Now Play This is a festival of experimental gameplay and design, running annually at Somerset House as an integral part of the London Games Festival.
The festival is an exciting mix of new international and national development in design and showcases video games, board games, interactive digital sculpture, and anything with play at its heart, with a mix of existing work, upcoming games and new commissions.
Over the past five years, Now Play This at Somerset House has grown from a prototype for a thousand visitors to a regular event with international recognition in the field of play and game design, drawing over 2500 visitors a year to the core exhibition and a larger number to outdoor events around and beyond the site.
Our new Board of Directors will advise and support the international team as we transition to a new director who will develop the festival in new directions. We’re looking to expand our activities beyond the core festival, work with artists and game makers over a longer term, and set up structures that will help us navigate change over the next few years.
Skills
We are looking to recruit a diverse board, with a broad range of skills, expertise and networks. Specifically we are keen to speak to people who have experience in company development and management, fundraising, and communications strategy.
Ideally you will share our passion for games as a cultural form (even if you don’t play games yourself), and be willing to be advocates for the festival in your community.
Participation
For your participation, you will be part of a diverse multi-skilled team of people who sit at the forefront of experimental games culture and community in the UK and beyond. Our ambition is to grow the festival, to include new voices and expand the potential to create exciting work and build new communities for experimentation across play, games and interactive art.
Commitment
We will meet three times a year, once at the festival, so ideally you will be based in the UK (or, perhaps, a regular visitor). Beyond that it is expected that you will be an advocate for the festival, seeking to bring expertise or contacts that can help us develop.
NPT welcomes applications from anyone regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. To apply, please submit a short email to hello@nowplaythis.net, outlining your experience to date, why you would like to join us and what you think you might gain from the experience. Please include the subject line ‘NPT Trustee role’ and send it to us no later than 10/03/2020.
If your application is successful, we will invite you to have a formal conversation with us in late March. We will expect you to be available to attend some of this year’s festival 3-5th April 2020
Please get in touch if you have any questions about us, this process or your potential involvement. email hilaryshock@gmail.com to arrange an informal chat with our Chair, Hilary O’Shaughnessy.