Exhibitions Registrar at The Bruce Museum
Job Title: Exhibitions Registrar
Job Status: Full-time
Location: Greenwich, CT
Salary: $65,000 – $75,000
Description
The Bruce seeks a highly skilled museum professional for a new role in its Collections Management and Registration department. With extensive experience in project managing exhibitions, the Exhibitions Registrar is responsible for all aspects of exhibition and loan logistics. Working closely with lenders and external contractors, as well as cross-departmentally with Exhibitions, Curatorial, Security, Development, Audience Engagement, and Marketing, the Exhibitions Registrar oversees the care, handling, and security of objects on temporary and long-term loan to the Museum.
Reporting to the Director of Collections Management and Registration, this role is a full-time, benefitted position.
Primary Responsibilities
Temporary and Long-term Loan Coordination
- Supports loan request process, preparing loan agreement forms and supplying the AAM General Facility Report, environmental readings, and other related documents to prospective lenders.
- Negotiates and oversees loan agreements and contracts with lenders. Manages insurance logistics with museum underwriters and provides certificates of insurance to lenders. Liaises with lenders, photographers, conservators, couriers, customs agents, insurance brokers, and transport agents in support of timely loan coordination.
- Manages exhibition expenses relating to loans: loan fees, packing, transport, conservation, seeking competitive estimates and negotiating with lenders to reduce costs.
- Creates and maintains exhibition and loan records in the CMS as well as physical and digital files in accordance with the Department’s records management procedures.
Exhibition and Gallery Installations
- Advises curators and preparators of all handling, mounting, environmental, and security requirements established by lenders, as well as any special needs in the areas of storage, conservation, and installation.
- Prepares and completes condition reports for incoming and outgoing objects, organizing external conservation support when required.
- Produces and manages installation and deinstallation schedules, coordinating with preparators, Director of Exhibitions, Curators, Security, and couriers.
- Collaborates with Museum Protection Team to provide necessary security measures during exhibition changeovers, as well as throughout the exhibition period.
- Photographically documents completed installations for internal recording purposes.
Operational responsibilities
- Contributes to revision and establishment of departmental and institutional contracts, policies, and procedures.
- With Director of Collections Management and Registration, develops an exhibition implementation schedule for institutional application as a project management tool.
- Attends cross-departmental meetings in support of exhibition implementation and programmatic scheduling.
- Shares responsibility for image procurement for exhibition publicity and press, as well as publications, coordinating with Marketing and Curatorial departments.
- Supervises and provides training to contract/temporary staff, fellows, interns, and volunteers where applicable.
Requirements
- A minimum of five years previous experience in a museum or gallery setting organizing exhibitions and managing loans.
- Knowledge of process to secure image rights permission from creators and their agents balancing fair use and protection of creative and intellectual property.
- Extensive knowledge of and demonstrable adherence to museum best practices and ethical standards.
- Proven project management experience, the ability to handle multiple simultaneous projects and an active exhibition schedule.
- Command of museum collections management methods relevant to record development, management, and maintenance, as well as knowledge of budgets, object handling, storage, archives, and related areas.
- Knowledge of relevant digital office management programs and previous experience creating and maintaining records using collection management software.
- Excellent communication skills; highly organized and detail-oriented; strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work independently and collaborate with staff in a fast-paced and collaborative environment.
- Experience handling artwork and museum objects.
- Bachelor’s Degree in Art, Art History, Science, Anthropology, or related field; Master’s Degree in Museum Studies, Arts Administration, or Collection Management preferred, or equivalent combination of work and education experience.