Assistant Curator Responsibilities
Learning about the assistant curator responsibilities can be a turning point in your life. The job of an assistant curator is the stepping stone towards the position of curator. They work in museums, wildlife sanctuaries, scientific laboratories, art galleries, etc. Nowadays, assistant curators are also employed in institutes which handle digital data. With such a variety in the nature of employing organizations, the responsibilities of an assistant curator also differ.
Assistant curators are basically employed to look after the various operations and administrative tasks in an organization. An assistant curator working in a wildlife sanctuary helps in the acquisition of new animals, supervision of staff and visitors, arrangement of exhibitions, scheduling checkup, and maintaining the database of animals in the sanctuary.
On the other hand, an assistant curator working in an art gallery searches artworks for acquisition, arranges, designs exhibitions, sets display stalls, etc.
They also work towards the promotion of the organization they work for and encourage the public to visit their organization.
Assistant curator responsibilities are described in the following heads
- Acquisition and documentation: Whether it is an art museum, zoo or a laboratory, the assistant curator has to work towards the acquisition of artifacts, animals or specimens. He has to research and communicate in the network for the acquisition. Assistant curator prepares the records of new acquisitions and maintains records of all the acquisitions for reference purpose.
- Valuation: Assistant curators assess the current value and significance of a particular artwork, animal, or any other acquisition for the organization.
- Storage: Assistant curators in a museum or laboratory acquire the new stock and arrange it in a proper manner to enhance the life of artifact or a specimen. In a zoo, they have to ensure that an animal is provided proper shelter and environment.
- Conduct and manage exhibitions and events: He/she has to make the necessary arrangements for any event in his organization and communicate with different parties such as vendors and caterers to provide necessary stocks. He assigns tasks to other employees and recruits and trains volunteers for a particular event.
- Assist visitors: They helps the visitors and provides them necessary guidance and information. He distributes the catalogues to the visitors. He also packs and transports the artwork to the purchasers.
- Development of educational programs: An assistant curator working in the university art museum works with the art faculty for the development of educational programs.
- Communicate with PR/media agency: They have to communicate with the public relations firm or a media agency so that they can cover the event.
Assistant curator responsibilities imply that the person working in this position has to manage all the tasks efficiently on his own or with the staff and external publics.
Skills of an Assistant Curator
To work in this position, you need to be:
- Communicative: Make it a point to hone your communication skills as you will have to communicate with different people within the organization and with the visitors too. You also need to be excellent with written and digital communication.
- Attentive: You are expected to be highly attentive to people and things at workplace.
- Leader: Leadership is required many a time when you need to handle a team of volunteers and staff during events or even on a normal workday.
Becoming an Assistant Curator
Different industries demand different qualifications as they hire assistant curators. For example, a museum would expect the candidate to be a graduate in arts, while a wildlife sanctuary would prefer individuals with graduation in science.
Career Scope
Starting salary for assistant curators is around $40,000 that can go up to $60,000 depending on the candidate's education, experience and skills.
With the description of assistant curator responsibilities, you can easily assess this career option and go for it if you feel that this is the right career for you.
