Curator of Exhibition Programming

Position Summary

Art + Water seeks a Curator of Exhibition Programming to lead the artistic vision of our exhibitions and related programming as we open a new home for artists at Pier 29. This is a role for someone who can hold two things at once: the long view and the daily work. You’ll shape what we show and why it matters, and you’ll do the hands-on labor of making it real.

The Curator of Exhibition Programming develops and oversees two major exhibitions each year. As Art + Water’s big public statements, they lean hard toward access and relevance. The work should reward a curious eight-year-old and a seasoned critic alike. Alongside these, the Curator of Exhibition Programming will organize quarterly smaller shows in the South Gallery. Two of the four each year draw directly from Art + Water’s community of mentor artists and residents; the other two are open to guest curators, art organizations and invited artists from the wider field, building the partnerships that make our collective art ecosystems thrive.

In addition, this position will develop and oversee Art + Water’s paid Curatorial Fellowship, a ten-month program. The Curator of Exhibition Programming will guide the fellow’s development while connecting their work to the rhythms of our visual arts residency, so that emerging curators learn the craft by doing it.

Fundraising is part of the picture. The Curator of Exhibition Programming will write and manage grants that support exhibition programming, and be part of the leadership team that tells the story to donors of why Art + Water exists at a moment when the Bay Area has lost so much of its arts infrastructure.

Beyond the galleries, the Curator of Exhibition Programming is a public face of Art + Water, a spokesperson and advocate for the organization, a key member of the leadership team, and someone who carries our values into every room they enter.

We’re looking for a visionary who’s also a mentor and a worker. Someone with real curatorial vision and the discipline to execute it, who can move between big ideas and spreadsheets without losing momentum on either. If you believe artists deserve to be treated as public infrastructure, and you want to help build a model that other cities can follow, we’d love to hear from you.