Curator, Contemporary Art

Position Summary

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is deeply committed to expanding the stories American Art can tell and believes wholeheartedly in the engaging and inspiring power of contemporary art and artists. Crystal Bridges seeks a nationally-recognized expert in American art from the 1960s to today to lead the contemporary art program for Crystal Bridges and the team of contemporary art curators. Demonstrating a passion for working with living artists and creating meaningful connections to diverse audiences through the creation of exhibitions, installations and projects with contemporary art and artists, along with programs and publications, the Curator, Contemporary Art will help shape the development of the Crystal Bridges contemporary art collection and collaboratively guide its presentation and interpretation in the larger context of the museum’s American art collection and 120-acre outdoor campus.

At Crystal Bridges, contemporary art experiences now encompass those at the Momentary, the museum’s satellite space for contemporary visual, performing and culinary arts, and are central to the entire institution. The Curator, Contemporary Art will work closely with the Momentary’s Curator, Visual Arts on the contemporary art program as presented across the museum complex and on the institution’s projects with living artists. The Curator, Contemporary Art is envisioned as a flexible, experimental, creative, collaborative, and connected curator who thrives on community and public engagement and can successfully lead and manage teams to develop exhibitions, installations, special projects and residencies in the setting of a large museum.

Position’s Principal Responsibilities

• Contribute to a long-term strategic vision for the museum and for broad community engagement through exhibitions and projects with contemporary art and artists
• Advance the museum’s collaborations with artists from the local and regional artist community as well as nationally and internationally.
• Supervise the Crystal Bridges team of contemporary curators at the curatorial assistant, assistant curator and associate curator levels
• Propose and present acquisitions to the Museum’s Art Committee
• Develop and sustain key stakeholder relationships, including members of the Board of Trustees and donors to the museum
• In partnership with colleagues in Development, identify and steward relationships with contemporary art collectors, gallerists, and other individuals to cultivate gifts of art as well as acquisition and funding opportunities
• Provide leadership and vision for the museum’s Artist in Residency (AIR) programs
• Partner with associated cultural organizations in the region such as CACHE, Northwest Arkansas Council, the Bentonville Fellowship, Bentonville Public Art Advisory Committee, and the University of Arkansas.
• Collaborate closely with departments across the museum and work integrally with the museum’s curatorial team, including curators of historical, modern and contemporary American art as well as architecture, craft and Native American art and the Curator, Visual Arts at the Momentary

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve as a magnet and mentor for artists, scholars, and contemporary art collectors
• Champion research, scholarship, and professional development with partner institutions, especially the University of Arkansas School of Art
• Conduct research and contribute to catalogues and scholarly and popular journals when appropriate
• Supervise guest curators in area of specialization, consultants and project support staff including curatorial assistants and interns, as required.
• Represent Crystal Bridges locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, being an active member in the field as well as with the general public.
• Develop and implement installation and interpretation plans for contemporary art and artists across the museum, in close collaboration with the Momentary, collections management, curatorial, education and exhibitions and interpretation team
• Write and develop labels and texts for use in collection galleries and exhibitions
• Work in close partnership with colleagues in education, exhibitions, and interpretation colleagues to develop and contribute to programs related to artists, the collection and special exhibitions, including, but not limited to, lectures, workshops, gallery presentations, digital and virtual programming, and in-gallery interpretation efforts

Minimum Qualifications

• Excellent working relationships with collectors, donors, curatorial colleagues, scholars, and the art market
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including public speaking and writing for audiences ranging from the general public to international scholars
• Strong research skills
• Ability to meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Demonstrated project management skills
• Proficiency with standard office equipment including basic computer literacy (word processing, spread sheets, e-mail, etc.) telephone, fax and copy machines

Education, Training, and Traits

• B.A. in Art History or a related humanities discipline (M.A. preferred) or equivalent experience as evidenced by publication of significant writing and the organization of distinguished exhibitions.
• Demonstrated passion for contemporary art and artists, including local and regional artists, and for directions in the fields of contemporary art and museums
• Demonstrated commitment to new methodologies for interpreting and exhibiting contemporary art and artists
• Ability to interact respectfully, collegially, and professionally at all levels of responsibility
• Ability and willingness to be a team player both within the department, and throughout the entire institution
• Ability to maintain the highest ethics as they relate to all aspects of curatorial endeavors, and to understand and maintain the highest levels of confidentiality

Work Experience

• Minimum of ten (10) years prior curatorial experience
• Must have experience managing others, projects, and budgets and working with artists
• Experience working in large museums and/or cultural institutions a plus

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands:  The position requires verbal and written conversation with others. Vision abilities required by the job include close vision and color perception.
• Work Environment:  Work will be performed in an office environment, museum spaces, and in communities served. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. Position requires some independent overnight travel for research, professional meetings, and may include couriering art works to venues nationally and internationally and other travel as necessary to fulfill responsibilities of the position.
• Flexibility: Position requires ongoing flexibility in work hours due to events, staffing needs and other factors.