Associate Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Job Title: Associate Curator

Job Status: Full-time

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $84,000-$95,000

About The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

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. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

At The Met, every staff member – from security officers to researchers to scientists and beyond – lives by our core values of respect, inclusivity, collaboration, excellence, and integrity.

Respect: Engage one another with collegiality, empathy, and kindness, always.

Inclusivity: Ensure that all are and feel welcome and valued.

Collaboration: Reach across boundaries to exchange ideas and work together toward our shared mission.

Excellence: Lead the cultural world in quality and expertise—and inspire curiosity and creativity.

Integrity: Hold ourselves to the highest moral standards, admit when we fall short, and then evolve.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

You will have expertise in the first half of the twentieth century, particularly in the United States. You will foster new research, scholarship, acquisitions, and displays to highlight, complicate, and resituate this landmark period in art history; and you will seek deeper inroads into it that center the contributions of artists of color and women. You will work alongside colleagues at the Museum engaged in this ongoing work.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

  • Engage in actively situating art and artists of this period in the United States within an international context, grounding the artists and their work within the most pressing social, political, and aesthetic issues of their time
  • Propose art historical narratives and curate installations that reveal the complexity and diversity of life and cultural practices within the United States
  • Conduct research and archival work to find creative scholarly and interpretative throughways into historical material
  • Communicate scholarly research in a variety of modes—written or through lectures or gallery talks—that accommodate a variety of audience needs
  • Work collaboratively across the department and Museum, especially on ongoing projects related to the Tang Wing, The Met’s new wing for Modern and Contemporary Art
  • Work independently and in collaboration/coordination with collections, conservation, curatorial, advancement, and administrative staff
  • Other duties as assigned.

Education And Experience

  • Master’s Degree
  • Expertise in early twentieth century art, particularly in the United States.
  • Experience working with museum collections preferred, including experience in building collections and curating collection displays.
  • Ability to adapt and produce results on multiple projects with shifting priorities.
  • Familiarity with the following software: TMS, Adobe Suite, and Microsoft Office Suite.

Compensation Range

  • Pay Range: $84,000-$95,000/Annual
  • The advertised pay scale reflects the good faith minimum and maximum salary range for this role. The advertised pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, special licensing or qualifications, and other factors.

Location Requirements

At time of employment, employees are expected to be located within commuting distance of the Museum. “Commuting distance” means that they are located in one of following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (the “Tri-state and PA” areas), and be able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Benefits Offerings

The Museum provides competitive compensation, and generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees. Note: Benefits Offering may differ based on Employee Status.

  • Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
  • 403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
  • Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
  • Long-term disability coverage
  • Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
  • Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
  • Free financial-planning services
  • Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
  • 25% discount for staff in Museum shops
  • A subsidized staff cafeteria
  • Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

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Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

The Met is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Met will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed in this process, please contact benefits@metmuseum.org.

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.