Chief Curator for the Fashion and Textile Collection
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) is one of the foremost institutions for design in Germany. Its collections range from antiquity to contemporary innovations, encompassing the cultural regions of Europe, Islam, and the Far East. The museum regards itself as an institution for discourse and considers the designing of our world as one of the most significant issues of our time. It is in such a spirit that we value collaboration, endeavoring to be inclusive, inspiring, transparent, and interdisciplinary. Our responsibility as conveyors of knowledge and researchers remains the central point of departure for our activities. Interacting with each other respectfully as well as with our visitors is consistent with the values we seek to adhere to as an open-minded institution for design.
The MK&G is now seeking to appoint, for a limited period of four years (with the prospect of it becoming permanent), and starting on October 1, 2022
a Chief Curator for the Fashion and Textile Collection (m/f/d)
Remuneration Group E 13 (TV-AVH) for a fulltime post (100%)
The Fashion and Textile Collection comprises around 20,000 objects and is one of the most significant in the German-speaking world. Approximately half of it consists of an extensive collection of historical textiles, ranging from Coptic textiles via European, Islamic, and Asian fabrics, lace and embroidery to decorative fabrics from the 1950s – 70s. Extraordinary tapestries and an extensive collection of Art Nouveau textiles and tapestries by such designers as William Morris/Edward Burne-Jones, Emile Bernard, Frida Hansen, Gerhard Munthe, and Otto Eckmann, among others, are a particular highlight. The collection documents the development of courtly and bourgeois clothing from the middle of the 18th century onwards. The collection of traditional costumes from the immediate vicinities of Hamburg represents an additional highlight. The collection also includes selected pieces of 20th century haute couture by such designers as Christobál Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, André Courrèges, and Paco Rabanne. The collection of international avant-garde fashion from the last thirty years may well be unique in the German-speaking world and includes Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Yoshiki Hishinuma, Walter van Beirendonck, Raf Simons, Martin Margiela, Ossie Clark, and Alexander McQueen, as well as experimental pieces by Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, Iris van Herpen, Flora Miranda, Bless, Craig Green, Cecile Feilchenfeldt, Ýr Jóhannsdóttir, Abdel El Tayeb, and Yuima Nakazato.
Your responsibilities
- Conception and implementation of scholarly and contemporarily relevant exhibitions and projects, with the objective of activating the collection and positioning it in terms of contemporary issues
- Participating in interdisciplinary in-house projects in such areas as exhibitions, outreach, as well as digital and analog projects beyond the actual exhibitions
- Providing curatorial and conservational support and undertaking research (and specifically provenance research) together with scholarly work involving the institution’s own collection
- Extending the collection while taking into consideration the institution’s objectives
- Actively working on the digitalization of the collection’s holdings
- Conceiving and organizing events, lectures, and guided tours
- Liaising with the international fashion scene, universities, and patrons
Your profile
- An academic university degree (M.A. or comparable) or equivalent expertise in a range of subject matter relevant to the museum and the position’s responsibilities
- Excellent knowledge of the history of applied arts as well as modern developments, including contemporary fashion design
- Versed in contemporary theoretical design discourses and an outstanding network in the international fashion scene, as well as conscious interests beyond Europe
- Proven experience in the conceptual development and implementation and also supervision of exhibitions
- A passion for textiles and fashion that is not only theoretical and scholarly but also very practical in nature
- Communication, facilitator, and team skills
- Interest and skills in outreach and engaging with a variety of target groups
- High levels of resilience, commitment, and flexibility
- Very good knowledge of German and in addition at least English
- Experience in documenting objects photographically
- Basic knowledge of Office and inventory applications
- Willingness to lend hands-on support when required
- An enthusiasm for experimenting and an active curiosity
- A large dose of humor
We are offering
- A varied range of duties in an exciting environment within a committed and friendly team of colleagues
- One of the foremost collections of textiles and fashion in Germany
- A lively institution offering wide-ranging responsibilities with the objective of maintaining its position as one of the leading museums in the field of design
- Remuneration and pension scheme in accordance with the collective agreement arrived at with Arbeitsrechtliche Vereinigung Hamburg e. V. (TV-AVH)
- Flexible working hours and public transport benefits
The MK&G pursues the objective of reflecting the diversity of society among its staff and is actively committed to equal opportunities, diversity, and the compatibility of professional, family and private life. The MK&G welcomes applications from people with diverse backgrounds, regardless of their ethnic, cultural and social background, age, religion, and sexual or gender identity. Applications from people with severe disabilities or similar, as set out in the SGB IX act, are welcomed and will be given priority if equally suitable (the place of work is only to a certain extent disabled accessible).
Please submit your application by May 31, 2022. Your detailed and comprehensive application documents should be compiled in a PDF file (max. 10 MB) and named as follows:
KEX_3287_[your surname]_Application
Then send the file digitally to the personnel consultancy working with us, KULTUREXPERTEN Dr. Scheytt GmbH, at bewerbung@kulturexperten.de
By submitting your application, you are consenting to us storing and processing your personal data in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg and KULTUREXPERTEN’s digital systems for the task of processing the application. It is possible to revoke such consent at any time.
If you have any questions, Annika Meyburg is available at the e-mail address supplied, or by telephone at +49 201 822 89 162.
