Job Description: Assistant Registrar

Reporting to the Registrar, Collections, the Assistant Registrar assists with registration activities related to acquisitions, exhibitions and loans. The Assistant Registrar also assists with documentation related to exhibitions and the Gallery’s permanent collection, collections storage and with the care and movement of artworks. The Assistant Registrar provides backup to the Registrars as needed and undertaking other related duties as required.

The Assistant Registrar works closely with staff in registration, conservation, preparation, audio-visual/graphics, photography and curatorial and liaises with venders, artists, donors, shippers, borrowing institutions, researchers, museum colleagues and the general public. The Assistant Registrar applies a good understanding of the Gallery’s larger needs with an eye for detail and works within the overall goals of the Gallery’s Registration Department.

The Vancouver Art Gallery Association (Association) believes creativity is fundamental to an open and engaged world. The Association strives for art experiences that create paths of shared perspectives leading to engaged and diverse communities supporting a collective future together. The Association operates a museum located in downtown Vancouver on the unceded territories of the x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam), S?wx?wú7mesh (Squamish) and s?lilw?ta?? (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

The Vancouver Art Gallery, one of the largest art museums in Canada, and the largest arts organization in Western Canada, is undergoing a multi-phase organizational transformation. With a permanent collection of over 12,000 works of art, the Gallery is implementing a campaign to build a new purpose-built gallery facility in downtown Vancouver, the Chan Centre for Visual Arts. This is a moment of growth, exploration and innovation, as the Gallery re-articulates its relationship to community and audiences to re-imagine what an art museum in the 21st century can be.

As a not-for-profit organization incorporated under the BC Societies Act and a recognized charity, the Association’s funding is dependent on contributed and earned revenue and municipal, provincial, and federal grants, as well as foundation support and the generosity of its donors.  The Association had over 150 employees pre-COVID and has put in place the foundation for post-COVID recovery and strategic development.

• Assists with preparing and/or procuring documentation including receipts, lists, installation instructions, customs paperwork, labels, and other paperwork as needed for acquisitions, exhibitions and loans;
• Assists with communicating with Curatorial and Museum Services Departments to prepare works for acquisitions, exhibitions and loans;
• Assists with shipping arrangements as needed;
• Assists with the creation and maintenance of permanent collection files and catalogue records in collections management database.
• Assists with providing access to the collection for Gallery staff and visiting scholars;
• Supports and assists other Registration staff on collection projects and activities and provides backup to the Registrars as needed.

• Undergraduate or graduate degree in museum studies or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience with a strong working knowledge of registration, collection and exhibition processes.
• Detail – oriented person who possesses excellent organizational skills and has the ability to manage multiple priorities with a high degree of accuracy and thoroughness.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team. Excellent communication and writing skills.