Senior Curator – Art And Exhibitions

The Wilson Museum and Art Gallery

Senior Curator – Art and Exhibitions

Permanent Contract

Salary £37,000 pa (pro rata)

Full Time position with an option for Part-Time (0.8) and flexible working.

The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum is a welcoming social and cultural space where everyone can discover, learn and enjoy as visitors, co-producers, artists and makers. It forms part of The Cheltenham Trust, a dynamic charitable organisation that manages 5 culture and leisure venues with the support of Cheltenham Borough Council. This role offers a unique opportunity to be involved in helping to shape our future direction as a Trust and cultural life in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire.

We are looking for creative dynamic individual committed to using Art and cultural heritage to make people’s lives better.  The Senior Curator: Art and Exhibitions will be joining a small team with a big ambition to develop the Wilson into one of the South West’s most pioneering and ambitious art gallery and museums.

They will have knowledge and experience of gallery and museum practice. They will be familiar with the challenges and opportunities currently facing the sector and will be confident in applying new curatorial approaches to lead The Wilson’s exhibition programme and sharing its’ diverse collections. The person appointed will lead a small and dynamic curatorial team in the delivery of key organisational objectives including exhibition making, collections access and interpretation as well as collaboration and liaison with key partners and stakeholders. They will be a natural storyteller with the creative vision to imagine our temporary and collections galleries as an arts space developed with and for our community.  

The Wilson’s Collections are richly diverse from Old Masters to world cultures to a social history collection which tells the story of Cheltenham and the surrounding Cotswolds area from the Bronze Age. A dedicated gallery houses the Arts and Crafts Movement Collection, a Designated Collection of national importance. The Art Collection includes painting and sculpture spanning four centuries, costume and textiles, decorative and applied art.

Our galleries house permanent and temporary display programmes and include one dedicated co-curated space led by a Creative Communities panel to present and develop projects with our local communities in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire. In addition, the Wilson is home to a major catalyst programme for early career artists including 9 studios and a facilitated fellowship programme, innovative learning and events activities based in our Foyle Learning Studio, an Open Archive and Study space and a café which features our art collections, and which is led by our sustainability values, with furniture, materials, makers and craftspeople being drawn from our local area. 

The Senior Curator is a critical role within the organisation and will make Art and culture accessible to diverse audiences through creative and participative programming.  The post-holder will drive our temporary exhibition programme working as part of a small strategic team developing an internationally important exhibition programme which priorities contemporary art practice in dialogue with historic art collections.

They will work closely with the Head of Culture and Public Programmes Manager and Senior Curator of Collections and Heritage to research, plan and manage a programme of new and existing work and Exhibitions in the visual arts, applied arts and social history; ensuring effective communication, financial and resource management is in place.

Purpose

The Visual Art Curator will have knowledge and experience in art galleries and museums. They will be familiar with contemporary practice and discourse in visual arts with a sound knowledge of art history and visual cultures past and present.  They will be confident in applying new and innovative curatorial approaches to The Wilson’s art collection and exhibition programmes. The person appointed will take a key role in delivering organisational objectives including the temporary exhibition programme, permanent art displays, collections development, and collaboration and liaison with key partners and stakeholders.  They will support the development of a dynamic public programme, and contribute to fundraising and sponsorship for the Art Gallery and Museum.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Programme Development

Work with the Exhibitions and Public Programmes Manager and Director of Arts & Heritage to develop creative and innovative visitor-focussed exhibitions, commissions and residencies, and with the Curatorial Team, research and develop content liaising with artists, curators, partners and community stakeholders.

Plan and guide the delivery of research, content, and interpretation to deliver exhibitions, working together with the Public Programmes team to maximise participation and audience impact.

As a key member of a strategic programming team, contribute to the redisplay of the Wilson’s new collections galleries.

Lead exhibition project teams and freelance technicians and conservators on exhibition production including scheduling, co-ordination of art transport, installation and deinstallation as follows:

• Confirming arrangements of artwork loans and agreements with lenders
• Organisation of transport and insurance. Condition reporting and care of exhibits.
• Selection, organisation and management of relevant technical/contractual staff
• Close liaison with the exhibition project team on the exhibition design at all stages through design, planning, commissioning and building
• Detailed scheduling of exhibition installations and de-installations including courier and travel arrangements

Develop exhibition texts for gallery interpretation and marketing/press materials, and oversee the editing and production of gallery interpretation

Work with colleagues to create opportunities for greater access to art, exhibitions and collections through learning and community programmes.

Develop opportunities for co-production and community participation in arts programming.

Work across teams in developing new and innovative ways to interpret exhibitions collections and deepen the experience and engagement of digital audiences online.

Research and develop content for The Wilson exhibition programme, liaising with artists, curators, partners and other stakeholders.

Work with colleagues to ensure appropriate evaluation, documentation and archiving of The Wilson’s exhibitions and projects

Develop existing and initiate new partnerships with museums, universities, curators, artists and communities

Coordinate the Wilson’s Arts Advisory Panel to develop curatorial strategy and review exhibition proposals both externally and internally.

Ensure that interpretation, research and curatorial work embeds equality, diversity and inclusion into practice.

Work across the Wilson Team to develop ideas for talks, symposiums and special events orientated around current debates in Art and social history, and collaborate with the Public Programmes manager on participatory arts, socially engaged projects and artists’ residencies and commissions.  

Participate as a facilitator/speaker or similar in the public programme, and lead gallery tours or facilitate group sessions.

Seek funding and sponsorship opportunities, and prepare funding applications with the support of the senior management team.

Plan, monitor and maintain budgets, obtain estimates and process invoices.

Develop, maintain and administer budgets for each partner venue project and maintain financial overview of the whole partnerships programme

Manage freelance and temporary team members, including art handlers and conservators, hired to support exhibitions.

People

Develop and lead a small curatorial team to deliver an engaging, visitor-focused and popular social history programme and manage the Wilson Art Collections

Curator – Art Collections 0.5

Creative Producer 0.6

Volunteer Associates

Continually develop the team to reach their full potential through the annual appraisal process, professional development opportunities, providing regular feedback that recognises success and addresses areas for development.

Promote collaborative working internally with the Learning and Engagement Team, and participatory practice with community partners and audiences.
Work with supervising staff to support curatorial volunteers, ensuring their full integration into the museum 

Lead by example to demonstrate and embed the Museum’s values within the Team and the wider Trust. 

Essential requirements - qualifications, skills, abilities and experience:

• A post-graduate degree, a professional qualification related to museums/archives, or equivalent experience.
• Experience as a specialist curator within the visual arts Professional knowledge of the Museum/Gallery sector. 
• Strong people management skills and experience.
• A strong communicator able to maintain relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and partners at all levels through effective and consistent communications via different media. Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to analyse, prepare and present reports that provide information, articulate the case and propose deliverable costed and timed plans.
• Understanding of collections care issues including storage, environmental conditions and conservation challenges.
• Experience of online museum and gallery engagement with an understanding of the potential of digital to enhance collections and Exhibitions access.
• Experience of project management and demonstrable experience delivering successful curatorial projects.
• Excellent organisation and planning skills managing self and others effectively to focus on priorities Financial management skills with experience as a successful fundraiser.
• Commitment to equality and diversity and an understanding of how this commitment applies to this role.

How to apply:

For more information please visit  https://www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/jobs/

Please send a CV and a covering letter telling us about your experience and your ambition for the role by email via the button below by 10.00 am Monday 22 July 2024