Open Call for Time-Based Media Art Conservation Fellowship at IMMA
Contract type: 1-year fixed term contract of employment
Closing date for receipt of applications: 16 July 2025
Salary: €37,544.00 per annum (pro-rata)
Role Overview
IMMA is home to Ireland’s National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, with over 3,500 artworks by Irish and international artists. The Collection is firmly rooted in the present and important contemporary works are added each year. A significant portion of these works, approximately 120, fall within the category of time-based media, and involve video, sound, slide and film, software, digital source files, and/or live performance.
Since 2018 IMMA has been implementing new procedures and infrastructure to support the long-term care and display of its TBM Collection; this includes a viewing and condition assessment workstation and improved and centralised digital storage.
The Heritage Council and IMMA are pleased to offer a twelve-month Conservation Fellowship. The fellowship is part of the Heritage Council’s commitment to the promotion of best practice for conservation in Ireland and offers interns the opportunity to gain valuable experience, supported by a mentor, of professional conservation practice within cultural institutions and their professional conservation studios. Host institutions benefit from working with highly motivated, newly trained, early career professionals.
The Heritage Council’s Annual Conservation Internship Programme offers a Time-Based Media Conservation Fellowship opportunity for a period of 12 months. The successful fellow will support the IMMA Collection team in their ongoing efforts to advance conservation practices around IMMA’s time-based media (TBM) artwork holdings and will develop and broaden the fellow’s knowledge and experience.
- The TBM Conservation Fellow will work closely with and report to the IMMA Collection team of curators, registrar, and external TBM supervisory conservator in the day-to-day processing of new acquisitions, display, and loan of TBM Collection works, Collection research, and development and implementation of new procedures and best practices.
- The fellow will be mentored by a conservation professional within the host institution and will be supervised by relevant staff and/or independent conservation professionals as appropriate.
- The fellow will keep the Heritage Council appraised of their progress through short written updates or meetings and on conclusion, will provide a summary report to the Heritage Council.
- The fellow should present the work they have undertaken during their fellowship, or a fellowship research project, at the Heritage Council’s Conservation Winter Seminar (which takes place annually in December). The fellow will also present their work through the host institution’s education and/or outreach programme as well as during National Heritage Week. In addition, the fellow will be available to contribute to other Heritage Council events, workshops or training days in agreement with the host institution.
- During their fellowship, fellows will be encouraged to prepare a research paper or other article for publication in a professional journal and to engage with the ICRI and other professional bodies.
Key Responsibilities
Key responsibilities to be undertaken based on priorities agreed with HOD and subject to the needs of the Department/ Programme.
- Support the Collection team with processing new and recent acquisitions, including reviewing proposed artwork deliverables and purchase agreements; conducting artist interviews; cataloguing, condition assessment, reporting, and archival ingest and storage (physical and digital) of received artwork components; and creation of conservation documentation.
- Support AV and Collection team in preparing TBM Collection works for exhibition and loan, including performing condition assessments and completing condition reports; reviewing object files and specifications and identifying knowledge gaps; and working with the Collection team to solicit additional material from artists, galleries, and estates.
- Create compressive written conservation documentation of installed/activated TBM Collection works.
- Support Collection team and IT in relation to dedicated TBM server storage and back-up management.
- Work with existing acquisition and exhibition process lines, procedures, and workflows, and contribute to their ongoing development and implementation.
- Support the Collection team with ongoing cataloguing and inventory of existing TBM Collection components, including data cleaning in IMMA’s collection management system, review of existing practices, risk assessment and collection survey.
- Identify and propose individualised artwork preservation plans, and work with IMMA staff and external contractors to conduct and document conservation interventions.
- Conduct original research related to the TBM Collection and its conservation and disseminate research through IMMA Magazine and other public programming.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the Fellowship, the successful candidate will be able to:
- Gain hands-on experience in cataloguing, condition assessment, and conservation documentation of time-based media artworks.
- Support the preparation of artworks for exhibition and loan, including technical review and collaboration with artists and galleries.
- Develop knowledge of digital preservation tools and practices, including metadata extraction, archival ingest, and server backup systems.
- Contribute to acquisition and exhibition workflows, helping refine procedures and support long-term collection care.
- Conduct and disseminate original research on time-based media conservation through professional channels.
The successful candidate will have
Qualifications:
- Postgraduate degree (MA or MSc) from an accredited fine art conservation training program or a related discipline, such as audio-visual archiving and preservation, with demonstrable coursework related to time-based media art conservation.
- Experience (minimum of one year postgraduate preferred) working with collections of time-based media artworks, including those involving digitised and born-digital video, sound, slide and film, software, and live performance.
Skills, Competencies, Knowledge:
- Familiarity with video editing software (e.g., Premier, DaVinci Resolve), condition assessment software (e.g., QCTools), and playback hardware (including BlackMagic devices and legacy equipment) used in the condition assessment of audio-visual material.
- Familiarity using a variety of common command-line tools (e.g. BagIt, Mediainfo, FFmpeg) and Python scripts used in metadata extraction and analysis, condition assessment, and archival ingest of file-based artwork components.
- Experience working with artists and their assistants/representatives in the display and care of their work.
- Experience creating written conservation documentation of time-based media artworks including related to condition and state, conservation intervention, and episodes of install and activation.
- Experience conducting risk assessments and collection surveys.
- Familiarity using collection management systems.
- Excellent verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills, and full English fluency.
Why Work with IMMA?
At IMMA, we are proud to offer:
- Opportunity to get involved in IMMA’s 2024-2028 Strategy, development of key themes in response to current global cultural concerns which will shape our programming over the next five years.
- Progressive, hybrid working model.
- The opportunity to work in a beautiful serene historic 17th Century Building surrounded by 48 acres of Meadows and Gardens – an oasis in Dublin City.
- Free Parking / Secure Bike Sheds.
- Career development opportunities through mentoring, coaching, and training.
- Erasmus + Staff Mobility Scheme funding by European Union.
- Government Pension Scheme
- Employee Wellbeing Committee.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Generous Public Sector leave benefits.
- Strong values-based and inclusive culture.
- Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Great team environment working to our Core Tenets: Contemporary, Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration and Globally Connected.
- Valuable experience at a leading cultural institution.
- Opportunities to attend special museum events and exhibitions.
- Networking opportunities with professionals in the museum and cultural sectors.
Salary
The salary for this role is aligned with public sector pay scales and is set at €37,544.00 per annum, corresponding to Point 1 of the Executive Officer Standard (PPC) scale, effective from 1st March 2025.
Candidates should note the Irish Museum of Modern Art complies with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and guidelines on Public Sector pay and conditions of employment and pension provisions. Entry level will be at Point 1 of this Grade.
Contract Details
- Contract Type: Fixed Term
- Contract Duration: 1-year fellowship
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week, net of breaks
- Location: IMMA, Military Road, The Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Kilmainham, Dublin 8
How to Apply
To apply for this exciting opportunity, please submit the following:
- A tailored cover letter explaining your suitability for the role.
- A current curriculum vitae.
Applications should be submitted via https://imma.bamboohr.com/careers/56?source=aWQ9MTU%3D
Closing date for receipt of applications: 16 July 2025
Interview dates: August 2025
Commencement Date: September 2025
Please Note
- IMMA operates an open competition process, and applications are accepted exclusively via BambooHR.
- Applications sent by email or through other channels will not be considered. For questions related to the role or application process, you are welcome to contact us.
- IMMA’s HR office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and Irish Bank Holidays. Any queries submitted during these times will be responded to on the next working day.
- We aim to respond to queries as promptly as possible. However, during periods of high activity, response times may be longer than usual. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we thank you for your interest in working with IMMA.
For further assistance or reasonable accommodations during the application process, please email tetiana.shchukina@imma.ie.
Join Our Team
IMMA is an equal-opportunity employer, deeply committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences. We value the richness that a diverse team brings to our work, enhancing both staff and visitor experiences.
