Full Time, two-year fixed term contract
Based at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
An excellent opportunity has arisen for a Project Curator to catalogue and interpret the Irene Finch collection of Japanese porcelain at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
The collection consists of about one thousand pieces of porcelain, dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries, made mostly for the export market. Miss Irene Finch (1918-2019) was a scientist, lecturer and writer with a passion for collecting and researching Japanese ceramics.
You will work with a photographer to record each piece and arrange conservation work where necessary. You’ll be working at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery as well as an offsite storage facility.
You will catalogue the Japanese ceramics to a high standard, drawing on the latest research, to make the collection available to visitors in our museums and online. This work will involve liaising with experts in the UK and Japan.
You will prepare an exhibition of Japanese porcelain to be displayed in the museum as well as an online exhibition that will appeal to a broad range of audiences. You will deliver gallery talks and other presentations about the collection.
This is a great chance to build your expertise in Japanese ceramics and gain experience of a range of curatorial work through a multi-faceted role. You will report to the Senior Curator, Visual Arts and be part of the Collections & Archives team of 40 plus staff (curators, archivists, conservators, documentation and environmental records staff).
You will be able to demonstrate the knowledge, aptitude and experience detailed in the Person Specification. Experience of curating applied art objects would be an advantage combined with excellent research, communication and project management skills.
A proven interest in Japanese culture and a working knowledge of Japanese would be an advantage. Experience of a museum documentation system is also important, as you will be expected to use the Axiell EMu museum documentation system.
The two-year fixed term post is funded through Bristol Museums Development Trust thanks to generous funding from an individual patron. All full time posts can be considered for job share.
Why Bristol City Council?
At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high profile organisation.
Join us and you’ll receive a generous rewards package including flexible working and flexi-time, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.
How do I apply?
If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.
To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.
If you have any questions, please contact Kate Newnham, Senior Curator, Visual Arts kate.newnham@bristol.gov.uk
Closing date 15 November 2020
We intend to shortlist week beginning 23 November 2020
We intend to interview week beginning 30 November 2020
The Culture & Creative Industries team is funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England and is committed to diversifying our audiences and workforce in line with the priorities of those organisations. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, as we want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the city we serve. However, we particularly actively encourage applications from candidates from groups under-represented in our organisation including; Black and minority ethnic, Disabled people and under 25s.