Career Blog post: Gallery Curator

The primary role of gallery curators is to find and select artists to have exhibitions in the gallery the curator works for. Many factors have to go into this selection process, the type of work, themes, style and instillation process are all key details that Gallery Curators have to consider. Curators have to research artists, plan instillations and make those instillations happen. In terms of education someone aspiring to be a gallery curator needs a bachelors in an major like museum studies or art history, and a masters in a similar art related field. Some of the best programs for art history and museum studies are at schools like Yale, Harvard, John Hopkins and Boston University. For some of the more prestigious galleries a Ph.D. is required to even be considered for the role. Additionally having worked entry level positions at galleries is also very important. The average salary for a curator is about $70,000 a year. The lowest recorded salaries are around $25,000 a year while the highest salaries are around $120,000.