Barnett and Annalee Newman Associate Curator of Contemporary Programming at The Jewish Museum
Job Title: Barnett and Annalee Newman Associate Curator of Contemporary Programming
Job Status: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $70,000-$80,000
The Jewish Museum:
The Jewish Museum serves people of all religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds through world-class art exhibitions ranging from ancient to contemporary. Founded in 1904 and located on New York City’s Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum aspires to be the global leader at the center of Jewish culture.
The Museum maintains a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of art, ceremonial objects, and media reflecting the global Jewish experience over more than 4,000 years. The Museum’s thought-provoking, innovative, and intellectually stimulating exhibitions and education programs serve a wide range of audiences, including families, teens, students, educators, and visitors with disabilities. As an identity-based institution, the Museum plays an important role among cultural institutions, challenging all forms of bigotry and discrimination and promoting understanding among wide audiences. The Jewish Museum invites applicants of all backgrounds to consider joining the Museum in its work.
The Jewish Museum is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all and to promoting a positive work culture that celebrates difference, challenges prejudice, and ensures fairness. Integrity, collegiality, and excellence are central to the Museum’s values. These values, along with an institution-wide commitment to Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion (DEAI), are embedded in the Museum’s strategic plan and will be the focus of a comprehensive DEAI action plan.
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The Position:
The Jewish Museum seeks a dynamic Associate Curator of Contemporary Programming to activate and deepen the Museum’s collaborations with artists and leading thinkers in contemporary art. Reporting to the Barnett and Annalee Newman Curator of Contemporary Art, the new Associate Curator will be an integral part of a lively Curatorial team that has expertise across a diverse range of fields and periods. The Associate Curator has excellent working relationships with artists and a commitment to advancing their efforts within the unique context of the Museum. Acknowledging that the pandemic and racial reckoning have forever changed the operations and civic role of cultural institutions, the ideal candidate will innovate new public programs and support the creation of commissioned projects across disciplines: they will produce and participate in lectures, convenings, and performances; manage artist commissions (including objects and installations); create digital content aligned with the contemporary program (including for exhibitions, acquisitions, and events); and otherwise work closely with artists in New York and beyond. This new role will generate a sense of belonging for artists and their communities at the Jewish Museum and advance their relationship to Jewish culture and civil society more broadly. Applicants of all backgrounds are encourage to apply.
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Responsibilities Include:
● Collaborate with and support the Curator of Contemporary Art and colleagues across the Museum to ensure that artists have a consistent and core presence within the Museum’s physical and virtual spaces.
● Generate new types of engagements with artists and thought-leaders in contemporary art, including new program formats, onsite and virtual convenings, in-gallery performances, community-engaged projects, video content, and other initiatives.
● Assist the Curator of Contemporary Art by overseeing production on future commissioned projects for the Jewish Museum’s collection, galleries, lobby, façade and beyond.
● Actively advance cross-departmental collaboration and coordination of initiatives involving contemporary artists by working closely with Education staff, including the Assistant Director, Public Programs as well as the Digital Content & Communications team.
● Help ideate and deliver content offerings that strengthen the presence of contemporary art on the Museum’s online platforms, including drafting content for newsletter articles, social media posts, blogs, podcasts, etc.
● Manage all project and event logistics, including thoughtful coordination with artists and museum staff, budget management, production schedules, and arranging travel.
● Meet goals outlined in the Museum’s DEAI Action Plan by fostering and nurturing relationships with historically under-served artists and community partners.
● Mentor and oversee the activities of paid interns.
● Participate as needed in Development initiatives including donor cultivation, grant-related content generation, fundraising campaigns, and special events.
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Requirements:
● Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience, preferably working in a museum setting in curatorial, education, or audience engagement-related capacities
● Demonstrated ability to work effectively, enthusiastically, and creatively with artists and museum colleagues on commissioned projects and programs
● Proven experience in physical and virtual event production
● Dynamic public speaking presence in person and on camera, and strong interpersonal skills
● Drive to collaborate with and uplift the contributions of historically underserved groups and generate programming through a DEAI lens
● Strong extant relationships within the diverse contemporary art landscape preferred
● Excellent organizational and time management skills
● Experience in digital content creation a plus, such as managing the production of videos on exhibitions or artists
● Competency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Google, Suite, etc
● Fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a Center for Disease Control (CDC) or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized vaccine (or approved for an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to qualified disability or sincerely held religious belief or other legal basis)