Exhibition Designer (Design Dept.) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Job Title: Exhibition Designer

Job Status: Full-time

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.

About the Design Department

The scope of the department is significant, and includes approximately 50+ exhibitions and rotations per year, capital construction and buildings projects, and gallery reinstallation projects. In addition to exhibition materials, the department produces approximately 200+ communication design projects a year, ranging from large-scale events with bespoke graphic identities to wayfinding systems and printed collateral. The studio provides design services for a building that is over 2 million square feet and contains objects from 17 curatorial departments, collaborating with over 50 departments to serve an average of over 7 million visitors annually.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

The Exhibition Designer works under the Design Manager, Exhibition Design, and collaborates with other members of the Exhibition Design team. The position will realize exhibitions and installations from concept to production, including construction administration, in collaboration with curators, conservators, and the museum’s project and construction managers. This includes producing presentation materials, renderings, and construction drawings as needed from preliminary space planning and budgeting exercises through concept, schematic, and design development phases. In addition to designing exhibitions, this role will be responsible for designing medium- and smaller-scale permanent collection renovation projects, in consultation with the Design Manager.

The Exhibition Designer must have the capacity to collaborate with all members of the 30+ member design department, which includes Graphics, Lighting Design, Production, and Operations. A successful candidate will be a collegial and collaborative problem solver who can exercise a wide range of creative strategies and has a comprehensive understanding of best museum practices.

The Exhibition Designer must have the capacity to support the design team in all phases of an exhibition and be able to effectively communicate with external consultants from case manufacturers to architects, designers, media consultants, and other types of expertise in order to realize needs of display and exhibition experience. They should have experience creating design documents, familiarity with construction bid packages, custom detailing, and possess the technical and rendering skills (Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc.) to develop, present, and test design ideas visually. This person will collaborate with all Design Managers to bring enhanced design potential to shows across locations, create presentation renderings, and research visual / fabrication materials. This person should also be available to support institutional projects that require rendering, three-dimensional thinking, and/or visitor experience design.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

  • Support exhibition design team across locations to enhance design and realize exhibitions
  • · Architectural design from research and concept through execution/production supervision
  • · Prepare design document drawings (floor plans, sections, elevations, and detail drawings), case lists, and schedules for internal museum reviews and construction bid documents
  • · Build 3d models for design and presentation purposes
  • · Coordinate fabrication with in-house production team, Met Buildings Department, or outside vendors when needed
  • · Help facilitate communication with all Design Managers during the final installation process of all major projects, installations, or exhibitions as assigned
  • · Possess a high level of organization and file management
  • · Other duties as assigned
  • · Other related duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

Fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine (or approved for an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, sincerely held religious belief, or pregnancy, or because you are a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sex offenses).

Experience and Skills:

  • At least two to four years of experience in exhibition design, industrial design, scenic design, or architectural design
  • Full knowledge of construction techniques, fabrication skills, materials, and project management
  • Knowledge of AutoCAD, Vectorworks, Rhino, and/or 3ds Max
  • Strong organizational and design presentation skills
  • Experience and knowledge of proper art handling procedures and art or object installation and display experience preferred
  • Good communication skills and ability to function as part of a team
  • Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines
  • Background in architecture preferred

Knowledge and Education:

  • B.A. degree in exhibition design, industrial design or equivalent field of work is required. MFA or March preferred
  • Knowledge of construction techniques is required
  • Museum exhibition design experience preferred
  • Portfolio submission required

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Applicants are asked to please provide a portfolio in addition to your resume. Applications can be submitted via the posting on LinkedIn. Portfolios and resumes can be submitted via email to Careers@MetMuseum.org – please reference position “Exhibitions Designer – Design“ in the subject line of the email.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.