Curator
OFO No:
What is a Curator?
A Curator usually work in a museum. Curators can also work in libraries and at other historical sites. They are the person whose job it is to keep all the records and artefacts (items in a museum) safe, up to date and in a good condition.
Curators can work in a:
- Natural history museum
- Specialised museum: aerospace, coin, funeral, medical, engineering, mining, fashion etc etc.
- Art museum
- Library etc
What does a Curator do?
- does research
- organises the acquisition of new items for the museum
- makes sure storage is safe and perfect for the items in the museum
- designs and arranges the ‘scenes’ in museums
- makes or orders some of the ‘scenes / sets’
- decides themes for exhibitions
- decides which items go on exhibition
- makes sure all the cataloguing and record keeping is up to date
- does frequent checks of the building making sure maintenance is up to date
- train staff
- plans, negotiates purchases, loans or exchanges of items
- conducts tours of the museum
- facilitates workshops
- attends conferences
Are you . . . ?
- passionate about working in a museum or library?
- highly organised?
- responsible?
- inquisitive?
- good at research?
- creative?
- detail orientated?
- a person with managerial qualities?
How do I become a Curator?
This will depend on the kind of Curator you want to be. Wherever you work, you will need a qualification.
For instance, if you want to work in an aerospace museum, a background or skills in esaropsace would be an advantage. If you want to work in an art museum, a background or qualfiicaiton in fine art / art history would be extremely beneficial.
- UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN: MICHAELIS SCHOOL OF ART
Offers a Honours programme in Curatorship
You will need an undergraduate degree in visual arts, humanities or the sciences to enter this course.
TRAINING:
- CLICK HERE to check for a training institution near you to see what they offer.
- Make sure you understand their entry requirements for each course.
- To avoid scams, make sure your institution is registered with the Department of Higher Education. CLICK HERE to check accredited Private Higher Education Institutions.
OTHER CAREERS TO CONSIDER: Anthropologist or Art Historian
Is becoming a Curator the right career choice for me?
