Position at Heritage Conservation Centre, Singapore

Conservator (Paintings)
Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC), Singapore

The National Heritage Board (NHB) preserves, presents and promotes
the cultural heritage of Singapore. Our vision is to make heritage
an enriching part of everyone's life.

The Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC) is a purpose-built facility
for the storage and conservation of all artefacts under the care of
the NHB of Singapore. We are now seeking a suitable candidate for
the positions of Conservator (Paintings).

Brief Description of Paintings Collection: At HCC, you will work on
the Board's diverse collection of paintings. The majority consists
of modern and contemporary works of art in various media from the
20th century. These works are created by regional and local artists
from or who resided/reside in Southeast Asia and work with materials
found from the region. There is a small number of historical works
such as historical portraits of pre-20th Century works or occasional
need to attend to ancient paintings from the civilizations of South
and West Asia and China. The works are mostly presented in
exhibitions at the NHB Museums such as the National Museum of
Singapore, Asian Civilisations Museum, Peranakan Museum and
Singapore Art Museum.

Work Location and Arrangement: The Conservator will mostly be based
at the HCC at 32 Jurong Port Road. They will be working in the
Painting Conservation team in HCC, one of four sections, the others
being Objects, Textiles and Papers. Currently, the paintings section
has 5 other conservation staff. The Centre encourages cross
disciplinary interaction and there will be opportunities to
collaborate with experts from other departments.

Job Description and Main Responsibilities.

    Examine and assess the condition of paintings, recommend
    conservation treatments and carry out the conservation work on a
    wide variety of paintings in the NHB collection,

    Develop and review current preventive and interventive
    conservation guidelines and processes in close collaboration and
    consultation with other colleagues in HCC, NHB's Museums and
    other institutions / departments

    Photograph the treatments when appropriate and document the
    completed work on the NHB database.

    Coach and guide the junior conservators in the areas of
    treatment methods, conservation science, research and
    developments in painting conservation;

    Participate in the paintings sections support for the NHB
    institutions, including the installation and de-installation of
    the temporary exhibitions and rotation of the permanent
    collection. This will involve careful time management to prepare
    artworks to strict deadlines and extensive collaboration with
    staff from collections and exhibition teams as well as project
    managers and curators.

    Manage the administration procedures in place for lending
    paintings overseas and condition checking incoming loans.

    Participate in HCC's and NHB's public consultation and education
    activities.

    Be responsible for and coordinate preventive conservation
    projects relating to collections care in storage, on loan and on
    display.

    Stay current with research and developments in painting
    conservation.

General Competencies and Skills Required

    Extensive experience in all aspects of paintings conservation
    including structural work (ie distortion reversal, tear repairs,
    strip / loose-lining and re-stretching,); consolidation, surface
    cleaning, varnish removal, in-filling, texturing, varnishing,
    retouching and framing.

    A good understanding and working knowledge of material science
    to help inform the decision making process to devise suitably
    ethical conservation treatments.

    A flexible approach to work in order to be able to help
    formulate alternative solutions and innovative treatments when
    need be.

    Knowledge of preventive conservation, conservation documentation
    standards and laboratory health and safety procedures.

    Self-discipline and motivation as well as the ability to work
    independently and as part of a team.

    Good communication skills to interact frequently with a staff
    from a range of departments and train the junior members of
    staff.

    Competent organisational skills to ensure that schedules are
    well planned, resources are used efficiently and potential
    problems avoided.

Qualifications and Other Requirements

    He/she should be a graduate from a recognised conservation
    training programme, ideally with at least 8 years of work
    experience in the conservation profession. It is particularly
    important that the candidate is confident and efficient with the
    practical work entrusted to them.

    Experience of working in a museum or institution would be an
    advantage but is not essential.

    Firsthand experience or theoretical knowledge of exhibition
    planning and display requirements.

    Photographic and computer skills.

    Good written and verbal communication skills in English.

    The ability to adapt quickly and effectively to a new work and
    living environment and appreciate cross-cultural surroundings.

To apply, please send your resume and mark "Conservator (Paintings)"
on the envelope to

    National Heritage Board
    61 Stamford Road, #03-08,
    Stamford Court, Singapore 178892

or email resume with Subject title: "Application for Conservator
(Paintings)" to nhb_hr<-at->nhb<.>gov<.>sg


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:17
                Distributed: Friday, September 14, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-26-17-025
                                  ***