Collections and Visitor Engagement Assistant
Position: Collections and Visitor Engagement Assistant
When: 16 weeks (May to August 2022)
Pay: $20.50 per hour 35 hours per week.
Location of work: UVic Legacy Art Gallery downtown, 630 Yates St., Victoria, BC and at the University of Victoria campus.
Work hours: Tues to Sat 9-4:30, with an adjusted schedule on Thursdays (12:30-7:00 pm to accommodate summer hours in July and August). Please note that at this time, the position will be working on-site and in person at the Legacy Downtown unless new COVID-19 measures dictate.
About UVic Legacy Galleries: At UVic Legacy Art Galleries art activates research and learning through university and community collaborations. Our exhibitions and programs promote dialogue around issues that matter. Hand in hand with this mission, Legacy’s goal is to provide mentorship opportunities to students and recent graduates that further their career possibilities in cultural fields. Legacy’s collection of 19,000+ artworks (historic and contemporary art, with a focus on contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous) is accessible to the community as well as students and faculty. UVic Legacy Art Galleries takes seriously the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. As a Canadian museum with a particular strength in Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous art, Legacy recognizes its responsibility to continually examine its practices to ensure respect, acknowledgement, and collaboration with Indigenous people, communities and partners.
Job description
As a key team member, the Young Canada Works summer student will be involved in two main areas of museum operations:
i) Collections management (70%) By the end of their placement the YCW student will have a good grasp on business processes related to collection management including acquisitions, condition monitoring, loans, art handling, object photography, and digital preservation. The YWC student will work with staff to assist with a number of collections procedures such as condition reporting, cataloguing, data entry, collection research, renewing loans, applying records management procedures and processing image files.
ii) Visitor Engagement (30%) As part of the front of house staff team responsible for visitor engagement, the Young Canada Works student will be trained by our staff specialist for the Legacy Art Gallery’s visitor engagement program to meaningfully engage visitors with exhibition content. In this role, the student will also compile a record of interactions with visitors, log attendance statistics and administer informal survey questions.
Qualifications
Second year or higher post-secondary student in Humanities, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Museum Studies, Indigenous Studies or related discipline with an interest in museums or other cultural organization.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Advanced computer skills and an ability to learn new software quickly in a mixed Mac and PC environment. Experience using Collection Management Software, performing data entry and/or working with metadata would be considered an asset.
Able to work independently and exercise good judgment. Ability to work as part of a team. Able to manage multiple projects and deadlines and adapt to changing priorities.
Able to build respectful and accountable relationships with folks who are racialized, neurodivergent, disabled, LBTQIA2S+, from different religions, and others who experience equity barriers.
UVic is committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion in our living, learning and work environments. In pursuit of our values, we seek members who will work respectfully and constructively with differences and across levels of power. We actively encourage applications from members of groups experiencing barriers to equity.
Please apply with a cover letter and resume to Katie Hughes, Acting Curator of Collections khughes@uvic.ca Deadline April 5th, 2022, 5 pm PST.
