Assistant Curator, Indigenous Australian Art (Identified: First Nations)

The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s vision is to be Australia’s most inspiring & welcoming gallery, and a global leader in the contemporary art of Australia, Asia, and the Pacific.

QAGOMA is seeking an Assistant Curator, Indigenous Australian Art to join our dynamic and creative team.

The successful applicant will demonstrate a broad working knowledge of Indigenous Australian Art and the capacity to work with artists and stakeholders. Tertiary qualifications in art history, visual arts or museum studies are essential.

We are looking for an individual who:

– Will contribute to the development, research, documentation, display and interpretation of the Gallery’s own Collection.

– Can assist with research and administration of upcoming exhibitions.

– Is eager to contribute interpretive texts to Gallery publications and participate in public program events.

This role is an identified role under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), it is a genuine occupational requirement for the incumbent to be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

About the Gallery

As a leading cultural tourism destination, QAGOMA presents a dynamic program of Australian and international exhibitions each year. We facilitate participation and learning relating to the arts as a means of building community cohesion and wellbeing, and we champion the work of diverse Queensland artists and stories. The Gallery’s permanent collection of 20,000 works of art is developed and conserved for current and future generations, and includes an internationally significant collection of contemporary Asian and Pacific art.

The Gallery is an arts statutory body managed by the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees under the Queensland Art Gallery Act 1987. For more information please see the Gallery’s website which includes our Strategic Plan and Annual Reports.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace by supporting equal opportunities irrespective of gender, culture, generation, sexual orientation or disability. We promote a respectful workplace culture. We recognise the importance of supporting and retaining a mobile, flexible and agile workforce.

About this role

The Curatorial Section is organised into curatorial departments that are responsible for the Gallery’s permanent collection and exhibition program. Each is led by a Curatorial Manager with designated responsibility for a Collection area.

The Australian Art department is responsible for historical and contemporary collection development and exhibitions across Indigenous, historical and contemporary art curatorial portfolios. The department currently has an Indigenous Australian Art curator and Associate Indigenous Australian Art curator on staff. The Indigenous Australian Art collection has a focus on contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video and installation. It also includes a significant Collection of contemporary Indigenous Australian fibre art from across the country, with objects made from natural and introduced materials, related sculptural objects and paintings and prints which reference fibre and reflect major themes and stories.

The primary purpose of the Assistant Curator, Indigenous Australian Art is to assist the Curator of Indigenous Australian Art with administration of the section – researching; cataloguing; preparing works of art in the Collection for exhibition; recommending works for acquisition; assisting with community representation and stakeholder liaison; and the care, promotion and management of the Indigenous Australian Art Collection – working within the Australian Art Department