Curator

Curators select, organise and maintain collections of artwork or historical or valuable items for places like museums, galleries and universities.

Also known as

Art curator, art gallery and museum curator, humanities curator, curator Māori, natural science curator, exhibitions curator, New Zealand and Pacific curator

Work environment

  • Usually work regular business hours but may work evenings and weekends
  • Usually work in offices, art galleries and museums
  • Need to be methodical, creative and communicate well

Salary information

MOST COMMON
UPPER
LOWER
$50K-$129K 50000

Typical tasks

  • Create exhibitions of objects and artworks
  • Evaluate artworks and historical objects
  • Work with artists, dealers, museums and galleries
  • Negotiate artwork buying, borrowing and lending
  • Plan community programmes and activities
  • Manage the preservation of artwork
  • Manage budgets
  • Write articles, papers and books
  • Give talks and lectures

Outlook

Curator roles in New Zealand are influenced by the health of museums, galleries, heritage organisations and cultural funding. Opportunities can be competitive, but the sector is evolving through digital collections, online exhibitions, community partnerships and stronger focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mātauranga Māori and diverse voices. Internationally, curators are also responding to repatriation, access, sustainability and new ways of engaging audiences.

What employers and industry want in graduates

  • Strong research and storytelling skills
  • Respect for culture, heritage and different communities
  • Good organisation and collection management skills
  • Clear writing for exhibitions, labels and digital content
  • Ability to collaborate with artists, iwi, communities and teams
  • Confidence using digital collection and presentation tools

AUT programmes

The above is a suggestion only and a starting point. You may need to meet other criteria or take additional steps to work in this career.

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This data is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahtu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Some of the information has been modified by AUT. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this data.