Museum Instructor/Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and Europe

Museum Overview

The Brooklyn Museum is a world-renowned cultural institution dedicated to preserving and showcasing art, history, and heritage. Our mission is to bring people together through art and experiences that inspire celebration, compassion, courage, and the will to act. Our vision is to serve as an institution where art is a powerful force for personal transformation and social change. Celebrating our differences and learning about our diverse communities through our collections, exhibitions, and programming is the core of who we are and what we do.

We are committed to creating and cultivating a community of talented, passionate people who are inspired to make the Museum an important hub of community activity and a great global destination. Our staff have the opportunity to grow their professional skills and work collaboratively with colleagues they admire and respect.

About The Role

The Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and Europe, assists with collection and exhibition-related projects for the European and Decorative Arts and Design collections. The Curatorial Assistant supports the administration of collections in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and conducts and assists with scholarly research and writing. This individual works closely with the curators for Decorative Arts and Design and European Art on a wide range of projects across the Arts of the Americas and Europe Curatorial department.

Responsibilities:

• Provide general administrative support for the department and curators
• Serve as a primary point of contact for internal and external inquiries related to the department and collection and exhibition projects
• Maintain departmental files and TMS records relating to objects, artists, and exhibitions
• Field scholarly inquiries and organize collection visits from researchers, school groups, donors, and the public
• Assist with and contribute to temporary and collection gallery exhibitions, rotations, activations, reinstallations, including, but not limited to:
  • Assisting with the formulation of proposals and exhibition concepts
  • Compiling and maintaining exhibition checklists, including schedules, installation plans, framing, media components, etc.
  • Conducting subject-specific research
  • Drafting acquisition or deaccession justifications
  • Research and draft exhibition didactics
  • Drafting labels and other exhibition texts
  • Conducting collection and exhibition tours as requested
  • Collaborating with colleagues across departments, including but not limited to Conservation, Education, Visitor Experience, Exhibitions, Editorial, Graphic Design, Development, and Registrar
• Lead assigned research projects related to the collections, including on potential loans, proposed acquisitions, and deaccessions
• Write social media posts about works in the collections
• Visit potential donors and lenders with curators
• Other duties as assigned

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with collection databases such as The Museum System (TMS)
• Knowledge of European Art, Decorative Arts and Design, or art of the Spanish Americas
• Some foreign language skills

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in art history, museum studies, visual culture, or a related humanities discipline, or two to three years of experience in a museum or other cultural organization
• Highly detail-oriented, organized, and able to prioritize among multiple projects
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Experience with collaborative projects
• Background in scholarly research and writing
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and basic office functions (e.g., scanning, filing)

Department:

Curatorial, Arts of the Americas and Europe

Reports to: Senior Curator of European Art and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

Position type: Full-time

Salary: $51,034

Union status: Union – DC37 Local 1502

FLSA status: Non-exempt

Schedule: 35 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; This position is subject to occasional evening and weekend hours.

If you have questions about our online application system, get in touch with us at [email protected].