Museum Artist/Illustrator

Creative Scotland; Remote; GBP 8,000; Part time

Job summary

A local cultural institution in Scotland is seeking a creative artist/illustrator to help bring heritage to life through illustrations. The role involves creating engaging artwork and participating in community engagement sessions with schools. This is a freelance position offering a fee of £7500, with a flexible schedule. Applicants need to submit a portfolio and a quote by 6th January 2026 for consideration.

Qualifications

• Experience in drawing objects, buildings, or historical scenes.
• Ability to produce engaging artwork for family audiences.
• Willingness to collaborate with museum staff and community partners.

Responsibilities

• Create original illustrations for museum use.
• Participate in community engagement sessions with schools.
• Collaborate with museum staff on project goals.

Skills

Creative illustration

Engaging artwork for children

Strong communication skills

Job description

Nairn Museum is seeking a creative artist/illustrator to help bring Nairnshire’s heritage to life. We are looking for an illustrator who can create engaging, accessible artwork that sparks curiosity.

Freelance Artist Fee: £7500 (set fee, flexible working with no set hours over the period Feb‑July 2026) Closing Date: 6th January 2026

Brief

The Artist/Illustrator will create a suite of original illustrations for museum use, including gallery interpretations, learning packs and merchandise.

• Illustrations of museum objects (for example: a colourful rendering of a medieval animal brooch)
• Reimaginings of events relating to Nairnshire (for example: a Roman ship in the Moray Firth)
• Imagery that helps explain complex history in friendly, creative ways (for example, how a quern stone was used)

The museum team will supply a range of objects, buildings and events for illustration, and provide historical descriptions and context.

The Artist/Illustrator will take part in 3 community engagement sessions with local schools towards the end of the project. The sessions will be organised and supported by the museum team, which will handle all administrative work and purchase any required supplies. If you are interested in this role but unable to commit to community engagement, please apply as we can try to amend the brief.

Your illustrations will underpin new gallery panels, family activity sheets, and school learning resources exploring natural history, social history, working lives, land use, community traditions, and climate.

What We’re Looking For

• A creative illustrator with experience of drawing objects, buildings or historical scenes.
• Ability to produce artwork that is engaging for children and family audiences.
• Strong communication skills and willingness to collaborate with museum staff, volunteers, and community partners.

How to Apply

Please send to [e-mail] before the closing date of 6th January 2026:

1. A short expression of interest.
2. Your portfolio or examples of relevant work (either attach as a PDF or provide a link to an online shared drive). We are open to different styles of illustration, and do not have a preferred medium.
3. A quote showing your rates/standard pricing structure to give an indication estimating how many illustrations Nairn Museum will get for the agreed £7500 project fee. If required, please include transport and accommodation within this quote.

We are looking to appoint an artist/illustrator to commence February 2026.

Please send any questions to Annie MacDonald, Curator, [e-mail]

The deadline is Tuesday 06 January 2026 at 23:55.