Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art
Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art
Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
Regular Full-Time (35 Hours per Week)
ART + AUDIENCE + LEARNING
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the largest art museums in North America with close to 100,000 works and 1M visitors annually. We have an operating budget of over $60M and a team of more than 600 employees and 400 volunteers committed to presenting great art, facilitating learning, and increasing access.
Aligned to our 10-year vision to lead global conversations through our extraordinary collections, exhibitions and programs and by reflecting the people who live here, we recently launched a bold new admission model that has brought in more than 100,000 passholders in less than 6 months.
This is an exciting time to work at the AGO and we are currently looking for a Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art who is a collaborative, dynamic leader and who will shape our direction with modern and contemporary art in line with our vision.
Do you want a role where you can inspire diverse audiences during an extraordinary time of growth and change?
The Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art:
- Reports to our Deputy Director and Chief Curator and is a vital member of our Curatorial team
- Collaborates with colleagues across our museum to strategically lead and effectively deliver on curatorial priorities including exhibition development, programming, and collection building
- Plans, builds, and presents our permanent collection of modern and contemporary art
- Creates, organizes, and executes major exhibitions and interpret works of art
- Identifies and researches significant trends, issues, and opportunities in the visual arts
- Inspires our visitors and public, locally and globally, by providing a meaningful understanding of modern and contemporary art in a relevant way
- Is exceptional and trusted in establishing and fostering strong, credible and long-term relationships with our artists, donors, Board members, employees, volunteers and other stakeholders
- Is responsible for guiding, motivating and developing their team of employees to deliver on goals and projects aligned with our mission, vision and values
- Is accountable for working with colleagues across our museum to ensure budgets and financial goals are met
Are you a talented leader who makes a positive impact through modern & contemporary art?
The ideal candidate has these skills:
- Ability to identify works of extremely high quality
- Collaborative, credible partner who builds and fosters strong, trusted relationships across all levels, internally and externally
- Exceptional, inclusive leader who values and utilizes the expertise of diverse individuals and groups (artists, teams, other museums, stakeholders) as they achieve curatorial goals and projects together, locally and globally
- Innovative thinker who has developed modern & contemporary art strategies aligned to vision and mission, and who has taken a practical, proactive approach to implement them to engage visitors, donors, community members and other stakeholders in relevant, meaningful ways
- Inspiring leader who guides, motivates and coaches their team to deliver superior results using available resources and budget
- Diplomatic, authentic and influential curator who excels in cultivating sustainable, credible donor relationships aligned to the overall direction of the museum
- Flexible, agile team member who embraces change, diverse points of view and creative problem solving to accomplish deliverables that meet changing audience needs
- Curious, open minded learner who stays up to date on museum trends and best practices that engage audiences through art, collections and exhibitions
- Strong, credible relationship builder who establishes and sustains long-term relationships with our artists, donors, Board members, employees, volunteers and other stakeholders
The ideal candidate has these qualifications:
- A compelling, clear communicator who has examples of publishing relevant, reputable scholarly material on an area(s) of expertise
- 10 years+ of museum experience in exhibition research and development and/or collection development
- Advanced knowledge in art history including expertise in a specialized area(s) of modern and contemporary art
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Modern or Contemporary art history or directly related field
- Keen understanding of and familiarity with Asian and/or South Asian art or related international expertise
- Flexibility to work a changing schedule and to travel to meet the needs of the museum
- English language proficiency
Compensation & Benefits:
- Annual base salary range of CDN $100K-$130K per annum based on qualifications, skills, and experience
- Annual wage increases are available
- Medical Benefits, Dental Benefits, Vision Care Benefits
- Disability and Life Insurance Benefits
- Relocation allowance to be considered
- Discounts from the Provincial/City Reciprocal Agreements (Free admission to museums, the CN Tower & Discounts off amusement parks, city attractions, hotels, wine tours, Second City, the Ontario Science Centre, and much more!)
- Discounts to Goodlife Fitness
- Free tickets to every major exhibit at AGO
We invite individuals who reflect the diversity of our visitors to apply by submitting a tailored cover letter and CV via our website: https://ago.ca/jobs-and-volunteering. We thank all applicants but must advise that only those selected for interviews will be contacted.
The Art Gallery of Ontario is located at:
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5T 1G4