Job Description

[What the role is]

The Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG) is one of the oldest tropical botanic gardens and one of only three botanic gardens in the world inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has extensive living and herbarium collections from Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia.

The SBG library and archives include more than 2,000 botanical paintings, as well as hundreds of sketches, line drawings and photographs. Since March 2021, a selection of the best and most representative artworks in the Gardens\xe2\x80\x99 collections has been on display at the Botanical Art Gallery.

Located within the Gallop Extension, the Botanical Art Gallery highlights the vital role that art plays in the scientific documentation of plants in Singapore and the region, as well as how art can inspire renewed appreciation of the natural world around us. The artworks are displayed on rotation to offer the public a varied experience as well as to ensure their long-term preservation by limiting their exposure to light. The Gallery also features changing exhibitions that complement the Gardens\xe2\x80\x99 permanent artwork collection.

Another location within the Gardens with outreach and connecting plants and people as its aims is the Centre for Ethnobotany. Situated adjacent to the Ethnobotany Garden, the two-storey Centre houses interpretive exhibitions and artefacts which showcase traditional knowledge and customs from the region about plants and the ways in which they have been used by people.

[What you will be working on]

Based at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (Research & Conservation branch), you will work closely with the Curator of Exhibitions, Botanical Art Gallery and the staff of the Centre for Ethnobotany. At the Botanical Art Gallery you will curate and oversee design and installation of one changing exhibition on the Captain Cook Florilegium, and one change of rotation of the permanent collection.

Additionally, you will compile base data on orchid hybridization in Singapore in preparation for a subsequent exhibition. At the Centre for Ethnobotany, you will be involved in content creation and curation of two temporary exhibitions on plant groups of economic value and human interest in Southeast Asia.

Your duties will involve independent research, communication with lending institutions and individuals, copywriting texts, arranging progress meetings, and working together with an exhibition contractor on costing, design, fabrication, and installation.

[What we are looking for]

Masters in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices, or equivalent

Experience in exhibition curation and content creation.

Ability to work independently as well as in a team.

Competent in using the Microsoft Office suite.

Good communication skills.

Proficient in basic photography skills and Adobe Photoshop an advantage.

Interest in Singapore Botanic Gardens, botanical art and ethnobotany

Successful candidate will be appointed on a 9-month employment contract.

Government Technology Agency