Harris Molnar (Rank TBD) Curator of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora – Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase College

The Neuberger Museum of Art is seeking a Harris Molnar (Rank TBD) Curator of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora to work with traditional objects in the Museum’s collection, and to create contemporary projects that explore the broad ways in which Africa is being thought about today.  

The history of this collection at the Neuberger extends back to the opening of the Museum in 1974 at Purchase College, SUNY. The collection totals approximately 350 objects. The capstone of our current work in the arts of Africa was NEU Conversations: African Art in American Museums, a fall 2024 two-day virtual convening in which speakers shared their work in moderated panels, offering models for how museums can address issues of what constitutes a traditional object, provenance and restitution, engage and collaborate with communities both locally and in Africa, reframe the institutional representation of African art, and bridge the historic past and the creative present.  

The Neuberger seeks scholar who is engaged in these conversations and is familiar with the creation of the best practices guidance being generated by the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. The successful candidate will be able to review the categorization and provenance of objects of the extant collection so that the Neuberger’s display and conceptualization of the arts of Africa is in keeping with the highest and most contemporary standards and methodologies.

The successful candidate will collaborate with source and descendant communities in their stewardship of the collection, with respect to the traditional arts as well as the contemporary program, to think historically in the present and to diversify and bring forth new narratives, particularly from Black communities. As an academic museum, the Neuberger is a space that supports consideration of the understanding, activation, and explication of the complex histories that can arise from work with arts of Africa and the legacy of Eurocentric colonialism and coloniality in museums. 

Primary responsibilities 

• Organize exhibitions in the area of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora including loan exhibitions and exhibitions of works from the Museum’s permanent collection 
• Assess and research on the permanent collection of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora (also add in note about restitution) 
• Publish researched scholarly publications associated with these projects. 
• Organize symposia in conjunction with these projects. 
• Work with leading artists from the Arts of Global Africa. Organize residencies and encourage the participation of Purchase College students in the making of new on-site works and activities.
• Coordinate the touring of exhibitions. 
• Cultivate a national and international network, engaging actively with scholars, institutions and museums working in the field of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora 
• Participate in the academic life of the College and promote connections between the Museum and the rest of the College. 

Secondary responsibilities  

• Supervise and co-organize exhibitions by students and guest curators. 
• Collaborate closely with Purchase College’s Global Black Studies department 
• Offer special tours of exhibitions to students to match the content of specific courses. 
• Stand on departmental committees and search committees. 

Requirements 

• M.A. in a relevant discipline, such as Anthropology or Art History; Ph.D. or equivalent experience preferred; 
• Expertise in African material culture; 
• 7+ years of progressively relevant experience, preferably in a museum setting 
• Demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion; 
• Track record of engagement with African communities; 
• Demonstrated writing, public speaking, research, and organizational skills; 
• Ability to travel as needed. 

To apply visit: https://jobs.purchase.edu/