News and Media
EOIs now open for Emerging Curators Program – opportunity closing Sunday 16 April 2023
30 March 2023
Bundi Yamatji Aboriginal Corporation (BYAC) is proud to partner with the WA Museum on a new opportunity to support one Yamatji person to participate in the museum’s Emerging Curators Program (ECP). The program, which has been running since 2011, is supported by the National Museum of Australia and is designed to help prospective or emerging cultural practitioners gain experience in the many different aspects of museum work. The program is founded on strong regional partnerships between the WA Museum and organisations like BYAC who are committed to preserving, promoting and celebrating Western Australia’s cultural heritage.
How does the program work?
The ECP takes place between weekly modules and two, two-week intensives (one at WA Museum, one at the National Museum of Australia). Participants learn museum-related skills
The content of the program is delivered between two main streams:
1. Professional development: by providing training in a wide range of modules including storytelling, oral history recording, leadership, repatriation, exhibition design and installation, Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property and much more (a full list is available in the EOI).
2. Mentorship: by connecting participants up with leading WA Museum staff and National Museum staff, helping to provide guidance and advice from people in the know and building participants’ confidence and knowledge.
The two-pronged approach gives participants both the knowledge and connections to kickstart their career as a cultural practitioner.
What is the program about?
The program aims to create opportunities for Aboriginal people to strengthen their skills while also working on community-led projects that share their community’s histories, stories and truths. The program is designed to empower individuals and their organizations while developing pathways for cross-cultural knowledge transfer. For the 2023/24 year one candidate will be selected, but in future, it is possible that two candidates will be selected for the program each year and are provided with hands-on museum related work for a period of 12 months. They receive mentorship and training from a range of specialists and industry leaders and work on a community-led project.
What are the commitments for this program?
The program is designed to teach participants all skills they need to work in this space, so while the criteria for entry is minimal, a high level of commitment to seeing the program through is needed.
The program does take some self-directed work, with weekly modules to be completed, as well as online and in-person mentoring sessions.
The two intensives are each two weeks long (for a total of four weeks) and require travel to Perth and Canberra. The successful candidate for the program must be willing and able to undertake this travel alone.
The program has an optional second phase, where the participants develop a community project using the skills developed in phase one. The successful candidate must at least be open to participating in the second phase.
What is provided?
BYAC will cover all costs of participating in the program, including travelling to Perth and Canberra, and will provide administrative support for this.
If required, the successful candidate will have access to office space and equipment at YSRC one day per week to complete their work on the program.
What is the process?
To be eligible for this program, you must:
- Be either a member of Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation OR a common law rights holder for the Yamatji ILUA area
- Be an emerging cultural practitioner (or be interested in pursuing this)
If you are eligible, you can then apply for the program by completing the EOI (info below).
The EOI period is now open and will close on 16 April 2023.
Once the EOI period has closed, a selection panel will review all EOIs and select a candidate.
How do I apply?
For information on how to submit an EOI, please download the document below.