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Job Description:
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The Museum
With a growing list of awards for its originality and leadership, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is experiencing phenomenal growth and has earned recognition among the museum community. Its intrepidly designed exhibitions blend multiple artistic disciplines and are exported across the globe. In addition, the MMFA’s educational and cultural programs benefit from the richness of its collection as well as collaborations with myriad partners to teach, inspire and propose relevant solutions to today’s social issues. At once an agora for the arts, a lab open to experiments of all kinds and a museum with strong social values, the MMFA is constantly redefining itself as it keeps pace with our dynamic city. With its ability to captivate both professionals and the general public alike, the MMFA is Quebec’s most visited museum and ranks 2nd in Canada, 8th in North America and 49th in the world in terms of visitor numbers.
The Team
The Museum’s standout performance is backed by the talent and expertise of nearly 300 employees and 400 volunteers who are dedicated to its mission. Hailing from varied cultural and professional backgrounds, the members of this impressive team wholly reflect Montreal’s cultural diversity and creative energy. They share the MMFA’s values and therefore strive to raise the institution’s profile and uphold its standard of excellence. The Curatorial Department encompasses many sectors: archaeology and world cultures, early, modern and contemporary international art, Quebec and Canadian art, decorative arts and design, and photography and graphic arts. This diversity of expertise encourages our curators to think as a team and use a transdisciplinary approach.
The Collection
The MMFA boasts an encyclopedic collection of 43,700 works, and its holdings in decorative art and design – dating from the Middle Ages to today – is among the largest in North America. The early collection is comprised of 16,000 objects that include silverware, glass, ceramics, metals, textiles, enamels and furniture. The richness of the materials and range of styles attest to the quality of the collection and illustrate the evolution of the decorative arts between 1400 and 1900.
The Museum’s post-1900 decorative arts and design collection contains some 7,000 objects executed by international designers. It includes the remarkable Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, comprising objects from 1935 to today, as well as mass-produced items, limited editions and one-of-a-kind pieces that cover the full spectrum of decorative arts and design: ceramics, glassware, silverware, jewellery, furniture, costumes, fashion and textiles, and industrial and graphic design. The collection retraces the major movements that have marked the history of this field since 1900, in particular Art Nouveau, Art Deco, modernism, postmodernism and the complexity of 21st-century creation.
The Position
Reporting to the Director General and Chief Curator, the Curator of Design and Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts is responsible for:
• Developing and overseeing the decorative arts acquisition program, and performing the necessary relevant research.
o Actively researching donations and acquisitions.
o Maintaining relationships with collectors, patrons, consultants and academic experts as well as other museum curators, artists and artisans, and international and Canadian companies to enrich and support the collection.
o Working closely with the Museum’s administration and other Museum curators and departments (Conservation, Exhibitions Production, the Foundation, Education and Wellness, etc.).
• Enriching and promoting the MMFA’s collection in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and around the world.
• Proposing and developing exhibition themes (Design Lab).
• Curating, adapting and providing support for exhibitions proposed by the Museum’s administration.
• Developing and enhancing the exhibitions program in your field of expertise or transdisciplinary areas (in line with the MMFA’s multidisciplinary, global vision). Researching and supporting travelling exhibitions, where applicable.
• Editing scholarly catalogues and other publications, guides, articles, research papers and mediation-related documentation.
• Giving oral presentations to journalists as well as at conferences.
• Maintaining and building long-term partnerships with collectors, companies, artists and artisans, researchers, prospective donors and key support organizations.
• Participating in researching funding sources, as needed.
• Educating students, research experts, Museum VIP members and the general public.
• Preparing and delivering lectures on the Museum’s permanent collection or on topics related to your field of expertise.
Your Qualifications:
• Doctoral degree in art history or the equivalent, with a concentration in modern and contemporary decorative arts.
• At least three years’ experience as a curator in modern and contemporary decorative arts.
• Demonstrated interest in the fields of art, fashion or design, photography and graphic design.
Requirements:
• Excellent research and academic writing skills (in French and English).
• Excellent mastery of English (oral and written).
• A great passion for your field of expertise.
• Outstanding ability to work as a team member and to respect deadlines and the Museum’s stated priorities (working with/on team calendars, consultants, mock-ups, and requests from different departments).
• Facility with donor relations and prospecting in Canada’s two official languages.
• Independence, ambition, curiosity, initiative and creativity.
• High degree of flexibility and imagination in incorporating decorative arts and design into the Museum’s orientations, in keeping with its transdisciplinary and trans-historical visions.
Pursuant to its mission, the MMFA encourages diversity on its teams and invites candidates from all backgrounds
with the required skills to apply. Please send your application to emploi@mbamtl.org with the position title in your email subject line.
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