American Museum of Asmat Art Undergraduate Assistant

University of St Thomas•Saint Paul, MN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The American Museum of Asmat Art is on the second floor of the Anderson Student Center and showcases art from southwestern New Guinea (West Papua). This position is for an undergraduate student with experience in Pacific art, art history, or museum studies. The position is flexible, but requires some daytime availability Monday-Friday. Assistant must check their email daily and promptly respond to messages from the director.

Requirements

Self-motivation, positive attitude, and interest in other cultures.
Ability to multitask and work on a range of projects.
Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills.
Ability to collaborate with others.
Degree seeking at the undergraduate, graduate or doctoral levels.
Actively enrolled at least part-time in courses for credit.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Asmat culture and/or the American Museum of Asmat Art.
Experience handling and working with art objects.
Familiarity with collection management databases.

Responsibilities

Work with the director to develop exhibitions and museum programming.
Write labels and create other didactic materials for physical displays and digital projects.
Create content for AMAA social media platforms.
Conduct research on recently donated archival materials.
Manage and help with organizing the AMAA storage facility.
Assist with the processing and accessioning of new donations.
Assist with physical aspects of setting up and taking down exhibitions. This includes lifting, safely handling, packing, and transporting materials between the museum in St. Paul and Minneapolis storage facility.
Prepare art for upcoming exhibitions by conducting light preservation work such as removing dust, spider webs, and insect debris.
Design and create mounts for AMAA objects.
Photograph objects and monitor the physical condition of art on display and in storage.
Use Collector Systems (departmental collections database) to research and locate objects.
Provide quality AMAA tours and serve as a gallery attendant on rare occasions when shifts are open.
Develop museum programming and work with student groups on campus.