51101 Conservators and curators

What this occupation covers

Conservators restore and conserve artifacts belonging to museums, galleries and owners of cultural property. Curators recommend the acquisition of museum artifacts and gallery works of art and research their artistic history. Conservators and curators are employed in museums, art galleries, archives, libraries, government agencies and universities. Conservators may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 12 main duties for this code.

• Examine artifacts, determine their condition, suggest methods for treating them and recommend preventive conservation techniques to their owners
• Restore and conserve paintings, photographs, books, papers, sculptures, furniture, pottery or other museum and art gallery artifacts as per particular field of specialization
• Provide advice on display and storage of museum and gallery artifacts to ensure proper maintenance and preservation
• Explore new conservation and restoration techniques
• Provide consultation to museums, art galleries or private individuals
• Supervise conservation technicians and other museum technicians.
• Recommend the acquisition of paintings, photographs, sculptures, documents and other museum and art gallery artifacts
• Conduct research into objects' methods of construction techniques, structure and materials to understand its physical and chemical makeup
• Develop storylines and themes and organize displays and exhibitions
• Coordinate the storage of collections and the setting up of displays and exhibitions
• Oversee the conservation, display and circulation of collections
• Supervise curatorial assistants and other museum technicians.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 12 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 53100 Registrars, restorers, interpreters and other occupations related to museum and art galleries
• 53123 Theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers
• 11202 Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations
• 60030 Restaurant and food service managers

Excluded from this code

• Curatorial assistant (See 53100 Registrars, restorers, interpreters and other occupations related to museum and art galleries)
• Museum designer (See 53123 Theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers)
• Museum educator (See 11202 Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations)
• Restaurateur - food services (See 60030 Restaurant and food service managers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

archaeology curator · archaeology museum curator · architectural conservator · art gallery conservator · art gallery curator · art object curator · art objects conservator · artifact conservator · assistant curator · assistant museum curator · aviation and space museum curator · book conservator · ceramics and glass conservator · conservator - museum · contemporary art curator · contemporary art museum curator · curator · ethnographic objects conservator · ethnology curator · ethnology museum curator · fine art and polychrome conservator · fossil conservator · fossil curator · furniture and wooden objects conservator

Employment requirements

• Conservators require a master's degree in art conservation or completion of a two-year college program in conservation technology and several years of experience in conservation work.
• Conservators may be accredited by the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators.
• Curators require a master's or bachelor's degree in museology, art history or a field related to their specific area of work.