Position Title: Curator of Contemporary Art & Craft from the Southern Highlands
Position Description: This position will conceptualize, develop, organize, interpret, and manage an annual program of art exhibitions (approximately 8) with content focused on contemporary art and craft created in this region, which is generally defined as Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee* and the border areas of western North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia. For the purposes of this program, contemporary art is defined as that created both currently and within the past twenty-five to thirty years. The exhibitions will be considered in two ways: high-security exhibitions displayed in the Contemporary Regional Gallery and those displayed as moderate to low security exhibitions in the Panoramic Gallery on Level Three’s lobby that should include a new program of exhibitions developed with the art departments of our partner institution, Emory & Henry University, as well as potentially other higher education art departments in the region, ie. UVA Wise and ETSU. In all decisions and actions, this position will strive for artistic excellence, sound scholarship, and best practices in the management of art. The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and all art will be cared for and displayed according to the highest standards set forth by AAM. For loaned art, these standards will be applied within the scope of wall to wall responsibility that mandates care during transit, in Museum storage areas, and in our galleries. Exhibitions will be essentially educational in purpose and content and will be developed with connoisseurship as a primary value in selection of artwork. The majority of exhibitions will be organized by WKMA with the balance on loan from individuals or other institutions, constituting a whole program that strives for excellence and presents as interesting, engaging, and promoting of community. This position works closely with the (1) Curator of Decorative Arts of SWVA & NETN, (2) Curator of Fine Art, (3) Installations Manager, and (4) Registrar. The position collaborates with the Director of Higher Education and Adult Learning, participating in the development of related programming including workshops, classes, demonstrations, lectures, and other initiatives designed to promote understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. This position acts as planner, participant, and/or facilitator as appropriate for lectures related to exhibitions within this position’s responsibility; with the marketing and publications staff for the production of print and media material; with the security staff in ensuring the safe environment for the storage and display of art; and with the Business Manager for the insurance coverage of art within the Museum’s contemporary loan program. This position reports directly to the Museum’s Executive Director.
Essential requirements for this position include a degree in studio art or art history with emphasis in contemporary art. Post graduate work and curatorial experience are a plus. This position requires a self-starter with a natural inclination for planning and the ability to work independently while within the framework of an interlocking organizational work plan. Personal work habits should be strong in detail management, research, and writing skills, with a consistent capacity to meet deadlines.
Specific functions of this position include:
*ensuring that a two-year exhibition plan is consistently in place, working closely for its development with the rest of the curatorial staff;
*developing a final checklist, including insurance values, for each exhibition within this position’s responsibility, at least three months prior to its opening;
*serving, with the Registrar, as primary contact for all lenders within this position’s responsibility, institutional and individual, ensuring that all registration information is accurate and complete, including insurance values, and that information related to the schedule for pickup and return of artwork is current and relayed in a timely manner to the Installations Manager for efficient and smooth implementation;
*determining, for the purposes of exhibition design, the relationship of objects with the checklist and working closely with the Installations Manager for a design that is esthetically engaging while respecting object relationship;
*writing all interpretive materials associated with exhibitions within the scope of this position’s responsibility such as text panels, object identification labels, and other materials such as general audience gallery guides or catalogs, and working effectively to produce these in a timely manner with the Museum’s publications department;
*participating in all installations, especially those curated by this position, working under the leadership of the Installations Manager;
*sharing leadership responsibility and management of the Artistic Direction Committee, a standing committee of the Board of Trustees, with the Curator of Decorative Art of SWVA & NETN and Curator of Fine Art;
*developing and managing, for approval by the Museum’s Executive Director, an annual budget and work plan for the exhibitions under this position’s responsibility;
*creating and maintaining exhibition files that include appropriate reports, forms, and other materials for use as historical data with the Museum’s history and planning activities;
*creating an Exhibitions Report for each fiscal year within eight weeks of its close that chronicles visitor numbers, costs, checklists of objects, and related programs for use in the Museum’s annual report and running log of exhibitions;
*other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.
To apply, email your resume and cover letter to Casey Powers cpowers@wkmuseum.org.
*For the purposes of the Museum’s traditional service area, Southwest Virginia is defined as the counties in far Southwest Virginia: Buchanan, Dickenson, Carroll, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington, and Wise. The Tennessee counties along the border including Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan.