Fine arts graduate looking to be a gallery curator? Things you need to know

Today’s blog is dedicated to my dear cousin Shobhana who wishes to be a gallery/ museum curator and has been pestering from long to write a piece on it !

 To begin with, the word “curate” simply means this -the preservation and acquisition of works of art in a gallery or personal collection and keeping an  indepth knowledge of each piece! So as you can see it is a lot of work and an eye for detail and organisation is a must-have in this profession !

What  exactly does a gallery or  a museum curator do?

A museum curator (sometimes also called a gallery curator) manages collections of works of art and artifacts. 

Day-to-day work includes- 

·        care and display of items, such as artwork, collections, historical or scientific items, 

·        acquisition of new works of art, usually with the aim of educating the public

·        designing displays or exhibition path of the artefacts

·        sometimes a curator gets involved in public relations, fundraising, marketing, and educational programs of the gallery/museum

A new breed of digital curators too is much in demand. Digital curator maintains, archives, preserves and presents digital assets like digital musical scores, 3D set designs, digital art as long-term repositories of digital assets for reference.

In large museums, there may be more than one curator with each filling a specific duty, such as curator of ancient art or curator of ink drawings, curator of south east Asian art and so on .

Because the responsibilities of a museum curator are so broad, they must also have a broad skill set, including a passion for the vast subject of art  history ,loads of patience, and superior organizational skills, alongwith an ability to complete research and academically-focused work, with administrative and managerial skills to manage the gallery ! Phew!!!

Curator Education Requirements

Museum or gallery curators are highly educated and respected professionals in their fields and usually have a minimum Masters degree in Fine arts( MFA) or specifically in Art History, anthropology, Art curation, Art restoration and preservation. Many are even Ph.D’s and have great academic contribution to their art fields.

There is still hope for thise with only BFA or Bachelor’s in Art degree as smaller museums may hire you or you can start off as an assistant to a curator.

Assistant curators generally perform  administrative tasks, like marketing, fundraising, and public relations work,  and hence, a coursework in business administration and a credit in  basic chemistry is really sought after in this field

Graduate degrees of those looking for curating as a profession must include advanced coursework in art history, museum studies, curatororial skills or , Art History along with a few academic articles and published art work.

At all levels of hiring, internships or volunteering is essential ways to gain future employment, also to refine one’s knowledge and skill set and learn more about a curator’s job duties and the museum routines. 

Fresh graduates entering this field are advised to seek as much internship as possible during their undergrad years. 

During an internship, work as an assistant curator and learn valuable skills, like exhibit design, database management, collections management, and restoration techniques etc .

Art Internships help you make professional connections and further your experience in this field, increasing your chances at landing a good job as a curator.

The curatorial field is extremely competitive and the art fraternity very well-knit, so word-of-mouth reputation travels faster than you guess, so be careful in all your internships if you do aspire to land a job as a curator!

Where Does a Gallery Curator usually work?

In galleries of course !!!!!! Jokes apart, 37 percent of museum and gallery curators in the United States work in huge galleries, museums, historical sites, and similar institutions. Twenty-three percent work in government, and about the same percent work in schools and universities; state, local and private institutions. 

Very few of them are suitably occupied in art spaces, tourist attractions, zoos and aquariums, botanical gardens, nature centres, and community art centres. 

Curators  have a great work life as they are constantly interacting with new artists and exhibitions  , acquiring valuable artwork, antiques, and collectibles, and evaluating potential collections for display in the museum/art galleries,  and also conducting academic research. Most work full-time, and are much in demand.