Curator of 20th Century and Contemporary Furniture

Job Title: Curator of 20th Century and Contemporary Furniture
Division: Collections
Department: Furniture, Textiles and Fashion / Design, Architecture and Digital
Pay band: 5/4
Reporting to: Keeper of Furniture, Textiles and Fashion / Keeper of Design, Architecture and Digital

Background
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design. Its modern and contemporary collections (1900 to the present day) play an important part in its collecting activities and in its public profile.

Furniture, Textiles and Fashion (FTF) is a long-standing department with furniture collections dating from the medieval period to the present day, textiles objects from the 3rd century AD through to the contemporary, and fashion objects from the 17th century to the present. These collections are primarily European or from areas influenced by the European tradition (e.g. the Americas), although some Asian objects also form part of the collections. The FTF Department has actively collected modern and contemporary furniture throughout its history, and industrial design objects have been collected mainly since the 1980s.

Design, Architecture and Digital (DAD) is a curatorial department which focuses on the subjects of contemporary architecture and urbanism, product design and digital design. The department’s activities are focused on discipline and object-based expertise, on developing the collections and making them accessible through exhibitions, displays, galleries, the web, traditional publications and events. DAD is a department motivated by the civic role of the Museum in contemporary society, and works as a team to collect and exhibit objects that tell stories about design and public life.

Purpose of job

This new post will work across these two curatorial departments. It will help to expand the Museum’s definition and collecting of furniture and design, aiming to address all areas of modern design beyond craft production, including those which do not fit easily within the Museum’s departmental structures.

The postholder will form a key part of the team responsible for the care, research, display and interpretation of the V&A’s twentieth-century and contemporary design collections. The successful candidate will have a sound knowledge of twentieth-century furniture and product design, and demonstrable expertise in contemporary furniture. The post requires commitment to scholarship, display and to the full range of curatorial work. This includes work with colleagues throughout the Museum to make the collections as accessible as possible to a wide range of audiences, in displays, events, publications, lectures and gallery talks, the web, and new ideas for developing access to study collections.

Working closely with colleagues in FTF, DAD and other departments including Exhibitions, Research and Conservation, the postholder must collect important modern and contemporary design, and be a constant source of ideas for exhibitions and other programming. They will also be involved in a wide range of Museum projects, in particular the V&A’s plan to build a new museum in East London by 2021.

All curators are expected to contribute to curatorial and administrative work across FTF and DAD departments and to serve on cross-Museum committees and teams as required.

Main tasks

1. To take curatorial responsibility for twentieth-century and contemporary furniture, as well as twentieth-century product design acting as specialist and maintaining expert knowledge on behalf of the Museum.
2. To undertake acquisitions of twentieth-century and contemporary furniture, as well as twentieth-century product design for the Museum’s collection, complying with Museum practice and procedures.
3. To work with colleagues and take curatorial and operational responsibility for the Museum’s 20th/21st Century Gallery, as well as operational responsibility for the Rapid Response Collecting gallery.
4. To contribute to making the collections accessible to the widest possible audience in a variety of ways.
5. To contribute as required to the V&A East project, helping develop a vision for this new institution.
6. To contribute, as required, to V&A public programmes, events (including Friday Lates) and other exhibitionrelated programming managed by the DAD team (such as Rapid Response Collecting).
7. To foster and develop relationships with designers, makers and others in the contemporary design world. To support outside scholars working on V&A material in this area.
8. To take an active role in managing FTF and DAD collections in store, as well as working on the documentation of these collections, electronically and otherwise.
9. To undertake research in and publish the collection in traditional and online forms, and to maintain a strong personal research profile.
10. To work with senior colleagues to provide expert advice to government, to public bodies, to the press and others.
11. To work with Assistant Curators and foster their development of subject and curatorial expertise.
12. Be committed to health and safety and ensure familiarity with all of the Museum’s health and safety policies and procedures.
13. Be security conscious, ensure familiarity and co-operation with all museum security procedures and ensure you wear a security pass at all times when on museum premises.
14. Promote equality and diversity in all aspects of your work by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and with respect/dignity and actively contributing to developments that support the museum’s strategy for widening access, inclusion and diversity.
15. Carry out ad hoc duties as requested by appropriate managers within your department.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential requirements

1. A post-graduate degree in a relevant discipline or evidence of equivalent expertise.
2. A broad knowledge of twentieth-century and contemporary furniture, and twentieth-century product design and their cultural context, with evidence of a commitment to developing further expertise.
3. Experience of having successfully curated exhibitions.
4. Research experience, in particular, a commitment to object and subject-based research.
5. Knowledge of the needs of different audiences and a commitment to providing for these through publications, lectures, talks and the creation of new displays and of material for the web.
6. Demonstrable ability to be speak about design on behalf of the Museum.
7. Evidence of practical and organisational skills, meticulousness, and a keen attention to detail in all aspects of work, particularly record keeping.
8. Evidence of ability to work under pressure, to work flexibly and demonstrable ability to work as part of a team.
9. Excellent computer skills (Excel, Photoshop, PowerPoint, etc), experience of working with social media, and ability to manage information in traditional and digital forms systematically and accurately.
10. Good communications skills and ability to work as part of a flexible team, to achieve a variety of projects. Good writing skills.

Desirable requirements

1. Record of publication.
2. Experience of working with the creative industries.
3. Working knowledge of an additional European language.

OTHER INFORMATION

Hours/Salary
Net working hours (i.e. excluding meal breaks) are 36 per week.

The salary will be within V&A pay band 5/4 (£26,137 rising to £37,392 per annum). Future pay progression will be in accordance with the V&A’s Pay Agreement(s). Normal level transfer and promotion rules will apply for internal candidates.

Annual Leave
28 days plus 8 days public holidays

Pension benefits
The Civil Service offers a choice of either an occupational pension or stakeholder pension, giving you the flexibility to choose a scheme that suits you best.

The ‘Partnership’ pension account is a stakeholder money purchase pension with an employer contribution based on age. Further details are available upon request or appointment.

Other benefits
Free entrance to all the major museums in London as well as many others.

An interest free season ticket or bicycle loan is available after three months.

Subject to the society’s terms and conditions, V&A staff are entitled to membership of the Benenden Healthcare Society. Further information is available from HR or via their web-site on www.benendenhealthcare.org.uk

To apply
To apply online, please go to the V&A’s website at www.vam.ac.uk/jobs

If you have any queries regarding the recruitment process, you can email us – hr@vam.ac.uk or telephone us on 020 7942 2937.

Closing date for receipt of applications is midday on 11 January 2016.
Interviews to be held on 3 and/or 4 February 2016
Interview expenses will not be paid unless there is a prior agreement.