Job Title: TD Programming Curator

Location: Art Gallery of Mississauga, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga, ON

Term: 2-year fixed term contract with possibility of extension subject to funding

Hours: 28 hours/week. Weekend and evening work may be required

Rate: $30/hour

Anticipated start date: February 6 (Flexible, depending on the needs of the selected candidate).

Closing date: Friday December 8, 2023, at 5:00 pm EST

The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is excited to announce the creation of a new position in our organization, the TD Programming Curator. Generously funded by TD Bank Group (TD), the TD Programming Curator will provide an extensive professional development opportunity for an emerging, equity-deserving arts practitioner, preferably from the local Mississauga area, to gain significant curatorial and programming experience within the AGM. This new position will help the AGM to expand and strengthen its active commitment to access, diversity, and equality. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to achieve significant career development through active mentorship from the AGM’s staff. Providing a meaningful contribution to the gallery’s overall operations, the TD Programming Curator will help to develop projects that reflect diverse voices while exploring strategies for increasing accessibility and strengthening relationships with local, national, and international communities.

About the Position

The TD Programming Curator will work closely with the AGM’s Curator of Contemporary Art and its Community Activator of Education Programmes, and will be involved in a range of installation, planning, development, engagement, outreach, and management activities. The successful applicant will gain the full experience of working for a small-to-midsized public gallery over the course of a two-year contract, including the opportunity to develop their own exhibition and community programming initiatives.

Their role will be focused on evaluating, developing, and delivering curatorial, educational, and outreach initiatives for the AGM. The format and delivery of these projects will be shaped in partnership with the hired individual to ensure that their work is informed by their lived experience and interests in order to create genuine dialogue.

Their activities will include the following tasks:

• Work alongside the AGM team to evolve strategies for increasing the outreach and accessibility of our upcoming exhibitions, and to reduce barriers to access
• Conduct research on the various cultural groups, events and organizations that are based in Mississauga, and consider how the AGM might engage with them through programming and other strategic initiatives.
• Work with the AGM Curator to assist in the overall exhibition development process (research, coordination, writing didactic material, etc).
• Work alongside the AGM Curator to advance the research, organization, and presentation of our permanent collection, particularly as it pertains to increasing the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our collecting practices and the promotion of our collection.
• Be the lead curator on an AGM exhibition that reflects new, underrepresented, and diverse voices.
• Work with the AGM Community Activator to develop and oversee exhibition-related programming and outreach activities that increase engagement opportunities for diverse audiences.
• Lead exhibition tours
• Assist and/or supervise a range of workshops and events.
• Engage in staff meetings and discussions, contribute to grants and sponsorship requests, etc.
• Liaise with other local cultural organizations and regional galleries, strengthening our community networks
• Learn how to work with funders and contribute towards developing partnership opportunities alongside the AGM Team
• Undertake other relevant duties as required

The ideal candidate:

• has a post-secondary degree in a related discipline, i.e., Art History, History, Museum Studies or the equivalent combination of education and lived experience.
• is Black, Indigenous, a Person of Colour, or is representative of an underserved community
• resides in Mississauga or has significant ties to the area
• is creative, innovative, and enthusiastic
• works independently but will ask for assistance as needed
• has excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
• is dependable, punctual, and flexible
• has the ability to travel within Mississauga and provide their own transportation (preferred but not required)
• Has gallery experience in curatorial and education programming
• Has a solid background in and knowledge about contemporary art practices

About the Art Gallery of Mississauga

The Art Gallery Mississauga (AGM) is a publicly funded contemporary art gallery dedicated to showcasing the work of local, national, and international artists, fostering cultural exchange, and engaging our community through the transformative power of art. Our mandate is to bring art to the community and the community to art.

Positioned in the heart of downtown Mississauga, the AGM is a vibrant and dynamic centre for contemporary art. Through compelling exhibitions, interactive workshops, and thought-provoking events, we aim to inspire, educate, and ignite a passion for the arts in our diverse community. We seek to foster community, transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, and ensure safe spaces where diverse modes of being and seeing are supported and activated in tangible ways. We are proud to admit people free of charge, serve communities, and provide positive visual art experiences for all visitors. As a public gallery with a strong community connection, the AGM develops projects that are designed to strengthen connections to the people of Mississauga and the broader cultural community. We strive to be accessible, inclusive and diverse in everything we do, and we value exchanges that are respectful, collaborative, supportive, and professional.

The Art Gallery of Mississauga is a guest upon the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississauga’s of the Credit. This ancient land is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe, Wendat, and Haudenosaunee nations.

APPLICATION DEADLINE Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and detailed CV to agm.connect@mississauga.ca with the subject line AGM PROGRAMMING CURATOR by 5:00 pm EST Friday, December 8, 2023.

Accommodation The Art Gallery of Mississauga is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs. Disability-related accommodation during the application process is available upon request.