Digital Resident

MEG Digital Lab: Digital Resident (3-Month Pilot)
Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG)
Location: Remote, UK-based preferred.
Duration: 3 months
Compensation: £450 total, paid across the residency. This is outcome-based pay for delivering the agreed outputs below, not an hourly rate.
Contract type: Freelance only.
About the Programme
The Museum Ethnographers Group is launching the MEG Digital Lab, a pilot programme offering paid residencies to early-career museum and heritage practitioners. Each resident develops a small, focused body of work that becomes a lasting, practical resource for museums, practitioners, and students across the sector.
The three-month residency has been designed for early career talent who want to get their first steps in conducting and delivering heritage reflective and creative-based research. The structure, optional themes and guidance are meant to bring as much support as possible.
This is the first residency in the pilot and as such the first step in building a longer-term, better-resourced residency programme. Outcomes from this cohort will directly inform MEG's case for future funding to expand paid opportunities for early-career practitioners. We are committed to reciprocity beyond the residency itself. This means alumni residents will be kept informed of and given priority consideration for future MEG opportunities as the programme grows.
The Role
The resident for the three-month program will choose one of the available themes to work within the duration of their residency. Every theme follows the same staggered structure, giving each output a full month of runway:
A background/reflective research blog (minimum 800 words), published at the end of Month 2.
A second output exploring the theme through direct engagement with practitioners or communities. We suggest an interview as a starting point. Nonetheless, residents are encouraged to propose an alternative approach that better fits their interests, skills, or access. The final delivery of the second output will be a reflexive blog (minimum 800 words) and published at the end of Month 3.
An optional public-facing event, held early-to-mid Month 3, if the resident chooses to run one.
A final resource, developed throughout the residency and delivered before it ends, drawing together both blogs and (if held) the event into an action- or advice-based piece (minimum 1,500 words), published at the end of Month 4.
Available themes:
Democratising the Museum: Working towards accessibility and reachable spaces
On Improvisation, Passion and Organic Collaboration: Exploring MEG's Archive
To Not Forget Our Lived Experiences: DIY and repurposing practices in personal and community archive-making.
Tracing Tails and Reverb: Creative Practices and Advice on Provenance Research
Between Octopuses, Owls, and Ferrets: The Unseen Labour and Hidden Costs of Getting Into the Heritage Industry
Full theme details are available in the linked job package below.
What You'll Gain
A paid, structured introduction to museum digital and archival practice
Direct experience producing reflective research writing and conducting practitioner engagement
A published, portfolio-ready output tied to your name, with promotion of your work across MEG's channels
A reference or letter of recommendation on completion of the residency
Guidance on setting up a portfolio website using free tools, including practical tips on SEO and getting indexed
Local travel costs connected to your residency covered as reimbursements
Optional, informal weekly support meetings with the Digital Lab coordinator
Who We're Looking For
This residency is open to early-career museum and heritage practitioners. For example, those recently graduated, in the first few years of their career, or building a portfolio toward museum or heritage work. No formal digital or technical background is required; curiosity, initiative, and genuine interest in the themes matter more. The structure and output-timeline are meant to bring ease to these types of jobs.
How to Apply
Please send a CV and either a written cover letter or a short video/audio submission (whichever format you're most comfortable with), covering which theme interests you and why, how you'd approach the residency's outputs, and any relevant experience or perspective you'd bring. Video and audio applications are welcomed as an accessible alternative to a written cover letter and will be considered equally.
Job Pack: https://museumethnographersgroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/3-month-Resident-Job-Pack-2027.pdf
Deadline: 2nd November 2026 Residency start date: 8th February 2027 Applications to: lab@museumethnographersgroup.org.uk addressed to Emmanuel Leon, Digital Laboratory Coordinator.

Work arrangement
Yes