Seeking new chief curator of K21

The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen was founded in 1961 and, with its two locations in Düsseldorf, K20 and K21, is one of the most important museums in Germany. As a renowned state institution with some 100 employees, it preserves, researches, and mediates one of the most important international collections of modern, post-war, and contemporary art. At its two locations, K20 and K21, the museum presents ambitious temporary and permanent exhibitions and conceives and organizes innovative educational formats on socially relevant topics.

K21 is the museum for international contemporary art of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and features current developments in the field of international contemporary art, with installations and multimedia works by, among many others, Cao Fei, Isa Genzken, Zanele Muholi, Thomas Ruff, Tomás Saraceno, Hito Steyerl, and Ai Weiwei.

We are seeking the following person to join our curatorial department at the earliest possible date:

Chief Curator, K21
Responsibilities and duties
–Responsibility for the content and design of the program at K21 in collaboration with the director
–External representation of K21
–Conception and responsibility for the implementation of exhibitions and the supporting program at K21, as well as other scholarly (research) projects and publications
–Budgetary responsibility for the program at K21
–Cooperation with regional, national, and international partners; international networking
–Thematic and scholarly processing of funding applications and sponsor acquisition
–Responsible coordination of all processes at K21 and divisional management of the curators with projects at K21
–Participation in financial, personnel planning, and organizational tasks in the curatorial department

Qualifications and skills
–Successful completion of a university degree, preferably in art history, art theory/criticism, or a comparable field
–Ph.D desirable
–Extensive, specialized knowledge in the field of contemporary art
–Long-standing curatorial experience, preferably in contemporary art institutions (national/international)
–Very good network within the national and international art scene
–Very good language skills in at least German and English
–High level of leadership, organizational, and communication skills and above-average commitment

Salary and benefits
–A versatile full-time position (39.5 hours) in one of Europe’s most prestigious cultural institutions
–A salary up to level TV-L / E15 according to qualifications
–An attractive workplace in the center of Düsseldorf and flexible working hours
–Committed colleagues and individual opportunities for further education and training

Applications from people with a personal or family history of migration, especially from people of color, are explicitly welcome.

In justified exceptional cases, we will also consider applications that do not meet the formal academic requirements but convince with outstanding and relevant knowledge and professional experience.

We look forward to a motivated personality who would like to support us in the continuous development of our institution. Please send your detailed application documents in electronic form by February 26, 2023 via our online application portal to: jobs.kunstsammlung.de/stellenangebote/8801587?ref=80151000

Stiftung Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Nadine Cura, Human Resources