Curatorial trainee

Closing date for applications: Sunday 16th November 2025 at 11.59pm

Salary: Training allowance equivalent to London Living Wage

Duration: 1 year

Working hours: 9.30am - 5.30pm, 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

Start date: January 2026

Probationary period: 6 weeks

Reports to: Senior curator, museum acquisitions

Department: Museum acquisitions

Ready to launch your career in contemporary art and curation? This exciting traineeship offers hands-on experience working with curators and museums across the UK, supporting them as they grow and develop their collections.

The Contemporary Art Society exists to develop public collections of contemporary art in the UK. For over 100 years, it has played a leading role in building inspirational collections of modern and contemporary art for audiences across the country, donating more than 10,000 works for public benefit.

This traineeship is offered in the Contemporary Art Society's museum acquisitions team, which is responsible for delivering the organisation’s core mission and working with 78 museums to acquire new works of modern and contemporary art for their collections. The trainee will assist the Roden senior curator, museum acquisitions, in the delivery of the fine art and craft acquisition schemes and the special projects which include the Ada Award, Great Works, Valeria Napoleone XX, Griffin Award and the Collections Fund at Frieze. The trainee will also support the continuous professional development programme, which supports curators across the UK. The curatorial trainee will also work with the director on gifts and bequests.

The curatorial trainee will play an integral role within a small departmental team that works with museums, galleries and artists to commission and collect contemporary art.


Key activities

• To manage the day to day administration of the Contemporary Art Society’s fine art and craft acquisition schemes and museum membership and gifts and bequests
• To assist with the organisation and delivery of the continuous professional development programme for museum professionals, including assisting with events and database management
• To write and update online content about the Contemporary Art Society’s curatorial work including image and copyright clearance
• To research and produce texts about fine art and craft acquisitions made by the Contemporary Art Society within the financial year for the acquisitions booklet
• To work with the programming team to contribute towards strategic programming ideas that meet the aims and objectives of the charity in relation to its mission
• To work with the collections information and copyright manager to update the Contemporary Art Society’s collections management database and computer filing systems
• To respond to external enquiries effectively and efficiently
• To undertake any other duties reasonably requested

Knowledge, skills and experience

• A degree or equivalent experience in art history, cultural studies, curating or another relevant subject
• Knowledge of contemporary visual art and artists
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills, including the ability to prioritise work
• An interest in museums and collections
• Excellent IT skills, including the use of audio and video editing software, word processing, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, database and email applications
• Ability to work effectively using your own initiative and as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to lead on researching, developing and delivering projects as required
• Excellent communication skills
• Well organised and able to work on several projects simultaneously
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Effective written communication skills

To apply

• Log in to your Creative Access account or register today to apply for this opportunity
• Upload your CV and cover letter as one document (applications without a tailored cover letter will not be accepted)
• Once submitted, you can no longer amend your application, so proof-read carefully
• Do not contact the company directly
• Please email any queries about this role to Creative Access at this address: recruit@creativeaccess.org.uk

This opportunity is open to individuals from groups that are under-represented in the creative industries. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals who identify as Black, Asian, or from other ethnically diverse backgrounds, or people of any ethnicity who belong to the following under-represented groups: disabled people, people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, carers and asylum seekers.

The successful candidate for this opportunity will also participate in a Creative Access support programme that sits alongside workplace training. This includes a programme of induction training, monthly masterclasses, wellbeing support, buddying/mentoring and more.