Heritage Researcher

Undercurrent: Movement of Jah People.

In 2024, Revoluton Arts, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, led the research phase of Undercurrent, exploring themes of bottom-up activism and associated music subcultures connected to communities along the River Lea, the natural heritage of the Lea and the Neolithic beginnings of Luton’s communities at Waulud’s Bank.

The Undercurrent project’s ongoing central theme is focused on movements of people in bottom-up activism, motivated by the principles of humanity and love – living better together, as opposed to with hostility. It will conduct deeper research into the physical movement of people – the super-diverse communities at either end of the Lea, Luton and London – and their connectedness. It will amplify voices hardly heard, make visible the communities seldom seen, and it will surface the pioneering music and creative subcultures that have promoted – and continue to inform – positive political and social change in multicultural society.

The Heritage Researcher will play a pivotal role in shaping the next phase of Undercurrent by conducting comprehensive historical research that informs creative outputs such as podcasts, oral history collections, public events and digital archives. In collaboration with the Revoluton Arts team, this role will help frame the narrative of the River Lea’s rich heritage and its evolution as a site of collective memory and creative resistance.

We are committed to our organisation reflecting and celebrating Luton’s incredible diversity across ethnicity, age, gender, disability and socio-economic background. We therefore especially welcome applications from people with lived experience of the communities that we work with.

Fixed term contract | January 2025 – November 2027 | 45 days (@ £350 per day) from a research budget of £15,750 | Working Hours: 9:30 – 17:30

For further information and job description, visit https://www.revolutonarts.com/opportunity/heritage-researcher/ – Heritage Researcher – Revoluton