Chamada aberta internacional | Open Call | Convocatoria Abierta
Artistic Director
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro
May 2020
FAQ – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This section contains some questions that may arise concerning the position of artistic director of Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio). Applications will be accepted as of May 3, 2020, the date that marks the museum’s 72nd anniversary.
This is version 1.1 of the FAQs, dated June 1, 2020. New questions and answers may be added to this page in response to queries received from the public.
IS THIS A NEW POSITION?
Yes. MAM Rio has created the position of artistic director as part of its institutional transformation plans. The new role will replace the current position of curator of visual arts, currently held by the art critic, professor, and curator Fernando Cocchiarale.
WHY NOT JUST SELECT A NEW CURATOR?
We are looking for a professional who can apply a broad, integrated vision to all areas of the museum. The new artistic director will be in charge of curatorship activities, with responsibility for managing the museum’s collections and the projects and events run by the film, documentation, and education departments, as well as the partnership with Capacete for the international artistic residency program.
HOW CAN EXPERIENCE BE PROVED?
The professional selected to serve as the new artistic director will have at least seven years’ proven experience and an innovative track record in curating, artistic direction, and project management. There is no need to send in substantiating documentation with your application; just provide the relevant information in your résumé. Proof of previous experience may be requested as later stages of the selection process are reached.
Applicants should consider how best to present evidence, from their previous experience, of their capacity to build a broader visiting public to the museum, make it more open to the community, and raise its profile on the international stage.
WILL THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MANAGE THE CAPACETE PROGRAM?
Capacete (capacete.org) is the longest running art residency program in Brazil. Its activities, agenda, and research processes will be integrated with those of the museum. The partnership is built on the understanding that Capacete has its own artistic director and that the MAM Rio artistic director will work collaboratively with Capacete to ensure alignment between this and the other areas of MAM Rio.
WHAT OTHER COMPETENCES SHOULD THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR HAVE?
We are looking for someone who has the willpower and capacity to strengthen the museum at this important time of transformation. They must be familiar with the history of MAM Rio and sensitive to this history and the museum’s broader cultural context in Rio and Brazil. The museum’s trajectory is strongly associated with experimentation, and this is what must steer it towards its future. Being familiar with the conceptual cornerstones of the museum, its artists and overall context will be paramount for success in the role.
In view of the institutional transformation underway, interpersonal and communication skills will be fundamental for ensuring successful interaction with the museum’s different stakeholders, both local and international.
The circumstances facing all cultural institutions since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic are particularly challenging. That is why understanding this new scenario and being committed to devising a well-founded, original program are so important for broadening the museum’s sphere of influence and sparking the interest of diverse and previously untapped publics.
HOW WILL CONFIDENTIALITY BE ASSURED?
All applicants are assured complete confidentiality and protection of the intellectual property of the project proposals and project they submit as part of the selection process. The evaluation committees will sign a non-disclosure agreement in which they will undertake not to reveal the names of the applicants. Likewise, to preserve the confidentiality of the evaluation committee members, we undertake to disclose their names only at the end of the selection process.
To assure methodological coherence, MAM Rio would like to safeguard all the project proposals and projects submitted as part of this selection process at its Documentation and Research Center as a historical record of this initiative. However, applicants are free to express their wish not to have their project proposal and project stored for reference in the future.
WHAT IS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE MAM RIO COLLECTIONS?
MAM Rio has one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary art in Latin America, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, videos, installations, objects, performances, artist books, and interventions.
The visual arts collections come from several sources: its own collection, built up through donations and acquisitions, and rebuilt after the fire in the Exhibition Block in 1978, which destroyed around half of its works, as well as the Gilberto Chateaubriand and Joaquim Paiva collections, on permanent loan.
The artistic director will be responsible for coordinating the Collections and Conservation area, which has a team of highly skilled museology professionals responsible for maintaining the collections and providing essential support for the exhibitions.
The MAM Rio Cinematheque has the biggest film archive in the country. The MAM Rio Research and Documentation area has a library, a newspaper and periodical archive, and a specialized visual arts archive.
WHY ARE SPECIALIZED ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS NOT REQUIRED?
We are looking to broaden access, and want to attract people with a wide range of acquired and lived experiences, which is why advanced degrees are not a requirement.
The minimum qualification we require is a degree in the visual arts, museology, the humanities, and/or history of art. Graduate diplomas, MBAs, master’s, doctorates and other academic qualifications will be taken into consideration in the résumé review, but are not a prerequisite.
WHY IS THIS A SOUTH AMERICAN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS?
We at MAM Rio recognize and appreciate the quality of the professionals working in the area of culture in Latin America, especially in the visual arts. That is why we want to make this selection process open to all those who are legally eligible to work in Brazil and offer equal opportunities to applicants from Brazil, other Mercosur countries, and foreign residents of Brazil.
DO APPLICANTS HAVE TO BE FLUENT IN PORTUGUESE?
We are aware that many South American candidates may not be fluent in Portuguese. As such, should a Mercosur citizen or foreign resident with a visa to live and work in Brazil be selected for the post of artistic director, they will be given time to develop their Portuguese language skills, if necessary.
Nonetheless, it is important for applicants to bear in mind how easily they would be able to learn the language, given that this is a position that calls for the capacity to communicate effectively in Portuguese and English, and ideally also in Spanish.
WILL THE RELOCATION EXPENSES OF APPLICANTS WHO DO NOT LIVE IN RIO DE JANEIRO BE COVERED?
MAM Rio is keen to receive applications from professionals from across Brazil and other parts of South America. However, we will not be able to help with the logistics or costs of any relocation.
WHY IS DIVERSITY SUCH A CONCERN?
MAM Rio is committed to making diversity a pillar of its people management policy. As such, we believe it is not enough just to make sure there is no gender, race, or class discrimination.
This open call for applications marks the beginning of a new affirmative policy for people from groups that have been the target of discrimination or socio-economic exclusion in the past or the present. As such, professionals who self-identify as black, indigenous, women, non-binary, disabled, or from another discriminated group will be favored in any tie-break situation. Please self-identify as such on your résumé.
WHY MUST SALARY EXPECTATIONS BE STATED?
A statement of salary expectations is a common element of recruitment processes nowadays, and will help MAM Rio to set a reference level.
We have established a pay scale for the position of artistic director that is consistent with the museum’s existing pay structure. As such, the expectations expressed by each candidate will help develop a better understanding of the new position in the broader context in which the museum operates.
Nonetheless, we reiterate that stated salary expectations will not serve as a tie-breaker criterion and will not be a weighting factor in the evaluation matrix to be used in the selection process.
CAN THE SCHEDULE OF THE SELECTION PROCESS CHANGE?
Yes. Considering the great uncertainty in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reserve the right to alter the schedule of this open call for applications. Any changes will be posted on www.mam.rio/open-call-artistic-director.
CAN I SUBMIT MY APPLICATION IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT?
To assure the transparency and equity of the process, we have established strict rules that all applicants must observe for their submissions. If you have any questions about this, please send them by email to [email protected]. Applications will not be accepted if they are received after the deadline, in a format other than the one stipulated, or submitted by any means other than to the email address stated herein, except in case of any alteration of the terms of this call for applications, which will be published on this website.
CAN APPLICATIONS BE SUBMITTED BY A CURATORIAL DUO?
Yes. This possibility was not considered when the call for applications was launched, but there is nothing in the text to
prevent joint applications being made by more than one person, provided the proposal is economically and methodologically feasible. To be eligible, all the applicants in such cases must have at least seven years’ proven experience in the curating and management of institutions or cultural projects geared towards the visual arts and related areas.
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Queries:
Email – [email protected]