Assistant Curator – Bulawayo: National Gallery of Zimbabwe

The National Gallery has set itself as a center for national culture, which may inject various influences into the mainstreams of life and change the way people appreciate art and culture in their various societies through stone, metal and wooden sculptures, paintings, drawings, print works and installations. The Gallery is responsible for circulating exhibitions throughout Zimbabwe and is a focal and distributing point for art in the country. Its core business is also to preserve, conserve, research and publish the artworks collections for the education of present and future generations of Zimbabwe. The Gallery provides education through the National Gallery Visual Arts Studios (NGVAS) and also holds educational workshops, films and lectures within the Gallery as a way of promoting and educating the public about visual arts. The Gallery offers the corporate community and other civic organizations the opportunity to hire artworks from the Permanent Collection for decoration of their premises. These institutions can also hire space for private functions, exhibitions and shows. Interested people are welcome to use the Thomas Meikles Library to provide research and interest facilities.

Position summary

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is seeking a highly skilled, adaptable, and reliable Assistant Curator for our Bulawayo Gallery. The position of Assistant Curator is a full-time job, as a member of the senior staff and, with the Executive Director and Curatorial team, provides artistic direction and coordination to the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s programs. It requires enthusiasm and a passion for art in Zimbabwe. The NGZ Assistant Curator is responsible for the oversight of designated travelling exhibitions and for the conception, execution, quality, and scholarship of a number of internally generated exhibitions and their accompanying catalogues. NGZ Assistant Curator is expected to be an active and visible member of the National, Regional and International art community, and to participate in the overall institutional advancement of the Gallery.

Job description

The Assistant Curator is responsible for assisting the regional director (Bulawayo) in: conceiving planning and realising exhibitions; identifying and recommending artworks for the permanent collection to the board of trustees’ acquisition committee; running international programmes that include, research, exhibitions, artist talks, curatorial seminars, traveling exhibitions and exchanges programs; getting the community to experience the new collections of art, curators create events such as workshops and lectures to develop public awareness; planning the long term strategy of exhibitions; planning, organising, interpreting and presenting exhibitions and lectures; collaborating with other museum departments, such as education, fundraising, marketing and conservation; writing monthly, quarterly and yearly curatorial reports; producing curatorial statements and exhibition reviews; working closely with the exhibition department; deputises the Regional Director.

Qualifications

The successful candidate should in possession of the following: Bachelor of Arts degree in Museum Studies or Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts or any other relevant degree; relevant experience in a similar or related position will be an added advantage.