Zeitz MOCAA Curatorial Training Programme
Established by Mark Coetzee in 2001, the Curatorial Training Programme
now offered at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA)
offers practicing professionals and recent graduates the benefit of gaining
practical curatorial experience and skills by participating in all components of
a functioning contemporary art museum. The programme also provides an
intensive period of intellectual stimulation through individual research and
through dialogue with colleagues, artists, collectors and art professionals. 50
International Counsellors and Zeitz MOCAA staff teach the Curatorial Training
Programme.
Future home of Zeitz MOCAA
The director leads workshops and seminars on a variety of related topics.
Topics to be discussed are: artists represented in the museum collection,
recent thematic debates in contemporary art, philosophical and aesthetic
considerations for exhibitions within a museum or gallery environment,
methodology for guided tours, climate control and lux levels, conservation and
archiving, drawing up condition reports and loan request forms, auction house
procedures, production and dissemination of publicity materials, cataloguing,
photographic documentation of artwork for catalogues and museum and
insurance records, researching provenance of artworks, as well as copyright
procedure for the reproduction of artworks.
Future Zeitz MOCAA Atrium
Participants are involved in all aspects of the museum, from organizing and
producing the yearly lecture program, to hosting visiting museum and special
interest groups, and generating educational projects for the local community.
After becoming acquainted with the museum they conduct guided tours
independently. Participants benefit from interaction with the public through
front-desk duty.
Future Zeitz MOCAA Section
The museum’s registrar also works with participants to familiarize them with
the procedures of keeping active inventories, storing artwork, filing of works
on paper, archiving of visual documentation and slide libraries, art handling,
packing and shipping, and customs formalities.
Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
Participants work alongside the museum’s preparators, gaining practical
experience in the preparation of exhibition spaces, hanging of artworks,
setting of lighting, and labelling of artworks.
Nandipha Mntambo exhibition, Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
Thomas Heatherwick exhibition, Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
The director accompanies the participants on visits to local museums,
galleries and important private collections.
Looking Back exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion featuring Zanele Muholi, Andrew Putter and Yinka Shonibare, MBE
Andrew Putter on exhibition as part of the Looking Back exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
Major collectors visit the museum on a regular basis and interact with the
participants individually and as a group, providing insights into collecting and
discussing recent developments in contemporary art.
Education programme at Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
Participants also work alongside the Zeitz MOCAA Bookstore manager
learning how to operate museum retail.
Fundraising now forms an integral part of any curator’s duties. Candidates
participate in all components of the developmental programmes of the
museum.
Participants are required to be on site five days per week, 8 hours per day.
Wednesday - Sunday 12 - 8 PM. Each participant will be assigned a special
project in addition to assisting the permanent staff of the museum.
Participants are expected to complete assigned reading and time is allocated
each week for individual research in the museum’s reading room.
Zeitz MOCAA sponsors two curatorial training sessions per year; each
session is six months long. Applications are accepted throughout the year and
should be sent directly to the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz
MOCAA on the email address below. Only electronic applications are
accepted. Space is limited and some sessions fill up faster than others. We
will, wherever possible, make every effort to accommodate requests for
particular sessions.
Candidates are supported through a monthly honorarium, which covers
programme costs, accommodation, local transport and food.
A certificate is awarded on the successful completion of the programme.
Completed applications should be sent to:
Mark Coetzee
Executive Director and Chief Curator
Zeitz MOCAA
mark@markcoetzee.com
Documents to be submitted:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A letter of motivation.
Dates you are applying for.
Contact details of two professional supporters of your application.
A CV of your studies completed, recent activities, exhibitions, lectures
and publications.
5. Copy of the identity page of your passport to determine immigration
requirements.
About Zeitz MOCAA
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is a public not-forprofit cultural institution that focuses on collecting, preserving, researching,
and exhibiting cutting edge contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora. It is
the first major museum in Africa dedicated to contemporary art.
Zeitz MOCAA was established in 2013 through a partnership of the V&A
Waterfront and Jochen Zeitz and is generously funded by Growthpoint
Properties, Jochen Zeitz, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) acting on
behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), V&A Waterfront,
and Zeitz Collection.
The Zeitz Collection acts as the founding collection of the museum. Mark
Coetzee is the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA. Zeitz
MOCAA is housed at the Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion by the Bascule Bridge, V&A
Waterfront. In 2016, Zeitz MOCAA will open in the transformed heritage listed
Silo building, repurposed through a design by Heatherwick Studio, in the
Clock Tower/Silo District of the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.
About the V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront is a 123-hectare, mixed-use destination, and one of
Africa’s most visited cultural and historical hubs.
Set on the edge of a natural, historic working harbour with the iconic Table
Mountain as its backdrop, it offers local and international visitors a
cosmopolitan mix of experiences ranging from leisure, shopping and exclusive
entertainment. It also offers prime residential and commercial property. The
prime positioning of the V&A boasts sweeping views of the ocean, city bowl
and mountain peaks. Up to 100 000 people visit every day during peak
season.
Contributing R198 billion to the South African economy over the last ten
years, the V&A Waterfront’s cumulative contribution to the provincial GGP
since 2002 was over R173bn. Of the total visitors to the V&A, 55% are
Capetonians, 19% are South African and 26% are international.
With 22 official landmarks on-site, it is also part of South Africa’s historical
legacy. Jointly owned by Growthpoint Properties Limited and the Government
Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment
Corporation Limited (PIC), the V&A Waterfront was developed in 1988 by the
state-owned transport corporation, Transnet Limited, while official commercial
trading commenced in November 1990.
Zeitz Collection
The Zeitz Collection was founded, in 2002, by business entrepreneur Jochen
Zeitz and is one of the most representative collections of contemporary art
from Africa and its Diaspora. Its mandate is to collect and preserve
contemporary cultural artifacts of Africa. The Zeitz Collection is held and
exhibited in spaces such as Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, U.S.A. and
through an extensive presentation of art at Segera Retreat in Kenya.
The Zeitz Collection collaborates on an ongoing basis with the Zeitz
Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety. As part of the 4Cs philosophy
(Conservation, Community, Culture, Commerce) the Zeitz Foundation
supports creative activities that strengthen intercultural relationships and
understanding, and raise awareness of cultural diversity, and inspires others
to act in kind.
The Zeitz Collection curator, Mark Coetzee, acts as the cultural specialist for
the Zeitz Foundation. Both organizations collaborate on cultural outcomes at
the Foundation headquarters based at Segera, Kenya and globally.
Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion
Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion is situated at the V&A Waterfront by the Bascule
Bridge near the Cape Grace and is open from 12 - 8 PM, every Wednesday to
Sunday, with free admission for all. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Zeitz
MOCAA Pavilion presents changing exhibitions, educational programmes and
events over a three-year period, until the opening of Zeitz MOCAA in the
Grain Silo.