Registrar – Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art

Description

Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate in Nashville, TN. Originally built as the home of Leslie and Mabel Cheek in 1929. Since being converted into a museum of art and botanical garden in 1960, Cheekwood has presented world-class art exhibitions, spectacular gardens, and an historic estate. The Cheekwood Collections encompass paintings, works on paper, sculpture, furniture, decorative arts, and architecture. 

Reporting to the Vice President of Museum Affairs, the Registrar, performs both long-range planning efforts and day-to-day activities relative to the care and stewardship of the collections and museum registration efforts for exhibitions. In this fast-past environment, the Registrar provides essential guidance relative to collections care, shaping and enforcing collections management policies for both collections and loans that reflect museum standards and best practices as set forth by the American Alliance of Museums. The position works closely with curators, preparators, maintenance, marketing, gardens, and development staff, and additionally oversees and trains collections volunteers and interns. 

Responsibilities: 

  • Responsible for all policies, and procedures relating to the permanent collections, including but not limited to, accessioning; deaccessioning; packing, transit, and customs logistics; fine arts insurance; tracking and recording object movement and locations; and storage in concert with the curators through adherence to the highest professional standards in accordance American Alliance of Museums (AAM) guidelines and Cheekwood’s Collection Management Policy and Code of Ethics. 
  • Responsible for the administration and management of official records related to the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and incoming/outgoing loans, including the Collections Management database and web kiosk (Gallery Systems Embark). 
  • Maintains environmental monitoring equipment for the museum, produces reports on temperature and humidity, and communicates with maintenance on adjusting the HVAC system to ensure the best achievable environmental conditions for the artwork and the historic building. 
  • Plans and implements a museum wide inventory of all collection objects and records every ten years. On a monthly basis produces a random sampling of the collections to inventory, document the condition and location of objects to be performed by the curators responsible for each collection. 
  • Executes and oversees all contracts related exhibitions, including, but not limited to contracted curators, catalogue authors and other related contractual relationships as well as loan related contracts and agreements, including exhibition contracts; loan agreements; packing, transit, and customs logistics; transit receipts; fine arts insurance; and temporary loan storage through adherence to the highest professional standards in accordance American Alliance of Museums (AAM) guidelines and Cheekwood’s Collection Management Policy and Code of Ethics. 
  • Manages and oversee fine arts insurance policy in relation to the permanent collections, incoming/outgoing, and museum exhibitions. Processing damage reports and claims as needed. 
  • Maintains the exhibition calendar with oversight by the Vice President of Museum Affairs. 
  • Manages rights and reproductions requests for works in the permanent collections and included in exhibition loans. 
  • Manages offsite storage for permanent collections, incoming/outgoing loans, exhibitions, and exhibition transit materials. 
  • Authors, oversees, and updates the museum’s Collections Management Policy and collections-related documentation to ensure that they adhere to best museum practices and AAM professional standards. Serves as museum liaison for oversight and maintenance of Cheekwood’s Disaster Preparedness Plan and Code of Ethics. 
  • Responsible for assisting in the preparation of grants and funding narratives for projects relating to the duties of the Registrar. 
  • Responsible for incoming and outgoing information requests connected with the permanent collection, archives, temporary and extended loans (along with curatorial staff). 
  • Coordinates volunteers in concert with Vice President of Museum Affairs, supervising those volunteers and interns as assigned.

Requirements

  • Education: Master’s degree in Museum Studies or Art History, with a specialty in art collections administration or equivalent museum collections experience. 
  • Extensive knowledge of collection management systems and procedures. 
  • Ability to achieve and sustain best Collections practices. 
  • Strong detail orientation with demonstrated ability to manage more than one active project concurrently. 
  • Proven organizational skills and the ability to coordinate complicated projects and domestic and international exhibitions. 
  • The ability to review, develop and refine procedures with the Vice President of Museum affairs and implement changes necessary to improve operational efficiency. 
  • Ability to remain calm in a fast-paced work environment that frequently involves working under deadlines. 
  • Experience in a management role, with both supervisory and budgetary responsibilities including collections budget development and cost control procedures. 
  • A minimum of five years’ experience as a Registrar in an art museum with an active art collecting and exhibitions program is required. 
  • Experience Microsoft Programs is required. Experience with Gallery System’s Embark database, Embark web kiosk, and Adobe Suite is preferred.

Please send resume and letter of interest to Penny Bruckse, Vice President of Human Resources at Pbruckse@cheekwood.org. 

Cheekwood is an equal opportunity employer.