The V&A Is Hiring A Taylor Swift Superfan As An Advisor
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8 months ago
A Swiftie’s wildest dreams are about to come true
Do you consider yourself a hardcore Swiftie? Know your Folklore melodies from your 1989 pop anthems? Already prepping your friendship bracelets for the tour? Well, we might have found the perfect job for you.
London’s V&A Seeking Taylor Swift Superfan Advisor
In news that’ll have diehard fans handing in their notices immediately, the V&A has announced it’s on the hunt for a Taylor Swift Superfan Advisor. It’s part of a callout for a group of nine experts who are being hired to help the gallery with its museum collecting, exploring the world of cultural niches. Alongside Swift, other specialist topics include Crocs, drag, tufting, emojis, Pokémon cards, Gorpcore clothing, Toby Jugs and LEGO.
On the Swift front, the museum is keen to chat to UK-based fans ahead of her European tour to gain insight into the huge fan culture surrounding it, such as handmade signs and memorabilia. Swifties are known for being one of the most devoted fan bases in the world, spurred on by a string of Easter eggs from Swift herself regarding everything from album drops to coded song messages.
Posted yesterday on its website, the job description outlines it will be a part-time, zero hour contract role, based at the gallery. It reads: ‘Our curators are custodians of over 2.8 million objects, books and archives that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. As such, we’re always looking to learn more about our collection, whilst acting as cultural trendspotters on what to collect next.’
It continues: ‘Successful candidates will meet curatorial experts at the V&A, share knowledge about their specialist subject, learn about the history of these objects and why they are relevant to art, design and the future of creativity. Candidates will also have the chance to go behind the scenes at the V&A to view relevant items from the collection.’
The new roles are being introduced following research from the V&A revealing that 44 percent of Brits consider their own niche collections museum-worthy – and more than a quarter of collectors surveyed believe they know more about their passion than the experts.
The V&A’s Director Dr. Tristram Hunt said, ‘The V&A is the home of creativity, and today we are looking to the British public to share their collections and knowledge with us. These new advisory roles will help us celebrate and discover more about the enormous, and often surprising, creative diversity on offer at the V&A, as well as helping us to learn more about the design stories that are relevant to our audiences today.’
Some Superfan Advisors have already been selected, and have begun advising the V&A on topics such as Toby Jugs and Gorpcore.
This isn’t the first Swift-related job that has popped up lately. USA Today recently hired a full-time Taylor Swift reporter, whose role would be to ‘identify why the pop star’s influence only expands, what her fanbase stands for in pop culture, and the effect she has across the music and business worlds’.
Think you know Taylor all too well? Got what it takes for the V&A’s role? Applicants can apply online via the V&A website, and you’ll need to convince the hiring team you’re the ultimate fan. The role closes on 7 March 2024.