Curatorial Assistant- Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture- at the Brooklyn Museum
Job Title: Curatorial Assistant
Job Status: Full-time
Description
As part of a curatorial team, the Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion and Material Culture supports exhibitions and collections-related projects, scholarly research and writing, and correspondence with internal and external stakeholders. This individual also oversees access to our Works on Paper collections and use of its study area for staff, outside curators, scholars, and community members.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as a primary point of contact for internal and external inquiries related to collection and exhibition projects
- Contribute to collection gallery rotations, reinstallations, and temporary exhibitions, including:
- Assisting curators with formulating proposals for short- and long-term exhibition projects
- Compiling and maintaining exhibition checklists and schedules, dressing sheets, installation plans, mount preparations, framing, media components, etc.
- Conducting subject-specific research
- Drafting labels and other exhibition texts
- Collaborating with colleagues across departments, including but not limited to conservation, education, exhibitions, editorial, graphic design, and registrars
- Coordinating grant applications
- Lead both assigned and independent research projects related to the collection, including potential loans, proposed acquisitions, and deaccessions
- Maintain departmental files and TMS records relating to objects, artists, and exhibitions
- Work with curators and Digital Lab to prepare back matter for exhibition catalogues and related labels, including captions, descriptions, materials, and credit lines
- Write social media posts about works in the collections
- Field scholarly inquiries and organize collection visits for researchers, school groups, donors, and the public
- Facilitate, schedule, and monitor use of the Works on Paper study area by staff, outside curators, scholars, and community members; oversee artwork coming into and going out of the area, and supervise storage and conservation in consultation with curators and conservators
- Join curators to visit potential donors and lenders
- Manage fellows, interns, and volunteers
- Provide general administrative support
Requirements
Qualifications:
A successful candidate will meet many of these requirements, and have the desire and capacity to learn the rest on the job.
- Bachelor’s degree in art history, museum studies, visual culture, anthropology, or a related humanities discipline, or two to three years of experience in a museum or other cultural organization
- Highly detail-oriented, organized, and able to prioritize among multiple projects
- Experience handling works on paper
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Passion for collaboration and demonstrated experience working on collaborative projects
- Research and writing background in art history and/or popular/contemporary culture
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and basic office functions (e.g., scanning, filing)
Preferred qualifications:
- Familiarity with collection databases such as The Museum System (TMS)
- Experience with acquisitions procedures
- Knowledge of contemporary art, photography, fashion, and material/pop culture
- Familiarity with accounting methods and software (such as Concur)
- Some foreign language skills
To Apply: