The following content was provided by Laurel V. McLaughlin, PhD, Curator and Director of the Collective Futures Fund, Tufts University Art Galleries, SMFA at Tufts
If you are interested in working directly with artists, collaboration, research, administrative logistics, you might be curious to learn more about a curatorial career path. The word “curate” comes from the Latin word “curare,” which means “to care.” Literally, curatorial work is a form of caretaking for objects; but since contemporary art includes working with artists, it becomes a direct way of caring for artists and publics as well. The impact of such work can influence artist-run, non-profit, and governmental organizations and institutions and interface with publics ranging from artists; collegiate students, faculty and staff; and rural and urban public, thereby shaping cultural discourses concerning visual, performing, and musical arts.
Curators of contemporary art can come from a variety of backgrounds including education, fine art, art history, and liberal arts. Many curators that focus on institutional work often pursue higher education and specialize in subfields within art history or socio-cultural movements. While specialization is important to the contextualization and interpretation of art objects, the collections and artists that curators care for are often broad ranging, requiring a foundational skillset. These skills include but are not limited to: using collections databases such as TMS, Mimsy, or ArtLogic; creating and tracking project-based budgets; liaising with artists, galleries, and institutional personnel such as registrars, preparators, designers, educators, programmers, marketing and development colleagues; researching artist bios, art historical movements, material processes, and socio-cultural contexts; drafting and collaboratively editing exhibition interpretive texts; crafting marketing collateral; writing and editing scholarly publications; presenting research at professional conferences; developing relationships with artists, curators, and foundations; community-building and knowledge sharing; partnering on grant writing; advocating for fair treatment and pay of contractors and artists; and coordinating schedules among departments and production timelines, among other skills.
The majority of curators begin their careers as research assistants in undergraduate or graduate school, and interns with arts organizations, working with professional curators and in grassroots organizations or institutions. Research opportunities and internships are ideally curatorial, but many curators also have early internships with departments of education, interpretation, and programming. While many curators work at artist-run spaces, collegiate galleries and museums, non-profit institutions, and government-run museums, others work for private collections and foundations, or pursue independent curatorial projects, freelancing with the aforementioned entities. There is a growing number of curators working in commercial gallery settings in addition to editorial positions for arts-based magazines and journals.
Sample Employers + Job/Internship Titles
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York—Paid internships for undergraduate and graduate students through the summer, long-term opportunities, and semesters with various institutional departments
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston— Paid internships for undergraduate and graduate students through the summers and semesters with various institutional departments
The New York Foundation for the Arts—National job search engine for careers in the arts, based in New York with entry-, mid-, and late-career postings across the U.S.
PhilaCulture—Regional job search engine for careers in the arts, based in Philadelphia with entry-, mid-, and late-career postings across the Tri-state region.
Hire Culture— Regional job search engine for careers in the arts, based in Massachusettes with entry-, mid-, and late-career postings.
Other search terms you could use if you’re interested in this field: Contemporary art programmer, organizer, director
Professional Associations in U.S. and Canada:
College Art Association (CAA)
Midwest Art History Society (MAHS)
Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC)
Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present (ASAP)
Universities Art Association of Canada (UAAC)
List Serves:
Muse Weekly, Museum Studies and Public Engagement
Articles and Interviews on Curating:
“Hans Ulrich Obrist: the art of curation”: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/23/hans-ulrich-obrist-art-curator
“The Kitchen’s Legacy Russell Is Expanding the Work of the White Box”: https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2022/06/22/the-kitchens-legacy-russell-is-expanding-the-work-of-the-white-box
I is for Institute, ICA Philadelphia—Interviews with global curators and directors
Selected Bibliography
Badovinac, Zdenka. Unannounced Voices: Curatorial Practice and Changing Institutions. London, UK: Sternberg Press, 2022. Library Link.
Obrist, Hans Ulrich. Ways of Curating. Zurich: JRP / Ringier and Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2008. Library Link.
Obrist, Hans Ulrich. A Brief History of Curating. Zurich: JRP / Dijon: Les presses du réel, 2008. Library Link.
Reilly, Maura. Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating. Montreal: Les editions esse, 2020. Library Link.
Smith, Terry. Thinking Contemporary Curating. New York, NY: Independent Curators International, 2012. Library Link.
Virkam, Anuradha. Decolonizing Culture. San Francisco, CA: Sming Sming Press, 2018.
