Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow at the Colby College Museum of Art

Job Title: Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow

Job Status: Full-time

Location: Waterville, ME

Salary:  $38,000

Description

https://colby.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ColbyCareers/details/Anne-Lunder-Leland-Fellow_R0002426

Job Description

Department:

Museum Modern and Contemporary Art

Pay Rate Type:

Hourly

Employee Type:

Job Summary:

Colby College Museum of Art
Full-Time, Temporary, Non-Exempt, Hourly Staff Appointment

OVERVIEW

The Anne Lunder Leland curatorial fellowship offers an in-depth introduction to the field of museum curating in the context of an academic museum. The fellow provides support to the Colby Museum’s curatorial department, including administrative and production assistance related to the museum’s exhibitions and related programs, collection installations, publications, and acquisitions. The fellow facilitates research queries and cross-departmental communication. Exhibition and collection support duties also include research assignments and interpretive materials production. The fellow oversees the museum’s online magazine the Lantern and mentors student participants in the museum’s internship program.

The fellowship experience includes mentorship from staff experienced in curatorial work, and close collaboration across museum areas. The fellow also has opportunities to teach during class visits to the museum, facilitate tours, and present to various groups, thus gaining valuable presentation and engagement skills that are important to curatorial work. This fellowship position at the Colby Museum is a one-year appointment, with the possibility of annual renewals for two years.

THE MUSEUM AND ITS MISSION

Located in Waterville, Maine, the Colby Museum opens access to art and artists for the Colby community, for Maine residents and visitors, and for audiences beyond, creating a forum for experimentation, research, dialogue, and connection. We grow and use our stellar collection in ways that activate the power of art to expand imagination and forge new connections, fostering a more open, creative, and compassionate society. We teach to inspire and open possibilities, so that students at Colby and other visitors can become more curious, nimble, and able to contribute within a changing world, in keeping with Colby’s dynamic liberal arts mission. We incubate art scholarship and practice in ways that explore and expand how the idea of America is understood and how art is made, interpreted, and shared. We do so by supporting new research, providing mentorship, and convening a diversity of people and perspectives. The Lunder Institute for American Art and our exhibitions, programs, and publications facilitate field-wide impact. We are committed to our audiences, including the Colby College community, residents of Waterville and the broader Maine region, national and international visitors, and the artists, scholars, and partners with whom we collaborate.

A COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Working to advance equity and inclusion in the field of American art—and, by doing so, in the wider world—is core to our mission. We feel the urgency of national and campus conversations on inequality and are keenly aware of the unique responsibility that we have as an academic art museum—as a place where we can listen, ask questions, and challenge assumptions—to engage in this dialogue, and to act. We affirm the Colby Museum’s commitment to multidisciplinary teaching and learning and our potential for deep engagement with students will be leveraged in this effort toward fighting racialized violence, injustice, and inequality; and we encourage inquiries from candidates who will contribute to the diversity of our college, including its cultural and ethnic diversity.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Provide administrative and curatorial support for the museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection, as well as related programs
  • Assist the curators with the digital and printed maintenance of checklists, image files, loan correspondence, museum graphics, labels, and logistical details related to exhibition curation and collection display.
  • Assist with coordination of logistical needs for artists/curators visits including arranging honoraria, travel, lodging, meals, and any event-related logistics
  • Work collaboratively with all areas of the museum’s curatorial, education, and collection departments
  • Field inquiries regarding the collection, its presentation and interpretation, its care, and its use for teaching.
  • Facilitate the museum’s digital publication, the Lantern, including developing content, liaising with contributors, and managing the WordPress interface
  • Participate in museum social media content development and execution
  • Conduct ongoing collections and exhibitions research as required with the possibility of contributing to museum publications and interpretive content
  • Update new information to the museum object files in conjunction with the museum’s registrars
  • Prepare materials related to proposed acquisitions
  • Lead tours, teach in the galleries during class visits, and/or present materials as assigned
  • Perform additional duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in education and experience
  • Relevant coursework in art history and demonstrable administrative experience preferred
  • Highly motivated, flexible, and comfortable with diverse audiences
  • Outstanding interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills with a high level of motivation
  • Unwavering commitment to fostering an antiracist, equitable work environment supportive of people from different cultures, backgrounds, and life paths
  • Excellent research skills and attention to detail
  • Experience in a professional environment, able to work collaboratively within a team and a diverse organization
  • Able to work independently as well as in a team, exercise judgment, establish priorities, and manage projects with minimal supervision and to adjust as new projects are assigned
  • Ability to effectively collaborate with staff, students, and faculty
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite; Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign; WordPress; and Google applications; familiarity with digital cloud collaboration platforms preferred

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

This position reports to the head curator and works closely with the curatorial team, the senior manager and assistant manager of exhibitions and publications and other key members of the museum staff as well as faculty, staff, students, alumni, museum guests, and outside vendors.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

General open office and campus environment. Position involves sitting, although frequent movement is necessary. Computer usage involving repetitive hand/wrist motion is also necessary.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Successful and satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check). All students, faculty, and staff who are present on campus must be vaccinated and boostered against COVID-19, unless granted an exemption or accommodation by the College.

TO APPLY:

Interested candidates should apply electronically by clicking the “Apply Now” button on the Colby College website. Please submit a letter of interest, resume, and the contact information of three professional references. Materials should be addressed to:

Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow – Search Committee
Office of Human Resources
Colby College
5500 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME  04901-8855