Museum or Art Gallery Curator or Keeper

Museum or art gallery curators or keepers manage collections of historical, archaeological, artistic and scientific items. This includes identifying, interpreting and caring for all exhibits.

The Work

You could be:

• selecting, borrowing and buying items


• designing and arranging displays and special exhibitions in an interesting way
• arranging to restore and conserve objects


• organising the museum or gallery catalogue and records


• managing the museum or gallery budget


• organising publicity and fund raising


• giving talks and lectures to groups including school parties


• carrying out research on items and reporting or publishing the results


• supervising and training museum or gallery staff.

Conditions

• Museums and galleries vary greatly in size and type.
• You would usually work a 37-hour week with additional evening and weekend shifts.


• If you work in a large museum, your work may be mainly administrative.


• In smaller museums you may combine administration with some of the tasks listed above.


• You normally work in a warm, well-lit environment unless you work in an outdoor museum, perhaps with an industrial or farming theme, where you will sometimes have to be out in all weathers.


• Art galleries are usually bright and comfortable to work in.

Getting In

• Entry is competitive and you will need a degree in a suitable subject. This may vary depending on the type of museum.


• Relevant degree subjects include anthropology, archaeology, art history, history or natural history. Alternatively, there are a number of courses in museum, gallery or heritage studies available in England and Wales.


• Entry requirements for a degree are usually between 3-5 Highers. Specific subjects may be required for particular courses.


• Many employers prefer you to have the Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or MLitt in Museum and Gallery Studies from St Andrews University. You can study this full time over 1 year, or part time while in suitable work.


• In large cities you may be able to work in museums or galleries which specialise in subjects such as natural history or modern art. You may need to have specialist knowledge.


• You can also work in independent commercial heritage centres including folk museums, industrial or farming museums.


• You nearly always need relevant voluntary work experience to get in.


• Most entrants work first as assistant curators or keepers, often on a short term contract to begin with.

What Does It Take?

You need to have:

• a genuine interest in the subject


• the ability to study a subject in great depth


• excellent written and verbal communication skills


• an accurate approach


• practical skills


• creative flair and imagination


• IT and research skills


• organisational and business skills


• the ability to lead and motivate staff.

Training

• You would receive on-the-job training from senior staff or management covering for example, the collection's history, health and safety policy and security systems.
• For museum staff with appropriate qualifications, the Museums Association (MA) offers a programme of continuous professional development, leading to the Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA). Details are on the MA website.

Getting On

• With experience and further skills, you may be able to move around in either the public or private sector.


• The promotion structure in national museums is from assistant curator to curator and in large museums or galleries to department head and director.


• Local authority museums do not all have a set promotion structure. You may be able to move from assistant curator to education officer, curator and possibly to museums officer.
• If you start in a small museum you may be able to move on to a larger one with better promotion prospects.


• You may be able to move into an academic post as a curator looking after a university's collections.


• It helps if you are willing to move around the country.

Pay

The figures below are only a guide. Actual pay rates vary, depending on:

• where you work


• the size of the company or organisation you work for


• the demand for the job.

More Information

The Museums Galleries Scotland website lists over 340 museums in Scotland. They vary in size from the National Museum of Scotland with many employees to small local museums with very few employees and often run largely by volunteers.

Addresses

The following organisation(s) may be able to provide further information.