Curator

You will be passionate about delivering the Whitechapel’s Gallery’s mission to make contemporary art and ideas accessible to local and global audiences in the East End of London, recognising the critical role that art can play in firing up our imaginations, reflecting lived experiences and opening up new possibilities for thinking, feeling and dreaming.

We are particularly committed to showing under-represented, under-served artists, especially women and people of colour, and to present provocative artworks that expand thinking around the key socio-political concerns of our time.

Working collaboratively with colleagues and, at times, external curators, the Curator takes responsibility for the development, organisation and co-ordination of exhibitions and publications assigned by the Head of Exhibitions, including budgetary management. The Curator will be attuned to contemporary debates and discourses around artistic practice and actively initiate and contribute ideas to the Gallery’s programme, liaise with other internal departments as appropriate and represent the Whitechapel Gallery at relevant networking and fundraising events.

Conditions of work

• Contract: Permanent
• Hours of work: Full-time (36.25 hours). Monday to Friday, 9:30am- 5:45pm (with one hour unpaid lunch). During install periods working hours are 8:30am-5:30pm. Due to the nature of the job, flexibility may be required to your normal working hours. Additionally, some early morning, evening and weekend work might be required, as well as occasional travel. The additional hours will be compensated by time off in lieu.
• Probationary period: 6 months

Job Requirements

• A relevant degree or post-graduate degree in Art History or Curating.
• At least three years of experience curating contemporary art exhibitions in a significant gallery or as an independent curator.
• Experience of exhibition planning, organising and installation and of working directly with artists, gallerists and curators.
• Experience of managing projects and budgets within an organisational context.
• Substantial experience overseeing transport and insurance arrangements and managing all stages of loan negotiation and administration.
• Commitment to engaging diverse audiences locally and globally.
• Extensive knowledge of contemporary art, artists and art world networks.
• Confident public speaker able to represent the Gallery and its programmes.
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently, remaining calm under pressure.

Job Responsibilities

• Contributing to the delivery of the Whitechapel Gallery’s curatorial vision through feeding into programming discussions, the curation and co-curation of exhibitions, utilising contacts with artists and organisations and knowledge of issues in contemporary art and culture.
• Developing curatorial projects by researching and selecting works, liaising with artists and external curators.
• Taking responsibility for the authoring, commissioning, editing and production of specific exhibition catalogues, contextual material, guides, labels and wall texts.
• Working closely with the Publications Coordinator on the concept, design, content and editing of exhibition publications.
• Developing installation plans in consultation with the Gallery Technical Manager and Head of Exhibitions.
• Drawing up exhibition-specific budgets.