete links to real social movements. The exhibition covers a selection of works which range from the surrealist collections of our exhibition partners, the National Galleries of Scotland, to today’s cutting-edge work in contemporary activist art and a selection of rarely seen radical protest artists and activists of the 1960s–2000s. The publication that accompanies the exhibition will include new essays by curators Dawn Ades and Gavin Grindon, an introduction by Fruitmarket Director Fiona Bradley, as well as many texts and images by the artists and activists in the exhibition. This complex publication requires careful research, editing and proofing.

Working closely with our Deputy Director as part of the publishing team, the Research Assistant will help to source, collate and proof the images and texts to be reproduced in the book ‘Surrealism from Below.’ This editorial work will be completed between January and April 2027, at the end of which the book will go to press, to be published in time for the exhibition opening in July 2027.

We are looking for a researcher with an interest in and enthusiasm for the book’s subject matter and a meticulous approach to research and editing. Some knowledge of French, German and Spanish will be an advantage, as much of the material in the book will be translated from these languages.

Artists and activist groups featured will include: Act Up, Andre Breton, Black Mask, Claude Cahun, George Grosz, John Heartfield, Darren Cullen, Guerilla Girls, Sam Haile, Hannah Hoch, Raoul Hausmann, Peter Kennard, Man Ray, Joan Miro, Situationist International, Gee Vaucher, Yes Men, plus more to be confirmed.

Outputs

Picture research – sourcing and requesting image permissions for the publication, including posters, flyers, photographs, artworks and tracking image rights conditions.

Text proofing – fact checking, caption writing and proofing supplementary texts and texts supplied by curators Gavin Grindon and Dawn Ades.

Proofing – proofing the entire publication upon completion of its design.

In person/remote/hybrid

Hybrid.

The research intern will be based in the Fruitmarket office in Edinburgh, but can discuss days working from home or offsite in libraries and archives as required.

Benefits to the researcher

  • The research intern will gain invaluable research experience in a gallery context, based within one of Scotland’s leading contemporary art institutions.
  • The researcher will be supported by Fruitmarket staff Elizabeth McLean and Ruth Bretherick. Elizabeth is Fruitmarket’s Deputy Director and has overseen our award-winning publishing programme for more than twenty years. Ruth is Fruitmarket’s Research and Public Engagement Curator. As a former PhD researcher and now curator of Fruitmarket’s public events, interpretation, archive, and academic partnerships, Ruth is skilled in guiding artists and students towards the successful realisation of their research ideas.
  • Working on this publication will give the intern access to world-class academics and curators in the field of dada and surrealism, Professor Dawn Ades and Gavin Grindon, and the opportunity to research, edit, translate and proof key research and exhibition material that has been rarely reproduced elsewhere.
  • Their contributions to the publication will support new scholarship on surrealism and dada, with the publication acting as a resource that can be used beyond the exhibition by researchers, students, curators and readers interested in surrealism and dada’s relationship to protest and activism.
  • The research intern will have their name credited and recognised within the exhibition publication, serving as a permanent record of their role in realising the project, and acting as a vital professional tool in securing further research work and funding.

Key relationships

The intern will work closely with Fruitmarket staff including our Director, Deputy Director and Head of Publishing, Research and Public Engagement Curator, Exhibitions Organiser and wider Curatorial team. The intern will also work with our external curators Dawn Ades and Gavin Grindon. The intern will always have in mind the audience for the publication, which extends from exhibition visitors to researchers and academics in the field of surrealism and dada.

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Languages and Linguistics; Visual Arts; Curating; Museum and Gallery Studies; Art History; Archives; Cultural Studies and Pop Culture; Cultural History; History of Ideas.

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base
  • Essential: Subject Knowledge; Research methods – theoretical knowledge; Research methods – Practical application; Information Seeking; Information literacy and management; Academic literacy and numeracy.
  • Desirable: Languages.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
  • Essential: Analysing; Synthesising; Critical thinking; Problem Solving; Evaluating.
A3. Creativity
  • Desirable: Inquiring minds; Intellectual insight; Innovation; Argument construction; Intellectual risk. 
B1. Personal qualities
  • Essential: Enthusiasm; Perseverance; Integrity; Self-confidence; Self-reflection; Responsibility.
B2. Self management
  • Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management; Responsiveness to change; Work-life balance.
B3. Professional & career development
  • Desirable: Career management; Continuing professional development; Responsiveness to opportunities; Networking; Reputation and esteem. 
C1. Professional conduct
  • Essential: Health and Safety; Ethics, principles and sustainability; IPR and copyright; Respect and confidentiality; Attribution and co-authorship; Appropriate practice.
  • Desirable: Legal requirements.
C2. Research management
  • Desirable: Research Strategy; Project planning and delivery; Risk management.
C3. Finance, funding & resources
  • Desirable: Income and funding generation; Financial management; Infrastructure and resources. 
D1. Working with others
  • Essential: Team working; Collegiality; Equality and diversity; Collaboration.
  • Desirable: People management; Supervision; Mentoring; Influence and leadership.
D2. Communication & dissemination
  • Essential: Communication methods.
  • Desirable: Communication media; Publication.
D3. Engagement & impact
  • Desirable: Teaching; Public Engagement; Enterprise; Policy; Society and culture; Global citizenship. 

First published: 28 September 2026

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