- Full-time, permanent position, with flexibility
- Curatorial and Digital Division
- Reports to the Director, Curatorial and Digital
- Location: applicants who are based outside of Sydney are welcome to apply
Please note: the MCA will appoint at the level of Curator or Senior Curator depending on the experience and seniority of the preferred candidate.
Overview of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) is Australia’s leading museum of contemporary art, dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting the work of living artists. Located on the edge of Sydney Harbour, at Tallawoladah, the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the MCA is the museum for the art of our times, providing a vital platform for art in Australia and beyond.
With just over 5% of its staff identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, the MCA is acknowledged for its leadership by our museum peers across Australia in its recognition and respect of the centrality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to Australian identity, through its collection building and custodianship activities, exhibitions, publishing, learning and social impact programs. The MCA Collection, including over 4,600 artworks, is the only public collection in Australia dedicated exclusively to contemporary art. Over a third of the MCA Collection is represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists
This exciting opportunity forms part of the MCA’s commitment to assisting in building experience and capacity among the current generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts professionals.
Overview of the position
The Curator/Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions works in collaboration with the MCA’s Director, First Nations Art and Cultures and is informed by the guidelines and goals – including those relating to collection development and exhibition programming – set out in the MCA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy.
Reporting directly to the Director, Curatorial and Digital, the Curator/Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions works with the Senior Curator, Collection and Senior Curator, Exhibitions and within a curatorial team responsible for planning and development of the exhibition and artist commissions program as well as development and presentation of the MCA Collection. They are responsible for the research, planning, development and delivery of selected contemporary exhibitions and other artistic projects involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
The Curator/Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions is actively involved with MCA projects that involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, artists and community. The position is responsible for undertaking and supporting research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the MCA Collection as well as providing advice on and research supporting collection development. The position contributes to the broader research and planning work of the curatorial team particularly (but not solely) by sharing as appropriate expertise pertaining to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island artists, art practices and possible exhibitions.
The post-holder contributes to meetings of the Museum’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group and the Artists’ Advisory Group; forms key relationships with other arts and cultural organisations; is involved in seeking funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander exhibitions through applications to appropriate funding bodies in Australia and overseas, as well as agencies and selected private foundations; and works closely with colleagues across the Museum to ensure the MCA’s objectives of promoting wider public engagement with contemporary art are realised.
More information
For more information about the role and how to apply please download the position description below.
Closing date
Monday 31 July, 9am.
