New curatorial traineeships announced

Associated media

Birmingham Museums Trust and York Art Gallery are the latest organizations set to benefit from two new fully funded curatorial traineeships. These have been made possible through the National Gallery Curatorial Traineeship Programme supported by the Art Fund with the assistance of the Vivmar Foundation. From September 2013 the trainees will spend time at the National Gallery, London, moving to take up their respective positions in Birmingham and York in spring 2014.

Launched in 2011, the traineeships are the second phase of the initiative, which was established jointly by the National Gallery and the Art Fund to address the need for a renewed focus on object- and collections-based expertise. The programme invited applications from galleries and museums during early 2013. Following the selection of Birmingham and York, a panel convened during July as part of the curatorial trainee selection process.

This second tranche follows successful projects at Manchester Art Gallery and Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums, where curatorial trainees Henrietta Ward and Philippa Stephenson have been involved in research and have curated exhibitions that opened to the public this spring. Their training has significantly contributed to the expertise needed to work with Old Master paintings collections in the future.

The result of Philippa Stephenson’s 2012–13 traineeship at Tyne & Wear is the exhibition 'Divine Bodies' at Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle (8 June–29 September 2013).

The result of Henrietta Ward’s 2012–13 traineeship at Manchester Art Gallery is the display 'Home, Land and Sea in the Netherlands 1600–1800' (24 May 2013–23 May 2014).

Dr Nicholas Penny, Director of the National Gallery, said:

We are delighted with the success of the programme thus far. Our aim is to help regional museums maintain a high level of curatorial excellence and to support new talent in the field. The projects are extremely interesting and challenging for the trainees and will greatly benefit the collections in Birmingham and York. We are very much looking forward to welcoming the trainees at the Gallery and working with Birmingham and York once they take up their posts.

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said:

We are so pleased to be part of a scheme developing the curators of the future. The first phase was a great success, and we look forward to the next step. The potential benefits lie not just with the individual curators chosen, but also for the museums and their visiting public in the long term.

Further information is available from 020 7747 2885 or [email protected]