Curatorial Fellow | USA

Curatorial Fellow (Available immediately)

About the Museum

The Rubin Museum of Art is a dynamic environment that stimulates learning, promotes understanding, and inspires personal connections to the ideas, cultures, and art of the Himalayas.

Now in its second decade, the Rubin welcomes over 200,000 visitors annually and has a growing membership of more than 4,000 households. Contained within five floors of galleries are several long-term rotating installations drawn from the permanent collection as well as frequent short-term loan exhibitions that are more broadly conceived in concept, art, geography, medium, and time.

The Rubin presents films, performances, and on-stage conversations as well as a robust roster of other educational initiatives. The ground floor is free-to-all and is a lively nexus for conversation, shopping, and refreshment.

The Rubin’s collection includes over 3,500 objects spanning more than 1,500 years up to the present day. Renowned for its quality and depth, the collection focuses on art from the Tibetan Plateau and is broadened by a significant number of important examples from surrounding regions.

About the Position

The fellowship term will provide insight in critical aspects of museum work including exhibitions, research, collections management, conservation, art handling, education, and publications. The Fellow will be expected to participate in the Museum’s programmatic and intellectual life during regular staff hours.

The fellowship term is for a 12-month period with the potential for an extension of an additional 12 months for an overall total of up to 24 months.

The incumbent reports to the Senior Curator of Collections & Research.

Responsibilities:

•  Working with the assigned curatorial supervisor on exhibitions and explore possible topics in exhibition development.
• Assisting with the development of the museum’s growing digital and online
  presence, and other duties as assigned.
• Collection based research, including research of the museum’s collection, assisting with an ongoing collection assessment, updating object records, and other collection-based duties as assigned.
• Giving gallery talks and developing presentations.
• Assists curators in the accomplishment of a wide variety of curatorial tasks.
• In collaboration with other curatorial staff, develops and/or assists with Rubin Museum projects.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• At least an MA, preferably PhD candidate in Himalayan art history or a related field such as Tibetan studies, Buddhist Art, Buddhist studies, cultural anthropology, museum studies, or equivalent experience.
• Some experience within the curatorial area of an art museum or research institution.
• Familiarity with exhibition development and object research processes.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills.
• Reading knowledge of Tibetan, Nepali, Sanskrit, or other relevant research languages. Reading knowledge of Tibetan – preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated creativity and critical thinking skills.
• Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop software application preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Database experience preferred (PastPerfect, TMS and similar systems).

Compensation:

• A salary of $40,000 per annum.
• 20% of work time will be made available for the Fellow to pursue research topics of
  his/her own choosing.

The Rubin offers an attractive and competitive benefits package. Please provide the following as part of your application:

• Complete resume.
• A cover letter addressing both your interest in the Rubin Museum and qualifications for this position.

Application:

• Indicate Curatorial Fellow on Subject Line of Email or in body of cover letter.
• Application in electronic format preferred and accepted at jobs@rubinmuseum.org
• Mailed application – Head of Human Resources, Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011.

For more information please visit: http://rubinmuseum.org/about/jobs