Restorers and Curators
Job description
Restorers preserve and restore artifacts. They also prevent future deterioration of these artifacts.
Curators are responsible for collections. They are responsible for the preservation, research, development, and dissemination of the collections.
These individuals are self-employed or work for:
- Museums
- Art galleries
- Universities
- Owners of cultural property
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Hazardous chemical
- Odours
- Nontoxic dust
Main tasks
Restorers
- Examine the condition of artifacts and recommend preventive preservation methods or treatment.
- Restore and preserve various objects (paintings, sculptures, furniture, etc.).
- Suggest methods for displaying, storing, maintaining, and preserving artifacts.
- Research new restoration and preservation techniques.
- Conduct documentary and technical research on the artifacts.
- Advise museum and art gallery staff and owners of cultural property.
- Supervise staff.
Curators
- Recommend the acquisition of paintings, photographs, sculptures, documents, etc.
- Research the origin and history of objects and disseminate the results of this research.
- Supervise the inventory of the collections.
- Collaborate in the development of collection policies, standards, and procedures (collection fields and lines of research).
- Develop scenarios and themes for exhibitions, organize them, and carry out installation.
- Coordinate the storage of collections and ensure their preservation, presentation and dissemination.
- Supervise staff.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to management positions.
- These individuals may specialize in a type of art (painting, sculpture, etc.), a period (archaeology, renaissance, etc.), a type of material (wood, metal, etc.), or a type of object (furniture, weapons, musical instruments, etc.).
Hourly wage
Not available.Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
All of Québec
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
All of Québec
Gender distribution
All of Québec
- 62.9% Female
- 37.1% Male
- 62.9% Female
- 37.1% Male
Job types
All of Québec
- Full time
- Part time
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- None
All of Québec
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
-
NAICS 7173% of jobs
-
NAICS 9118% of jobs
-
NAICS 513% of jobs
-
NAICS 5418, 54193% of jobs
-
NAICS 233% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
All of Québec
-
NAICS 7173% of jobs
-
NAICS 9118% of jobs
-
NAICS 513% of jobs
-
NAICS 5418, 54193% of jobs
-
NAICS 233% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Art history
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 34.9%
54% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 69.2%
30.8% of graduates pursue further studies
History
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 34.3%
60.2% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 63%
33.3% of graduates pursue further studies
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Reading comprehension
- Oral expression
- Information processing
- Active listening
- Written expression
- Critical thought
- Solving complex problems
- Active learning
- Judgment and decision-making
- System analysis
- Result evaluation
- Systems evaluation
- Social perception
- Learning strategies
- Coordination
- Time management
- Teaching
- Human resource management
- Material resource management
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
Abilities
- Written comprehension
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Written expression
- Deductive reasoning
- Near vision
- Speech clarity
- Classification
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech recognition
- Awareness of issues
- Originality
- Idea generation
- Information organization
- Visualization
- Selective attention
- Processing flexibility
- Distance vision
- Colour perception and distinction
Knowledge and attributes
- Knowledge of administration and management
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to influence and mobilize
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Capacity to work in a team
- Attention to detail
- Sense of observation
- Commitment to quality
- Knowledge of the arts
- Knowledge of history and archeology
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Work in the arts, culture, music, or leisure
- Carry out research
- Make, build, install
- Work manually
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Artistic
- People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Official name of the NOC 51101
Conservators and curators
Job titles
- Curator
- Conservator - museum
- Art gallery curator
- Museum curator
- Art objects conservator
- Assistant conservator
- Assistant museum curator
- Herbarium curator
- Insectarium curator
- Art object curator
- Library curator
- Fossil curator
- Archaeology museum curator
- Contemporary art museum curator
- Ethnology museum curator
- Natural history museum curator
- Ornithology museum curator
- Aviation and space museum curator
- Photography museum curator
- Invertebrate zoology museum curator
- Vertebrate zoology museum curator
- Science and technology museum curator
- Natural sciences museum curator
- Archaeology curator
- Contemporary art curator
- Ethnology curator
- Ornithology curator
- Science and technology curator
- Natural sciences curator
- Invertebrate zoology curator
- Vertebrate zoology curator
- Museologist
- Architectural conservator
- Artifact conservator
- Insectarium conservator
- Museum objects conservator
- Furniture and wooden objects conservator
- Ceramics and glass conservator
- Ethnographic objects conservator
- Historical artifact conservator
- Library and archives conservator
- Fossil conservator
- Art gallery conservator
- Book conservator
- Metals conservator
- Paper conservator
- Photograph conservator
- Sculpture conservator
- Natural history specimen conservator
- Paintings conservator
- Textile conservator
- Fine art and polychrome conservator
Skill type
Art, culture, recreation and sport
Last update: January 29, 2026