Luce Collections Fellow at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

Job Title: Luce Collections Fellow

Job Status: Full-time, 2 years

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $50,000

ABOUT LLMA

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (LLMA) is the only art museum in the world dedicated to the artistic exploration of multi-faceted queer perspectives. With a collection that includes over 25,000 objects, the Museum embraces the power of the arts to inspire, explore, and foster understanding of the rich diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences. We are a critical space for imagination, connection, and celebration built by—and for—our communities. 

Just weeks before the 1969 Stonewall uprisings, our founders Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman held a first-of-its-kind exhibition of gay artists in their SoHo loft. The Museum grew from this early commitment to queer art and artists. Through over fifty years of exhibitions, programming, and collecting, we have forefronted the interrelationship of art and social justice for LGBTQIA+ communities in New York City and beyond. Today, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art embraces and challenges a rapidly evolving society, putting into action a better world for LGBTQIA+ people—with artists leading the way. 

 

LLMA offers several major exhibitions a year, film screenings, performances, artist and curator talks, and panel discussions. The Museum has a collection of over 25,000 objects spanning three centuries, and an artist archive that contains information on over 2,000 LGBTQIA+ artists—both those represented in the collection and others of interest to LGBTQIA+ audiences. The Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with official accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums.

JOB SUMMARY

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is seeking a full time Collections Fellow to join our Collections Department in September 2024. This is a fixed term, 2 year fellowship with funding supported by The Henry Luce Foundation. The primary responsibility of the Collections Fellow will be to assist the Chief Curator and Associate Director of Collections in the research and preparation for a major traveling exhibition of works from the museum’s collection. In order to do this work, the Collections Fellow will have a hands-on role in the day-to-day care and stewardship of the museum’s collections of over 25,000 objects. Working under the Associate Director of Collections, the Collections Fellow will be responsible for ensuring the overall storage, preservation, maintenance, cataloging, and documentation of all works in LLMA’s holdings. Additional duties, along with Collections staff, include receiving, preparing and cataloging new acquisitions; the creation and maintenance of forms, legal documents, and records associated with collections objects; and the planning and organizing of exhibition-related movement of collections objects, including packing, shipping, and insurance. Art writing for both the museum’s online collections database, in-house collections exhibitions, and the touring collections exhibition are also part of the role. This role reports directly to the Associate Director of Collections.

JOB TASKS

  • Research works of art in the museum’s collection for an upcoming traveling exhibition to be launched in 2026 or 2027;
  • Assist Chief Curator and Associate Director of Collections in the development of the future collections traveling exhibition;
  • Work directly with exhibitions staff to organize logistics and details with regard to the future traveling exhibition;
  • Create checklists and maintain other paperwork related to collections exhibition activities;
  • Maintain all aspects of the Museum’s Collections, including receiving, cataloging and documenting new and existing works of art under direction of the Associate Dir. of Collections; 
  • Work with volunteers, interns, and Registrar on collections organization, paperwork and related tasks;
  • Assist with the implementation of a standard process to ensure that all works within the Museum’s Collections are correctly inventoried and properly managed;
  • Work independently to organize and ensure collections locations and location records are accurate;
  • Photographing, scanning, and writing condition reports-making assessments on conservation and storage needs in conjunction with the Associate Director of Collections;
  • Competency in the museum’s fine art database to update and maintain collections records as needed;
  • Maintain the biographical histories of individual artists in the database and the physical documents and ephemera relating to the artists, their art and support material; 
  • Assist with research requests and location of collections works and files as needed;
  • Additional duties as assigned.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS

  • Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in art history, museum studies, curatorial studies or related field;
  • Knowledge of queer contemporary art and queer art history with the ability to speak and write with competence within the broader field;
  • Minimum of 2 years experience needed in any arts administration role;
  • Experience with the handling of art objects as well as knowledge of best practices for art installation, exhibition, and shipping;
  • Experience with web-based collections management software a plus, but not required;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong organizational skills with accuracy and attention to detail, along with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well with individuals who have diverse backgrounds, interests, and working styles;
  • Ability to remain flexible under a multitude of conditions with varying pace and under rapidly changing contexts.

TO APPLY

Please send PDFs of your resume and a cover letter addressing both your interest in LLMA and your qualifications for this position to jobs@leslielohman.org. 

Accessibility:

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art strives to provide a welcoming environment to all visitors and applicants. We are located at 26 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013 (between Grand Street & Canal Street). Five external steps lead to our entrance doors; a wheelchair lift is available by pressing the doorbell located on the sidewalk level near the lift. The galleries and offices are wheelchair-accessible, and a single-occupancy accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk; all restrooms are gender-neutral. 

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art encourages applicants of all ages.

This job was sourced via NYFA