Curator

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Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Guided by an ethic of Vincentian personalism and professionalism, DePaul compassionately upholds the dignity of all members of its diverse, multi-faith, and inclusive community. We seek to hire collaborative, open-minded, and dedicated professionals who are committed to advancing our university mission to making education accessible to all, with special attention to including underserved and underrepresented communities. Successful candidates thrive in an environment where ideas and perspectives representing a wide variety of cultures, backgrounds and experiences are welcome and supported.

General Summary
Working under and in coordination with the museum’s director, the curator guides the museum’s artistic vision for its exhibitions and permanent collection. Works with faculty, administrators, students, and outside donors and supporters to develop and enhance the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and programs. The chief curator presents exhibition projects to the director for review/approval and oversees exhibition, publication, and collection projects, builds the collection of the museum, and works with the director to enhance the reputation of the university in local and national arenas. Also supervises exhibitions and collections staff and student workers.

Responsibilities & Duties

Determine and develop all museum exhibitions, public programs, and artistic content within DPAM’s mission and scope after review by DPAM’s Director.
Coordinating exhibit activities with appropriate staff, guest curators, university faculty and departments.
Schedules, hires, trains, and manages temporary installation crew and interns for matting, framing and installation of artwork.
Purchases supplies, designates honoraria, and manages budgets related to exhibitions.
Responsible for arranging documentation of exhibitions.
Manages all exhibition contracts to include touring exhibitions and guest curators.
This position is responsible for maintenance of exhibition files, archives.
This position also directly manages the Art Museum Assistant Curator.
Collaborates with and directly manages the Art Museum Collection & Exhibition Manager to develop standards for, and oversee care and documentation of the collection and exhibitions and the development of the collection and exhibition management policies and procedures, including any deaccession activities.
Also maintains appropriate levels of insurance coverage for the collection and loan objects, and undertakes regular collection inventories.
Coordinates and conducts class tours of the collection and exhibitions and organizes proposed acquisitions for Advisory Board meetings, after the approval of the Art Museum Director.
Represent the museum and the university in external professional and academic communities.
Communicate with deans and faculty in schools and departments and other areas throughout the university regarding museum programs and seeks potential areas for curricular collaborations.
Writes grant applications to foundations and endowments, while encouraging donors of objects and funds in collaboration with Director and University Advancement.
The Curator also oversees commitment of financial resources, approving purchases with his/her art museum department and maintaining financial records in concert with the Director.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

MA or MFA in art history, museum studies, arts administration, studio arts, or related field.
10+ years experience in museum or equivalent exhibition curation and/or management.
Knowledge of art history, art conservation principles and basic financial management.
Demonstrated history of scholarship, exhibition organization and fundraising.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, including word processing and data management programs.
Experience in managing budgets and personnel.
Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred Requirements

PhD.

Managerial Responsibilities

The curator is responsible for developing and implementing exhibitions and programs in coordination with the museum’s director and enhancing the university’s teaching collection.
Oversees staff and student workers while managing portions of the museum’s exhibition budgets and some grant writing.

Financial Responsibilities

The Curator manages a teaching collection of artworks conservatively valued at $5,000,000.
Expends yearly revenue from an endowment fund of $30,000 for artwork conservation, and expends yearly revenue from an exhibit fund endowment of $50,000.

Physical Requirements

Familiarity with standards of art handling; proficiency in public speaking and the ability to deliver public presentations.

Other Skills & Abilities Required

Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite especially Word processing, collections management software.