Sarick Curator of Jewish Art and Culture

Sarick Curator of Jewish Art and Culture 1 month ago Be among the first 25 applicants ROM is Canada’s largest museum of Art, Culture and Nature. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a cultural institution that showcases art, culture, and nature from around the world and across the ages. It is one of the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, hosting a world‑class collection of 18 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens displayed in 40 galleries and exhibition spaces. ROM’s mission is to transform lives by helping people understand the past, make sense of the present, and shape a shared future. The museum is known worldwide for expanding knowledge and presenting it in innovative ways at the intersection of art, culture, and nature. With an extensive exhibition schedule and public programmes, ROM attracts roughly 190,000 students and 1.3 million visitors each year. Situated in Toronto, the most diverse major city in the world, ROM is positioned for a greater role on the global stage. Leveraging its strengths and capabilities, and investing in inclusion, transdisciplinary thinking, digital practices, and innovation, ROM is charting a bold new path as it strives to become one of the world’s foremost museums. ROM has preserved Jewish cultural heritage since 1909. Its Judaica collection, now one of the world’s best, includes holdings from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. In 2024 ROM acquired the Sarick Collection and the Cecil Roth Collection—over 1,500 Jewish art and cultural objects—joining the historic holdings. The combined core collection supports gallery installations, exhibitions, and educational programmes, enabling visitors of all backgrounds to connect with Jewish art, culture, and heritage. WHO WE NEED ROM seeks a thoughtful, strategic curator, gifted at communications and alliances, with a strong background in historical material culture, contemporary arts, and diasporic arts from or relating to Jewish art and culture. Reporting to the Co‑chief Curator of Art and Culture, the Sarick Curator will lead the programming and presentation of Jewish art and culture through galleries, exhibitions, and other initiatives in collaboration with local communities, artists and scholars worldwide. Guided by ROM’s institutional vision, the curator will develop and implement a strategy to build and interpret ROM’s Jewish art and culture collection, following museum best practices and an acquisition development plan. The program will examine rich histories, traditions, and artistic achievements of Jewish communities, exploring connections across Europe, Israel, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. The Sarick curator will expand ROM scholarship through publications, lectures, and research, championing cross‑cultural and cross‑disciplinary perspectives and rebalancing narratives to share non‑dominant cultural perspectives. The incumbent will play a critical role in conceiving and developing a future Jewish Art and Culture gallery, consulting with Jewish communities locally and globally, and creating exhibitions that may travel to other museums. ROM is open to candidates from Associate Curator to Senior Curator levels and encourages applicants specialising in Jewish art history, Judaica, history, religious studies, Holocaust studies, archaeology, or contemporary art. HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT Exhibitions and Collections Steward the Jewish art and culture collection, including growth, study, rotation and display, care and record‑keeping, provenance research, digitising and publication. Curate ROM’s Jewish art and culture collection with a commitment to collaboration, involving external community stakeholders and internal curatorial colleagues to generate visitor‑centric and transdisciplinary exhibitions. Develop innovative interpretive approaches for the future Jewish Art and Culture Gallery as part of ROM’s museum‑wide gallery planning. Establish a 10‑year Jewish art and culture collection development plan in alignment with ROM’s mission, vision and strategic planning. Enhance the existing collection and provide new opportunities for interpretation and public engagement through strategic acquisitions and loans. Work with Jewish partners and museum leadership to steward collaborations that may lead to restitution of objects if needed, in accordance with ethical and field standards. Public Programs and Outreach Collaborate with museum educators and engagement staff to initiate programmes and school curriculum related to Jewish art and culture, ensuring accessibility and relevance to broad contemporary audiences. Propose, prepare and give public programmes, lectures, tours and workshops to the general public, professional colleagues, volunteers, local cultural organisations and other groups. Engage Jewish communities in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada, Israel and other parts of the world, including business and cultural communities. Research and Publications Conduct scholarly research in the field of expertise, through academic endeavours, grant‑fund projects and publications. Maintain professional affiliations in scholarly and museum curatorial organisations, professional societies and relevant committees. Strengthen connections with colleagues from the University of Toronto and other academic institutions in the Greater Toronto Area. Explore, maintain and promote relationships with museums and other cultural organisations nationally, in Israel and abroad. Fundraising Collaborate with fundraising staff to cultivate support for exhibitions, galleries, programmes, symposia, acquisitions, research grants and fellowships through cultural and professional organisations, foundations and patrons at the local, national and international level. WHAT YOU BRING Education & Experience A Ph.D. in Jewish art history, visual culture, material culture, anthropology, history or a closely related field with a specialization in some aspect of Jewish art and culture, or equivalent experience, exhibitions and/or publications. A strong record focusing on Jewish arts and heritage through curatorial, academic and/or community activities. Ability to read and write in Hebrew is required. Embodied connection to the Jewish community and demonstrated knowledge and sensitivity to contemporary histories, issues and concerns of the community. Strong background of work within a museum environment, knowledge of peer institutions and experience developing and implementing programmes and exhibitions, and working with internal and external stakeholders; experience with provenance issues is an asset. Track record of working successfully with community partners and navigating difficult conversations around contemporary politics and differing points of view is a plus. Record of peer‑reviewed publications is an asset; there is an opportunity for cross‑appointment to the University of Toronto. Personal Characteristics Intellectually curious with an appetite for engaging a wide array of topics. Ambitious for the institution and its efforts to develop strong networks locally and internationally. Responsive to others’ ideas; a strong communicator and door‑opener, proactively seeking partnerships, networks and input from community members. Able to prioritise competing demands within a large, multi‑layered, active museum. Comfortable sharing authority with diverse stakeholders. Enjoys working as part of a strong, integrated team to build new experiences for ROM’s visitors. Aspirational yet patient and flexible, able to set incremental goals. Sensitive to cultural heritage and aware of the complex societal pressures present in this work. ROM curators Facilitate research on the collection by outside/visiting scholars and develop one's own program of original, scholarly research, usually relating to ROM collections and exhibitions. Work with the ROM Library to build resources on the study of Jewish art and culture. Participate in fulfilling the learning mission of the museum and may engage in university teaching or supervision of interns and students at the museum. SALARY & TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT Salary range is $78,000–$160,000 CAD, in accordance with the union collective agreement and based on years of experience. ROM is open to considering a range of candidates from Associate Curator to Senior Curator; the salary increases with rank and experience, per the Collective Agreement. Successful candidates will also receive 30 hours of coaching from MPD Culture Consultants during the first six months of appointment. Full benefit coverage includes medical and dental plans, life insurance, long‑term disability and a pension. This is a unionised position; the Curator will be a member of the ROM Curatorial Association (ROMCA). HOW TO APPLY For inquiries or to submit an application, please contact Menon Dwarka at menon@mpdcultureconsultants.com or 647‑719‑9624. Applicants are encouraged to apply electronically by submitting a single PDF file containing the following documents: A cover letter expressing interest in the position, including brief examples of past experience in exhibitions, programmes and collections, and proposed research areas and projects. A curriculum vitae. Names and contact information for three references. #J-18808-Ljbffr