Curatorial Assistant, Collections 

The Studio Museum in Harlem is seeking a Curatorial Assistant, Collections, to join the growing collections team responsible for the Museum’s permanent and study collections and archives. A division of the Curatorial department, the Collections team, is working toward a complete inventory and storage move of the collections. The Curatorial Assistant, Collections will serve an integral role in the execution of this multi-year project.

In addition, they will work closely with collections curator(s) on research, exhibition planning and administration, acquisitions and loans, and collection maintenance and stewardship. The Curatorial Assistant, Collections will collaborate with colleagues on increasing access to the collections by documenting works, artists and other constituents, and archival materials; expanding the collections’ presence on the Museum’s website; and managing internal and external rights and reproduction requests. The Curatorial Assistant, Collections reports to the Associate Curator, Permanent Collection.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Work closely with Collections team on:
  • Research on and writing about collection artists and works of art
  • Exhibition research and administration, including preparing loan requests, assisting in the preparation of checklists and didactic materials, and liaising with other departments on installation, catalog production, etc.
  • Reviewing, cataloging, and conditioning works of art
  • administration around Acquisition Committee meetings and gifts to the collection
  • Maintenance of the collection and its related files.
• Serve as the curatorial point person to expand the collections’ presence on the website
• Manage all rights and reproduction requests
• Catalog all aspects of the collections’ inventory in TMS Collections and NetX, including objects, constituents, loans, appraisals, and exhibition history, working closely with the Collections Database Manager.
• Answer queries from the general public and scholars regarding the collections.
• Provide support for general departmental administration, including scheduling, invoicing, and co-managing interns.
• Assist with special projects as assigned.