Video Editor + Graphic Designer for Cultural Arts & Education Projects

I’m looking for a strong video editor and visual designer to work with me across a growing body of cultural, documentary, educational, and exhibition work rooted in African and African diasporic history, culture, art, and community. This is not primarily a social media content-creation role, and I am not looking for someone whose work is limited to templates, promotional graphics, or short-form trends. I have a substantial archive of photographs, video, interviews, publications, presentations, exhibition materials, and documentary footage already. I need someone who can enter that material, understand what is there, help identify the visual story, and turn it into thoughtful, finished work. The work There are several immediate projects. NGA: A Seed Collection is an exhibition and cultural archive of African objects, currently installed in Atlanta. The work explores identity, meaning, craftsmanship, geography, history, and the living cultural contexts surrounding the objects. I need visual support that may include exhibition signage and interpretive materials, event graphics, photography treatment, print pieces, digital assets, and eventually materials that could contribute to a catalogue or other publication. I do not want the visual language to make African cultural material feel generic, commercial, or flattened into familiar “African-inspired” design conventions. The designer needs to be comfortable researching, asking questions, working with restraint, and allowing the objects, people, histories, and ideas to lead the design. Burnt Rock Studios / Kimbonga Bilesi includes a significant archive of documentary footage connected to a rites-of-passage program and a Kilimanjaro journey. Some of this material has been sitting for years. I need an editor who can review existing footage, understand what story is actually present, organize material, identify gaps, and help determine what can become a strong finished piece. That could begin with a shorter film or anniversary piece and potentially develop toward longer documentary work. There are also interviews with African artisans, scholars, cultural practitioners, and community knowledge holders that we expect to begin producing. I want those conversations treated as an accumulating documentary archive, not disposable content. Reflecting Forward is another current body of work connected to the history and contemporary meaning of 1526 and relationships among Africa and the diaspora. It creates needs for event graphics, speaker materials, photography/video treatment, short edited pieces, and visual documentation that can continue to have value after the event itself. Across all of this, I want to become much better at using what already exists. A photograph, interview, piece of footage, or strong design should be able to travel appropriately across an exhibition, website, publication, educational program, institutional presentation, documentary, or digital platform rather than constantly requiring us to start over. What I need from you I am looking for someone with strong visual judgment who can work with both video and design. You do not necessarily have to be equally advanced in every discipline, but you should be very strong in at least one and genuinely capable in the other. You should be able to receive a body of source material and do more than simply execute instructions. I value someone who can say: “This is the strongest story in this footage.” “These photographs should carry the design.” “This needs less, not more.” “We are missing an interview or image before this piece can be completed.” “This material should become three assets rather than one.” I will provide intellectual and cultural direction and will make important decisions about meaning and representation. I do not want to also have to make every visual and editing decision for you. Strong candidates will have experience with some combination of: Documentary or narrative video editing Graphic and visual design Editorial or publication design Exhibition, museum, gallery, arts, or cultural design Motion graphics and titles Working with archival photographs and footage Color correction/grading and audio cleanup Creating coherent visual systems across print and digital formats Organizing large amounts of source material Working collaboratively with photographers, researchers, writers, filmmakers, and other specialists Experience working with African, African diasporic, Black, Indigenous, historical, museum, archival, arts, or community-based material is welcome, but I am more interested in the quality and sensitivity of your work than in someone claiming expertise they do not have. How we are organizing the work I am building a small team with clearly differentiated responsibilities. Other people will be supporting operations, research and cultural relationships, and digital/web strategy. I will also have photography and other specialist support as needed. You would not be expected to manage the entire ecosystem. Your responsibility would be to help us develop and execute the visual and moving-image language of the work, while collaborating with the people responsible for research, digital strategy, and operations. I value clear communication, independent judgment, realistic timelines, organized source files, and finished deliverables. I would like to begin with a paid trial Rather than beginning with an open-ended engagement, I would like to identify a defined first assignment and see how we work together. When you apply, please answer these questions: 1. Which are you strongest in: video editing or visual/graphic design? Please be specific about what you consider your strongest work. 2. Share 2–4 portfolio examples that are closest to the kind of work described here. Please do not send your entire portfolio. Tell me briefly why you selected each example. 3. Show me one project where you were given substantial raw material and had to determine the visual or narrative direction—not simply execute a detailed brief. What did you receive, what decisions did you make, and what did you ultimately produce? 4. Have you worked with documentary, archival, museum, exhibition, historical, arts, or culturally sensitive material? If so, tell me about one example and your role. 5. How do you approach footage that has accumulated over several years and has never been properly organized or edited? I am interested in your actual process. 6. Tell me about a time you disagreed with the visual direction a client initially proposed. What did you recommend, and why? 7. What software do you work in? Please identify your primary video editing, motion graphics, graphic design, and layout tools. 8. What would you deliberately NOT try to do yourself? For example: if you believe a project needs a dedicated sound mixer, illustrator, animator, colorist, photographer, or another specialist, I want someone comfortable saying so. Please begin your proposal with “The story is already in the material.” so I know you have read the full description. I am particularly interested in finding someone who can become familiar with this body of work over time. The immediate goal, however, is much simpler: begin with a real deliverable, make something strong together, and determine from there whether there is a longer-term fit.