Albright College, a dynamic liberal arts college in Reading, PA, invites applications for a full-time Curator of Collections & Exhibitions. The curator plans and organizes the daily and long-term activities of the gallery; provides leadership in the presentation, research, and display of contemporary American art consistent with the mission of the College and Freedman Gallery; and collaboratively creates and implements an exciting exhibition program to engage the campus and extended community. With the Director, Center for the Arts, and other staff, the curator plans and implements educational programs and marketing/PR efforts, plans and monitors budgets, writes grants and cultivates donors. Responsibilities include contract negotiation, staff supervision, research and writing for catalogs and exhibit didactics, and exhibit design and installation. The position serves as the registrar and collections manager: maintaining all hard copy records related to exhibitions and collections, including condition reports, loan agreements, deeds of gift, etc.; maintains the digital database (Past Perfect) and works to provide continuity for records in external databases such as ArtStor and Shared Shelf; conducts routine inventories; makes shipping arrangements; packs and repacks loans, providing condition reports and photographic documentation; and provides general care and recommendations for conservation needs of collection. The successful candidate will have an MFA or MA in art history, museum studies or a related field, a valid driver’s license, two or more years of curatorial/gallery management experience with a demonstrated ability to plan, organize and install exhibitions, and will be able to meet the physical demands of the position. Experience working with collections management software preferred, as is a track record of scholarly published works/catalogs.
Qualified applicants should apply via our website www.albright.edu/hr/employment. Applications should include:
- Cover letter
- Resume
- Digital portfolio containing writing samples and visuals of exhibitions worked on
- Contact information for at least three work references
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
At Albright, we believe our differences make us stronger and empower us to better understand and respect one another in a just and fair manner. With this in mind, the College recruits, houses, educates, employs, supports, and generally celebrates people of all statuses, identities, and backgrounds, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, religious or spiritual identity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, marital and parental status, veteran status, political affiliation, and physical and mental ability.
Position Qualifications: The curator plans and organizes the daily and long-term activities of the gallery; provides leadership in the presentation, research, and display of contemporary American art consistent with the mission of the College and Freedman Gallery; and collaboratively creates and implements an exciting exhibition program to engage the campus and extended community. With the Director, Center for the Arts, and other staff, the curator plans and implements educational programs and marketing/PR efforts, plans and monitors budgets, writes grants and cultivates donors. Responsibilities include contract negotiation, staff supervision, research and writing for catalogs and exhibit didactics, and exhibit design and installation. The position serves as the registrar and collections manager: maintaining all hard copy records related to exhibitions and collections, including condition reports, loan agreements, deeds of gift, etc.; maintains the digital database (Past Perfect) and works to provide continuity for records in external databases such as ArtStor and Shared Shelf; conducts routine inventories; makes shipping arrangements; packs and repacks loans, providing condition reports and photographic documentation; and provides general care and recommendations for conservation needs of collection. The successful candidate will have an MFA or MA in art history, a valid driver’s license, two or more years of curatorial/gallery management experience with a demonstrated ability to plan, organize and install exhibitions, and will be able to meet the physical demands of the position. Experience working with collections management software preferred, as is a track record of scholarly published works/catalogs.
In our search for a new colleague to join our dedicated team, we look for demonstrated excellence and innovation in prior positions, and commitment to the values of liberal education in service to Albright’s mission, namely, “to inspire and educate the scholar and leader in each student, building on a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and a commitment to the best of human values, fostering a commitment to a lifetime of service and learning.” That commitment includes attention to equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work.
Department: The Freedman Gallery has served the campus and community for more than 40 years. Currently, the Gallery hosts eight to ten exhibitions each year with shows rotating in the main gallery and project space. The gallery’s mission calls for a focus on “contemporary, living, American artists.” Exhibitions are typically organized by the gallery’s curator and may include works from our collection, loans from private collectors, galleries, and museums, loans and installations that come directly from artists, or traveling exhibitions. The curator regularly conducts research on emerging artists, makes studio visits to New York City and other major metropolitan areas, and attends important national and international festivals and biennales in order to bring to Albright some of the best work in all media: painting, ceramic, glass, wood, and metal sculpture, textiles, photography, printmaking and new media (digital/video arts). Additionally, the work of students is featured in the Annual Juried Student Show at the end of each spring semester.
The curator reports to the Director, Center for the Arts, supervises six to eight student gallery attendants, and may supervise additional interns in the arts administration program. The curator works with other CFA staff and part-time contract employees to provide for the needs of the Gallery. The curator works collaboratively with members of the Art Department and other faculty and staff on campus, as well as community members.
The Gallery is named after former Albright trustee and alumna, Doris Chanin Freedman. The Gallery has shown work from artists such as Jim Dine, Louise Nevelson, Frank Stella, Carrie Mae Weems, Sue Coe, Todd Siler, Clare Grill and many more. In 1990, with the assistance of a major National Endowment for the Arts grant, the College launched a $6.5 million building project under the direction of architect Adele Santos who collaborated with sculptor Mary Miss to create the central plaza and amphitheater that forms the heart of our Center for the Arts. Around this courtyard, Santos designed a south-wing to house the art department with studios for drawing, painting, printmaking, and for woodworking and ceramic sculpture. The north-wing houses the Freedman Gallery, originally designed as classic kunstellar or “white box.” With its temporary walls, the main gallery can be broken down into smaller spaces. However, the adjacent project space also offers options for exhibitions of smaller scale. The music department, with its studios, practice rooms, and Roop Hall performance space is located on the ground floor of the CFA’s northeast-wing. On the second floor of this wing, one can find the Wachovia Theatre, box office, and mezzanine, where special events and receptions are held. Altogether, the CFA provides a unique nexus for the multidisciplinary study of the visual and performing arts.
The Gallery’s collection numbers approximately 1,600 artworks with the bulk of materials being works on paper. The Gallery’s collection is maintained on the PastPerfect database, with an image inventory maintained on ArtStor for external use.
For more information about the Freedman Gallery and the CFA, go to https://www.albright.edu/about-albright/buildings-facilities/center-for-the-arts/
About Albright College: A diverse learning community that encourages innovation and interdisciplinary, Albright College aspires to serve as a national model for integrating the liberal arts with a commitment to college access for a broad and diverse population. A selective liberal arts college founded in 1856 and located in the residential neighborhood of College Heights in Reading, PA, Albright is within an hour of Philadelphia, two hours from Baltimore, and three hours from New York City and Washington, D.C., Albright enrolls approximately 1600 students from 30 states and 12 countries in our residential college and about 500 nontraditional students in our evening, accelerated degree programs. Our 41% diversity rate helps students prepare for today’s global workplace, where differences in backgrounds and perspectives are the norm.
Albright offers some 58 undergraduate majors, all of them firmly grounded in the liberal arts. The College’s flexible interdisciplinary curriculum encourages students to combine majors and disciplines to create an individualized academic program that meets their needs and reflects their interests. The College’s most popular majors are business, biology, psychology, sociology, and biochemistry. Seeking to modernize the curriculum to align its strengths with emerging student interests, Albright has in recent years added majors in game and simulation development, music industry studies, digital studio art, and digital communications, with each course of study based in a rigorous liberal arts core.
Albright College faculty take great pride in our commitment to teaching, our close relationships with students, and our collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to learning.
We are looking for new colleagues who are committed to joining us in our mission of educating students of academic promise, and who would thrive in a learning community that places significant value on the residential nature of a liberal arts learning community, including our relationship with the City of Reading in Berks County, PA, which provides experiential learning and research opportunities for our students.
More information about Albright College is available at http://www.albright.edu/about/at-a-glance.pdfor www.albright.edu
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