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Curatorial Assistant

Employer
Colgate University
Location
New York, United States
Salary
Salary Not Specified
Date posted
Aug 4, 2021

Job Details

Department Statement
Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University’s art museum, is seeking a curatorial assistant dedicated to creating opportunities for critical inquiry, interdisciplinary dialogue, and creative thinking that foster understanding of how art intersects with people and ideas.

Picker Art Gallery ( PAG ) forms one-half of the University Museums at Colgate, along with the Longyear Museum of Anthropology ( LMA ). While this position reports to the co-director and curator of PAG, he/she/they will work alongside colleagues whose roles span the two museums and their collections. PAG is at an exciting point in its history. As a key component of Colgate’s ambitious Middle Campus Plan for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation, our team is currently reenvisioning and redefining how an academic art museum fits into the contemporary liberal arts experience and into the cultural fabric of the regional communities into which the campus is embedded. Our strategic plan prioritizes implementing decolonizing practices across museum operations, creating a more inclusive and accessible program, increasing student and faculty engagement, enhancing collaborations on and off campus, and developing collections that represent a wider range of identities and experiences.

We’d love to hear from you – even if you do not meet 100% of the preferred/desired qualifications. The starting salary will be in the high $40k’s. Accountabilities
The Picker Art Gallery curatorial assistant provides key support in advancing the museum’s exhibition program, collections-based research agenda, student and faculty engagement, and other strategic initiatives. The person filling the position will accountable for the following:

Providing oversight for and coordination of the museum’s exhibition program and maintaining steady progress on multiple exhibition projects, managing production schedules, writing exhibition texts and promotional material, managing budgets, assisting with installation, and giving curatorial tours.

Enhancing knowledge about and access to the museum’s collections, including conducting rigorous, independent, object-based, and archival research, working to establish provenance, liaising with specialists, fielding queries, maintaining accurate data, and assisting with movement, packing, and documentation.

Coordinating and preparing for class visits, liaising with student and community groups on special projects, and supervising student employees and interns.

Conceptualizing, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating academic and community programs in collaboration with museum staff and other stakeholders.

Providing editorial and administrative oversight for print and digital museum publications, including writing and editing content, managing publication timelines, coordinating team members and other contributors, and ensuring accessibility standards are met.

Developing and implementing effective communications strategies to various target audiences, including social media management, and communications to students, faculty, staff, and the general public.

Establishing or strengthening DEAI and decolonizing practices across museum operations, especially in exhibitions, interpretation, and collections.

Providing key support with grant writing, reporting, and administration as well as donor and alumni relations.

Performing other duties as assigned. Professional Experience/ Qualifications
  • Minimum one (1) year experience in a museum or other arts or cultural institution, or demonstrable equivalent experience.
  • Familiarity working with databases and/or demonstration of understanding of database concepts.
  • Strong writing and editing skills.
  • Experience conducting object-based research.
  • Ability to work collegially with a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students on a daily basis.
  • Flexibility and the ability to think creatively.
  • Knowledge of relevant computer programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Google applications).
Preferred Qualifications
  • Additional experience (more than 1 year) in a curatorial role in a museum or other arts or cultural institution, or demonstrable equivalent experience preferred.
  • Knowledge of contemporary museological and curatorial debates.
  • Previous experience working with museum collections, including knowledge of safe handling and movement practices.
  • Previous experience working on exhibitions.
  • Previous experience coordinating publications.
  • Sound knowledge of contemporary art and artists, especially BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, and other underrepresented artists.
  • Solid understanding of and commitment to decolonizing, equity, and inclusion practices, preferably in a museum context.
  • Previous supervisory experience, such as overseeing undergraduate student employees or interns.
  • Experience engaging audiences through marketing and/or social media.
  • Experience working on digital and multimedia projects such as online exhibitions, websites, or videos.
  • Working knowledge of The Museum System ( TMS ) or TMS Collections.
Education
  • Bachelor’s degree in art history, museum studies, or related field, or demonstrable equivalent experience is required.
  • Master’s degree in art history, museum studies, or related field, or demonstrable equivalent experience preferred.
Job Open Date 08/04/2021 Job Close Date Open Until Filled No Special Instructions Summary
Colgate has a diverse student, faculty, staff, and alumni population representing a variety of races, gender identities, social economic status, sexual orientations, languages, national origins, etc. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Plan presents a framework for continuing the creation of an inclusive campus and engaging the Colgate community in this effort in the years ahead.

Please describe how you would connect and work with a diverse community. You can upload the statement under the Diversity Statement document heading. For information on how to write a diversity statement, see our Guidance on Crafting Diversity Statements . EEO Statement
It is the policy of Colgate University not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of their race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, marital status, disability, protected Veterans status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, being or having been victims of domestic violence or stalking, familial status, or any other categories covered by law. Colgate is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Candidates from historically underrepresented groups, women, persons with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. For more information, click the "How to Apply" button.

Company

Colgate University

Colgate is a distinctive, leading American university known for its intellectual rigor, world-class professors, campus of stunning beauty, and alumni famously loyal to their alma mater.

Time and time again, the world has shown an urgent need for citizens with the ability to create, explore, examine, and connect human knowledge. Colgate University has been answering that call through centuries of academic rigor in the liberal arts tradition.

Colgate attracts world-renowned faculty in a breadth of subject matters as well as innovative leaders in higher-ed administration, all dedicated to building on an educational tradition that has prepared generations of Colgate graduates for success. 

Colgate is deeply invested in employees’ success, and we all work together to ensure that students receive the premier education that is at the University’s core.

The Colgate campus, ranked as one of the most beautiful in the nation, is a place where students develop lifelong bonds with each other, faculty, and staff.

Colgate is located in the village of Hamilton, a community of about 3,800 residents who enjoy downtown’s art galleries and restaurants and who take pride in the many historic homes and public buildings.

Colgate University

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