MACKENZIE ART GALLERY
engaging people in transformative experiences of the world through art
Job Title: Curatorial Research Assistant
Department: Curatorial
Status: Full Time, Casual/Hourly Term June 1, 2020 – August 21, 2020 Non-Union Position (35 hours / week or 7 hours / day) Funded through Young Canada Works
About the MacKenzie Art Gallery:
The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG) is Saskatchewan’s oldest and most comprehensive art museum, serving a leadership role in Western Canada. This is a watershed moment in the history of the Gallery, as it is undergoing a multi-phase organizational transformation. Programming primarily contemporary art from the prairies, Canada and abroad, the MAG addresses an encyclopedic range of visual art and culture and is an international leader in Indigenous art. Housed within an over 115,000ft2 facility, maintained to Class A Museum standards, the MAG permanent collection spans 5000 years of art with nearly 5000 works. MAG was founded on the collection of its namesake, Norman MacKenzie (1869–1936), who bequeathed his collection to the University of Saskatchewan (Regina College), now the University of Regina.
Opening in 1953 in the first purpose-built art gallery building in western Canada, the MacKenzie enjoys a nationally unique partnership with the University of Regina. After separating in 1990, and moving to its current premises, MAG now maintains separate board governance, site and an expansive mandate and quarters in the T.C. (Tommy) Douglas Building. The MAG features an outdoor sculpture garden with potential for growth through loans, acquisitions and commissions. The MAG is situated in Treaty Four territory, traditional land of the Cree, Saulteaux and Metis, and home to the Dakota, Nakota and Lakota peoples. The MAG is located on the edge of the 2300-acre Wascana Centre, the largest urban park in Canada. Wascana Centre (1962) was designed by renowned modernist architect Minoru Yamasaki, designer of the original World Trade Center in New York, and is a living artifact of modernist design heritage.
Primary Purpose: The Curatorial Research Assistant position is designed to assist students in gaining the exhibition research, writing and production skills necessary for curatorial research and/or assistant curator positions in contemporary art galleries and museums and contribute to further employment in the heritage sector. Past students have gone to graduate work and curatorial positions nationally and internationally.
Nature of Work: The mission of the MacKenzie Art Gallery is to engage people in transformative experiences in the world through art. The Curatorial Department plays an integral role in the delivery of this mission by leading the research, development, and organization of curatorial activities related to exhibitions, publications, public programs and acquisitions. Reporting to the Head Curator, the Curatorial Research Assistant will assist the Curators of the Gallery with on-going research in preparation for upcoming exhibitions
Accountabilities:
Permanent collections online initiatives — In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MacKenzie is fast-tracking a number of online initiatives which will give virtual access to the permanent collection. One initiative is the exhibition The Multiple Lives of Drawings, which will introduce the gallery’s holding of Renaissance and Baroque drawings through an interactive exhibit designed to highlight new research into attributions, subjects, and roles of drawings. Additional content related to other collecting areas will also be generated in preparation for the launch of a searchable online database.
Permanent collection demographic audit — This summer we will be undertaking our first comprehensive demographic audit of the permanent collection. As part of our ongoing Programs Review, we are updating the demographic information on all of the artists in our collection in order to better understand the gaps in our collection and to make well informed decisions about future collecting activities.
The Kampelmacher Memorial Collection of Indigenous Art – The MacKenzie continues to build a diverse collection of Canadian art with a special focus on Western Canada and contemporary Indigenous art. The Gallery is currently processing a promised donation of 1,000 works of North American Indigenous and Inuit art. (2019-2021)
Superscreen: The Making of an Artist-Run Counterculture and the Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop — This catalogue publication looks at the activities, social environment and legacy of one of the prairies’ first artist-run centres, the Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop. The exhibition returns to the Canadian west of the 1960s and 1970s to contextualize the Screen Shop and surrounding milieu within a time characterized by personal and political consciousness-raising and dynamic change within the arts and society at large.
Over the course of the summer, the student will be introduced to the practical application of curatorial and collections management theory. In particular, the student will develop skills and experience related to the research and production phases of art exhibitions and publications, as well as research and documentation related to collections.
Qualifications – Education: A post-secondary student, preferably in the third or fourth year in the BA or BFA program in Art or Art History.
Skills: Exhibition research, writing, and production skills necessary for curatorial research; highly organized and self- motivated; ability to prioritize deadlines; strong team player with the ability to work independently, collaboratively, and within a team environment; exceptional written communications skills; knowledge of online databases and graphics programs as asset; ability to find creative solutions to problems and manage responsibility under tight deadlines; be legally entitled to work in Canada; be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have refugee status in Canada; be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the YCW employment; have registered as a full-time student in the semester preceding the YCW job; intend to return to full-time studies in the semester immediately following the YCW summer job; be willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment; not have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) while employed with YCW; and be registered with the YCW online candidate inventory.
The MacKenzie Art Gallery is committed to maintaining an inclusive culture and building a diverse workforce that includes women, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities who have traditionally been and are currently underrepresented in the Canadian workforce. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.
Salary Information: $17.00 / hour (Non-Union)
HOW TO APPLY
Please apply no later than Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 4:30 PM.
Applications should be emailed to: Email: jmartin@mackenzie.art
Please include “Curatorial Assistant” in the subject line of all applications sent via email.
MacKenzie Art Gallery
Attn: Jackie Martin, Director of Finance & Operations 3475 Albert Street
Regina, SK S4S 6X6
306-584-4250 ext. 4275
