Collection manager to exhibition curator
A collection manager already meets 39% of what the exhibition curator role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.9/ 100
1 How much of what an exhibition curator is expected to do is already part of a collection manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the exhibition curator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An exhibition curator role treats 13 of its required skills as things a collection manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- art history
- art-historical values
- coach employees
- coordinate operational activities
- cope with challenging demands
- evaluate art quality
What stands in the way is 18 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An exhibition curator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a collection manager background worth leading with.
- already held provide project information on exhibitions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held cope with challenging demands communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use ICT resources to solve work related tasks working with computers
- already held evaluate art quality information skills
- already held museum databases social sciences, journalism and information
- already held art-historical values arts and humanities
All 13 carried skills, including the 13 the exhibition curator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn advertise an art collection required
- still to learn consult exhibition organisers required
- still to learn organise an exhibition required
- still to learn create new concepts required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn present reports required
- optional, not held advise on cultural exhibitions optional
- optional, not held support public access to exhibitions optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- still to learn work independently on exhibitions required
- still to learn apply strategic thinking required
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- still to learn perform project management required
- still to learn plan resource allocation required
- still to learn work in an organised manner required
- optional, not held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs optional
- still to learn inheritance council practices required
- still to learn art collections required
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
- still to learn cultural projects required
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- still to learn ensure safety of exhibition required
- still to learn have computer literacy required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an exhibition curator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 inheritance council practices study this
- 02 advertise an art collection practise this
- 03 art collections study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held art history knowledge
- already held art-historical values knowledge
- already held coach employees skill
- already held coordinate operational activities skill
- already held cope with challenging demands skill
- already held evaluate art quality skill
- already held interact with an audience skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held museum databases knowledge
- already held present exhibition skill
- already held provide project information on exhibitions skill
- already held train employees skill
- already held use ICT resources to solve work related tasks skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on cultural exhibitions optional
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held support public access to exhibitions optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
- optional, not held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
17 held skills the exhibition curator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on loans of art work for exhibitions skill
- not needed by the target role arrange interlibrary loans skill
- not needed by the target role assess museum object condition skill
- not needed by the target role collection management software knowledge
- not needed by the target role compile detailed collection inventory skill
- not needed by the target role conservation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role contribute to specialised publications skill
- not needed by the target role create collection conservation plan skill
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- not needed by the target role document museum collection skill
- not needed by the target role establish high standards of collections care skill
- not needed by the target role handle artworks skill
- not needed by the target role implement risk management for works of art skill
- not needed by the target role monitor museum environment skill
- not needed by the target role museology knowledge
- not needed by the target role respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition skill
- not needed by the target role supervise artefact movement skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn inheritance council practices required
- still to learn art collections required
- still to learn cultural projects required
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a collection manager become an exhibition curator?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A collection manager already covers 39% of what an exhibition curator is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 13 of which the exhibition curator role treats as required.
What skills does a collection manager need to become an exhibition curator?
18 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is inheritance council practices.
How hard is the move from collection manager to exhibition curator?
Its learning distance is 67.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.