Your guide to become an Museum Curator in Malaysia

Average Salary
2,500 - 3,500

Job Demand

Who is an Museum Curator

Museum Curators are responsible for collecting, cataloguing, managing and presenting or displaying artistic, historical and cultural collections in galleries or museums.

Part of their job is to regularly visit artists’ studios to check their latest works and subsequently select relevant art pieces for exhibitions. If visiting museums or art exhibitions make your heart buzz with excitement, then you should consider becoming a Museum Curator! With this career, you will be able to hop from one exhibition to another, appreciating both historical and modern art.

You will also be meeting people from different backgrounds as you meet with them to build relationship, propose collaboration, partnering and more. Not to mention, it is not uncommon that certain parties such as galleries, artists and tourist attractions coming together to form a collaboration to share their collections, expertise and works hence more often than not you will be mingling around these people a lot to help out or make things happen.

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The pros and cons of being an Museum Curator

Pros

High earning potential for experienced curators
Chance to work with valuable historical items, artifacts, art and with other respected figures
Opportunity to travel around and attending various exhibitions

Cons

Strong competition for jobs
Not suitable for people who does not like doing practical and hands-on work
May require postgraduate qualifications

What are all the responsibilities of an Museum Curator ?

Collect, preserve, record and write about artifacts relevant to the museum
Conduct research about the artifact and write descriptions on it
Conduct presentations and lectures
Work with other departments in the museum
Plan out the budget
Answer enquiries from stakeholders
Work with voluntary groups and the community to organize events
Look sponsorships for the events
Communicate with other museums

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Incase of any queries

What skills do you need to become an Museum Curator?

Have an interest in relevant areas

Depending on which field you are pursuing or more interested in, you should be up to date with the latest news and information. Whether it’s an artist releasing his latest collection or a museum having a new exhibition, you should take note of it. Besides that, it will also help you in communicating with your possible clients as you have ample knowledge relevant enough to keep a small talk going.

Attention to detail

The chances are, you will need to deal with very expensive, valuable and fragile items or art. You will need to pay extra attention to every little detail, such as inspecting the crooks and corners of the exhibitions and making sure that the displays will not be harmed in any way. It is also applicable to when the artworks or artifacts are being transported, handled and cared for.

Communication skills

In most situations, you will need to be a social butterfly. As a Museum Curator, you will need to meet with many people such as possible clients, stakeholders or sponsors and you will need to build the relationship and earn their trust. This will only be possible if you have great communication skills and you will also need it when you are working in a team to ensure that you get your messages across clearly.

What field(s) of study should you choose to become an Museum Curator?

Anthropology
History
Language Studies

What are the requirements to be an Museum Curator?

You will need at least a degree in History, Anthropology, Language Studies or any degree that is relevant to this field depending on your field of interest. Some area of expertise require further studies such as acquiring Master’s degree or a Doctorate on the relevant field.

What are the working hours of an Museum Curator

The working hours of a Museum Curator are the typical working hours. However, you will need to work overtime and even during the weekends or holidays if an exhibition is coming up.

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