Wits Art Museum is home to a permanent collection of over 12 000 classical, modern and contemporary African artworks. It occupies a high profile position in Braamfontein at the interface between the university and the city. The museum serves the needs of diverse constituencies including the general public, schools and tertiary education through an active exhibition and education programme. Each exhibition is accompanied by an interactive tours programme with the intention of encouraging audiences of all ages to make their own connections and meanings, express their multiple views and voices, gain value as contributors to space, and actively participate in the dialogue that surrounds the Arts of Africa.

Education Curator
University Support Staff (AD08)

Purpose
This position will suit applicants with a passion for arts education, excellent communication skills and organisational abilities and the ability to work well with multiple interest groups to develop and deliver a range of high quality, engaging educational programmes, and other events, that attract growing numbers of school children, students, academics and the general public to the museum on an ongoing and repeat basis.

This position will suit an individual committed to a career in an art museum and with a passion for the role of art museums in society.

Brief posting description:
Key responsibilities include the following:

• Develop and deliver the museum’s education strategy for the university constituency and the public
• Manage and oversee part-time grant-funded educational staff
• Assist with fundraising and proposal writing for educational programming
• Plan educational and other events programming
• Implement, facilitate and organise tours, events and other programmes
• Promote and publicise the museum’s educational and public programmes
• Research and development, in collaboration, interpretive materials for permanent collections and special exhibitions
• Develop and manage a volunteer museum educators programme

Requirements

• Matric
• Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, Art History or Art/Museums Education
• Minimum of 3 years work-related experience

The position also requires excellent verbal and written communications skills; networking skills; a willingness and capacity to work both collaboratively and independently and within the constraints of institutional bureaucracy. The incumbent should be motivated, energetic, creative, resilient and professional. Detail orientation and a methodical, meticulous approach are essential.

The staff complement at WAM is very small so applicants should also be willing to participate in practical mundane museum activities such as setting out furniture, packing workshop equipment, cleaning glass etc with a positive, can-do attitude.

Desirable

• MA (Art History, Fine Arts, Curatorial, Archive Studies) Post-graduate certificate in curatorial or museum studies

Preferences

• As a committed member of staff the successful candidate will also be expected to participate in after-hours programming at the museum.

Time commitment:

• This is a full-time permanent post with a 6-month probation
• This position is based in Johannesburg, Gauteng

For more information on this position, please contact Julia Charlton at Julia.Charlton@wits.ac.za. Please note this contact is for enquiries about the job content. Please do not submit applications via this contact.