Careers

Curatorial Director

Nassau, The Bahamas

Posted: 26 June 2025

Type: Full-time, On-site
Department: Curatorial
Reports to: Executive Director

Summary: The Curatorial Director is responsible for leading the curatorial department, overseeing all exhibitions and publications, and developing, managing, and displaying the permanent collection.

About the NAGB

The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) is a 20-year-old art museum with over 500 works of historic and contemporary Bahamian art in its permanent collection. The museum is in a new chapter of its evolution under the leadership of Maelynn Ford, who took the helm as Executive Director in January 2025. We are now focusing on an updated strategic plan, expanding our staff, operations, collections, and audiences.

We are looking for someone to set the direction for exhibitions and collections in the NAGB’s new chapter, helping to shape the evolution of the museum. Our vision is to become an institution that is both rigorous and community-oriented, committed to artistic excellence and widespread engagement, with satellite spaces across the archipelago.

About the position

We are looking for a Curatorial Director who can incorporate a scholarly commitment to exhibitions and collections within a broader pursuit of the institutional vision, and who will maintain high curatorial standards, while demonstrating a balance of rigour and openness with team members.

The Curatorial Director will oversee the curatorial department. They will help establish and direct the rhythm and format of the exhibition programme, curate exhibitions, work with guest curators, and coordinate the NAGB’s satellite spaces, ECCHO and The Suite at Pelican Bay. They will oversee the conservation, research, and exhibition of the permanent collection, and work with the Executive Director to update the collections development plan and cultivate donors for new acquisitions.

The Curatorial Director will express their unique curatorial voice, while allowing others to develop theirs, collectively embodying the evolving vision and voice of the museum. They should be committed to the museum’s mission to be in service of The Bahamas, its communities, and advancing the institution to its next stage of growth.

Key responsibilities

Working with the Executive Director, coordinating with colleagues, and executing an evolving institutional vision, the Curatorial Director will:

Lead the curatorial department, including the management of staff, budgets, and policies.

Oversee the development and installation of the permanent and temporary exhibition programmes, including strategy, format, and schedule.

Lead the curatorial team in researching and proposing exhibitions for museum presentation, including both travelling and internally developed exhibitions.

Manage the installation and display of the permanent collection galleries and other museum spaces.

Collections

Devise collection development plans.
Lead the collection acquisition and deaccession process, following a strategic vision for evolving the collection over time.
Work with the Executive Director to cultivate collectors and attract gifts to the museum. Oversee acquisition funding strategies, including working with board members, collectors, and other members of the community.
Field prospective donations to the permanent collection.

Oversee and conduct research on the permanent collection.

Department and institutional responsibilities

Collaborate with the Executive Director and other curators to develop and refine a vision for the exhibition programme, including permanent and temporary exhibitions, projects in the Project Space, and museum collections.
Working with the Executive Director and other curators, develop and oversee the annual curatorial and exhibition budgets.
Serve as content authority for the art of the museum, working with staff, board members, volunteers, and press.
In coordination with the Exhibitions and Collections Care Department, maintain departmental records related to loans, acquisitions, accessions and deaccessions, exhibitions, and archives.
Work with the Executive Director to develop and secure financial support for exhibitions and the permanent collection.
Provide content for grant applications and funding proposals and create frameworks for the museum’s grants for artists.
Work with Exhibitions and Collections Care Department to oversee the collection management policy.
Collaborate with the communications department to produce text for press announcements, website, and other collateral.
Work with the museum store manager to identify work from the National Collection and the temporary exhibitions for merchandising.
Serve on the Board’s Acquisitions Committee.
Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Core competencies and values

Maintain a balance of quality and relevance in the exhibition programme, working to ensure that the programme has energy, authenticity, scholarly integrity, diversity, and accessibility.

Provide original insight in articulating the evolving purpose of the museum’s collections.

Support the museum’s commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion in every dimension of the job, including programming, staffing, and workplace environment.

Advocate for art and artists, while respecting a range of interests and other factors that determine museum programming and activities.

Demonstrate empathy to others with different levels of experience while upholding the museum’s commitment to art and expertise.

Demonstrate respect for the expertise of colleagues in all areas of the museum, embracing the professional capabilities of those in other departments.

Who should apply

Qualified candidates will have a passion for art and community-building and believe in the capacity for art and art museums to change people’s lives and impact the health of communities.

The successful candidate will be both a strategic and nurturing leader. They will have the ability to set clear expectations and priorities, delegate and manage appropriately, and take a professional approach to all issues. The candidate will also be an inclusive leader, interested in a wide range of perspectives, and capable of uniting a team around a shared vision. This individual should be willing to mentor others, foster growth throughout the organisation, and help nurture a culture of kindness and empathy.

The Curatorial Director will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to establish a rapport with people across the entire museum network, from staff and board members to students and families. They will exemplify the values of the museum, which include diversity and inclusion, respect, collaboration, and innovation.

Qualifications and requirements

Minimum 5 years of curatorial experience.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Degree in the arts, humanities, or social sciences.
Strong research and budgeting skills.
Excellent time management and organisational skills.
Attention to detail, punctuality, and reliability.
Proactive work ethic and drive to push tasks and projects forward with minimal supervision.
Ability to learn quickly and adapt in an ever-changing environment.

Application process

Qualified candidates should submit:

A cover letter, highlighting their interest in and suitability for the role.
A CV/résumé.
Three professional reference letters.

The Vivian Group is assisting the NAGB in this position search. Please email applications to nagbcurator@viviangroupbahamas.com ↗ with the subject line Curatorial Director.

The application deadline is 31 July 2025.