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Grounded in photography, The Polygon Gallery creates space to challenge how we see the world. It is committed to a culture that is curious, bold, and generous. Operating for over forty-five years, the organization has produced over 300 exhibitions and numerous publications, earning a reputation as an adventurous public art institution.

In 2017, the organization opened its new, purpose-built home on the North Vancouver waterfront, elevating a world-class gallery’s facility to a level equal with its reputation.

As The Polygon Gallery prepares for a series of significant exhibitions and outreach programs over the next year, the organisation seeks one Curatorial Assistant.

In particular, the Curatorial Assistant will be involved in the coordination of the Gallery’s Philip B. Lind Memorial Prize for Emerging Artists. Named after Philip B. Lind (1943-2023), former executive of Rogers Communications and lifelong champion of the arts, the prize supports the early career of a BC artist showing exceptional achievement in photography or related media. The Assistant will work closely with the Gallery’s Curator, to meet with the 7-10 artists shortlisted for the prize. Over the course of the summer, the Assistant will liaise with the Gallery’s curatorial and preparatory teams, supporting the finalists’ creation and delivery of new artwork for a group exhibition opening Fall 2024.

In addition, the Curatorial Assistant will also participate in facilitating the Gallery’s Response program, under the supervision of the Assistant Curator. Initiated in 2014, Response was designed as a successful one-time outreach program for Indigenous youth, in collaboration with Capilano University’s First Nations Student Services. Now an annual program, Response inspires ways of responding artistically to historical and contemporary images of Indigenous cultures through a series of workshops led primarily by Indigenous artists, and culminating in a showing of participants’ works at The Polygon Gallery. The Curatorial Assistant will provide administrative support for the Assistant Curator and guest artists during workshops.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have completed a diploma or degree program from a university or college in history, art history, cultural studies, curatorial studies, museum studies, or a related discipline, with an interest in and/or familiarity with contemporary visual art.

She/he/they will have a demonstrated commitment to ensuring programming addresses decolonizing, reconciliation, anti-racist, social, and ecological justice issues through evaluation of programming and approaches to education in light of the TRC call to action and emerging decolonizing pedagogies.

She/he/they will have strong research, writing, and communications skills, in addition to excellent attention to detail and organizational skills. Familiarity with image and video editing software is an asset. The candidate will have a positive attitude with an ability to work independently and collaboratively on multiple tasks.

Preference will be given to someone of Indigenous ancestry who has experience working with Indigenous communities and individuals.

Candidates must meet the following requirements: be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada; be legally entitled to work in Canada; be registered with Young Canada Works online; be between 16 and 30 years of age at the start of employment; and not have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) at the time of applying for this job. Preference will be given to candidates who self-identify as a member of an underrepresented community (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour). This position is funded through the Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage (for a complete list of candidate eligibility criteria, visit here.)

The position will begin April 29, 2024 and end November 22, 2024

Salary / Hours: $22.50 per hour, 32 hours per week, flexible hours including weekends

To apply, please visit the Young Canada Works (YCW) login page and click on the “Sign up” link (or “Sign In” if you already have an account). You will be required to enter contact information and details on your educational and work history. Once you have created your account, you can browse job opportunities via the “Search for a job” link in your YCW account. To express interest in this position, click on the Curatorial Assistant job title for The Polygon Gallery and then on “Express interest in this job”.

The application period for this posting has ended