Bid writer (consultant)

Circadia – Bid Writer (Consultant)
Organisation: On the Record CIC (on-the-record.org.uk)
Contract: Fixed-fee consultancy | Fee: £2,250 (with potential to extend)

We are appointing a consultant bid writer to develop submission-ready funding materials for Circadia.

Circadia is an oral history and music installation – a century of nursing scored into one time-bending 24-hour shift.

Audiences surrender their watches and time-keeping devices before entering the space, so their experience of time is shaped by Circadia’s 24-hour cycle. They enter a comfortable communal environment with beds. At the centre, a kinetic light sculpture marks the passing hours. If it is 23:00, everyone hears real nursing stories associated with 23:00 – voices from across the decades are collaged around the same hour of care. Movement unlocks archival echoes and field recordings, which drift and return with variation rather than repeating. Thus, audiences can follow the nurses’ stories in sync with clock time, or they can step into quieter, more “timeless” areas, where sound is not patterned by clock hours.

Audiences tune into stories of care that never stands still for as long as they wish, knowing that the work continues after they leave.

Circadia draws on an archive of oral histories and around-the-clock audio diaries recorded by nurses, midwives and patients, exploring how time was spent, valued and negotiated across nearly a century. T

We are seeking National Lottery funding for a new phase of work in which NHS communities and people who face barriers to engaging with heritage co-design parts of the installation and public engagement programme. This is a well-developed proposal with seed funding and letters of support pledging venue space and staff time across cultural, creative health, educational and professional partners.

Around 6.5 days work in late January – early March 2026 depending on day rate and experience