Association of Academic Museums and Galleries

For information about Wake Forest University and to apply for this position, please visit our careers website.

The Office of the University Art Collections at Wake Forest University seeks an energetic, ambitious, and engaged Curator of Collections who will oversee all aspects of the University’s art collections. The curator directs the development, care, and use of the University’s collections. The successful candidate will combine the organizational skills and attention to detail of a collections manager with the vision and cross-disciplinary interests essential to academic outreach.

The WFU Art Collections consist of nine independent and diverse collections assembled by a variety of circumstances including commissions, gifts, bequests and purchases. More than 2000 works, including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, drawings, furniture and textiles, are located in 35 on and off-campus locations. As a valuable and irreplaceable cultural asset, the Collections foster an awareness and appreciation of the visual arts and support the University’s educational mission through examination, conversation and instruction.

The University Art Collections participates in a unique program to grow the collection, the Wake Forest Student Art Acquisition trip. Once every four years since 1963, a group of students is selected to travel to New York and purchase contemporary art for the university’s collection with the only guideline is that the art reflects the times.  The collection includes works by Helen Frankenthaler, Alex Katz, and Shirin Neshat, among many others.

Under the supervision of the interim Executive Director of Galleries and Collections and with support from the Associate Provost for the Arts, this position will play a key role in making the university art collections central to teaching, learning, and campus culture at Wake Forest. These efforts include the implementation of a central collections management system to make the collection more accessible to faculty, students, and the community. The University Art Collections comprises a “museum without walls,” and the curator will work with faculty and Facilities and Campus Services to create displays that foster object-based learning and interdisciplinary exchange. In addition, the curator of collections will work with the Hanes Art Gallery, which features rotating exhibitions of contemporary art, and Reynolda House Museum of American Art, a museum and historic property affiliated with the University, to collaborate on programming and learning opportunities.

Qualifications: At least an M.A. in Art History, Curatorial Studies, Museum Studies, Collections Management, or relevant discipline. Specialization in modern art and/or works on paper preferred. The ideal candidate will have 3-5 years related experience in a university art museum setting and be knowledgeable about registrarial and collections management areas. The position requires excellent oral and written communication skills, the ability to collaborate effectively with divisions and disciplines across the university, and the ability to manage projects and deadlines independently.

Essential Functions:

• Review, select, and implement a central collections management system, including revising standards for object and constituent cataloguing by updating, and maintaining guidelines.
• Monitor movement of collections at all stages of storage, use, and display.
• Build upon current catalogue by adding content to records such as subject tagging, cross-classification, adding object names, adding styles and periods and art genre terminology, and geography indexing.
• Work with digital content librarians at Z. Smith Reynolds Library to situate the University Art Collections as a research resource.
• Work with faculty to conceptualize, plan, and organize collaborative teaching projects to facilitate the use of the collections in the classroom.
• Participate in outreach efforts to situate the University Art Collections as a campus resource.
• Oversee stewardship of the collection, including the implementation of collections care policies and the coordination of conservation activities.
• Serve as a resource person for all questions, problems, and activities concerning the University art collections.
• Maintain ongoing research and documentation about works in the collection.
• Coordinate Office of University Art Collections committee.
• Supervise the Collections Management Assistant, student workers, and interns.
• Organize meaningful displays of objects in a variety of spaces around campus that further educational mission of university.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals and constituencies in a diverse community.

Applications will be accepted through September 14, 2018 with priority consideration given to applications received by September 4th.