Curatorial Assistant

CMA•Cleveland, OH

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Cleveland Museum of Art seeks a highly motivated, energetic individual with strong organizational skills to join the curatorial team as a Curatorial Assistant. The successful candidate will serve a two year term, renewable for a third year. The Curatorial Assistant will work in the department of Prints, Drawings, and Photography, providing support to the Curator of Photography and the Curators of Prints and Drawings. Applicants should have an interest in working at an encyclopedic art museum and particular interest in the areas of specialization mentioned above. This term-limited position will provide the incumbent with administrative experience working in an art museum, as well as experience assisting in curatorial processes such as the organization of exhibitions, acquisition and lending of artworks, and data management (both in digital and analog/paper formats). The successful candidate will be responsible for administrative tasks such as making business travel arrangements for curators, tracking and coding expenses, and keeping track of multiple budgets and calendars. Additional tasks include requesting and coordinating art movement, visitor registration, and photography. The incumbent will respond to inquiries about the collection and may assist members of the public visiting the art study room to examine works of art. Depending on the level of experience and interests of the incumbent, they may be asked to enhance data in the collections management system by conducting research or writing texts for gallery didactics, gallery guides, the Members Magazine, Thinker blog, museum website, etc. The successful candidate will participate in monthly Curatorial and Departmental meetings, quarterly meetings that address the care of the collection, as well as Curatorial Assistants meetings, and meetings regarding installations in the galleries and special exhibitions. The museum is seeking candidates who are interested in exploring the possibility of a career in an art museum.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in art history or a related field (e.g., history, classics, anthropology)
Strong knowledge of art history
Experience working with databases
Comfortable with or able to learn Microsoft Teams and Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Comfortable with or able to learn the museum’s internal CMS (collection management system)
Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field
Fluency or proficiency in another language (such as French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish)
Experience with handling works of art or rare documents
Demonstrated good organizational skills
Experience working on several projects simultaneously
Clear communication skills
Comfortable asking questions
Ability to collaborate effectively as part of a team
Excellent interpersonal skills
Ability to work with diverse Museum constituents

Responsibilities

Making business travel arrangements for curators
Tracking and coding expenses
Keeping track of multiple budgets and calendars
Requesting and coordinating art movement
Visitor registration
Photography
Responding to inquiries about the collection
Assisting members of the public visiting the art study room to examine works of art
Enhancing data in the collections management system by conducting research or writing texts for gallery didactics, gallery guides, the Members Magazine, Thinker blog, museum website, etc. (depending on experience and interests)
Participating in monthly Curatorial and Departmental meetings
Participating in quarterly meetings that address the care of the collection
Participating in Curatorial Assistants meetings
Participating in meetings regarding installations in the galleries and special exhibitions