Director, Curatorial Affairs (AF)

The American Institute of Architects•Washington, DC

19h•$115,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Curatorial Affairs is the chief curator of The Octagon, a National Historic Landmark and the Architects Foundation’s home, and leads the Foundation’s curatorial program. The role oversees the permanent installation at The Octagon and rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters on the AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design. The building is the primary artifact and the focus of the position’s curatorial responsibilities. The Director leads development and installation of an exhibition that makes an experience of the house itself, while overseeing the collection and building to museum standards. Regaining American Alliance of Museums accreditation, which lapsed in 2021, is a defining priority. The Director performs curatorial, registrarial, and collections-care work and builds capacity through consultants and contractors, including a part-time or contract exhibitions coordinator. The role also works with part-time tour guides and the on-site engineering team, which handles movement and installation of collection and exhibition materials. The position reports to the Executive Director of the Architects Foundation. It has no direct reports, but provides direction and oversight to curatorial consultants, contract conservators and registrars, exhibition designers, interns, and volunteers. The role is based in the Washington, DC, metro area, with a hybrid schedule of four days in office or on campus and one remote day per week. Occasional evenings and Saturdays are required for programs, installations, and events; travel is minimal, with occasional trips for research, loans, and professional engagements.

Requirements

At least 8 years of progressive experience in curatorial practice or collections management, including senior responsibility.
Background in design and design history, and in architectural history and practice, with standing as a scholar and command of historical and contemporary material.
Experience in historic preservation or with historic sites open to the public.
Experience in collections care, including conservation management and registrarial practice.
Experience organizing exhibitions, including loans.
Working knowledge of AAM standards, museum ethics, and accreditation requirements.
Proficient written and verbal communication skills for scholarly and general audiences.
Bachelor’s degree required.
Ability to work in the Washington, DC, metro area; the position has a hybrid schedule of four days in office or on campus and one remote day per week.
Occasional evenings and Saturdays for programs, installations, and events; minimal travel, with occasional travel for research, loans, and professional engagements.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in architectural history, design history, historic preservation, museum studies, or a related field.
Experience creating a permanent installation or visitor experience at a historic site, ideally within a capital project.
Experience building a research or interpretive center, institute, or program from its founding.
Familiarity with architectural archives and the history and design of Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead the Center’s intellectual program, shaping its curatorial and research agenda with the Executive Director and Foundation Board and translating it into exhibitions, research, public scholarship, and discussion.
Build the vision for the Center and its galleries within the settled theme, in collaboration with the Executive Director and Director, Advancement.
Serve as the Foundation’s scholarly voice on The Octagon, its collection, and the design of Washington, DC, and publish original research.
Build partnerships with universities, archives, peer museums, and preservation bodies.
Advise colleagues responsible for fellowships, lectures, programs, and digital content so design education is integrated across the Center’s offerings.
Oversee conservation, registration, cataloguing, rights and reproductions, and environmental and condition monitoring for objects, archival materials, and building fabric.
Maintain the scope of collections, accession and deaccession policy, and a collections plan aligned with the permanent installation.
Establish collections management systems, documentation, and records to meet accreditation standards.
Lead content for digitizing the collection and preservation records for public access, working with a digitization contractor and AIA Technology.
Coordinate care of the building with preservation architects, the capital project team, and AIA facilities staff; hold curatorial authority over the building fabric.
Work in close partnership with the AIA Archivist, drawing on the AIA archives as a peer resource for the collection and its history.
Lead the effort to regain AAM accreditation, including Core Documents Verification and the self-study, and report on collections condition and accreditation progress to the Executive Director and Foundation Board.
Carry the interpretive theme through the spring 2027 think tank and refine it with the Executive Director and Foundation Board as scholars’ findings warrant.
Develop themes and content for each gallery within the interpretive theme.
Serve as curatorial lead and internal client for exhibition designers, interpretive planners, conservators, and preservation consultants engaged in the installation.
Translate interpretive direction into the visitor experience, including object selection, curatorial content, label and media copy, and installation requirements.
Partner with the Director, Education and Public Programs, to align interpretation, scholarship, collections evidence, and learning strategy.
Advise the Executive Director, owner’s representative, and chair of the Foundation Board’s Facilities Committee on construction phasing, environmental controls, object safety, and collections protection during the second phase of the capital project.
Review descriptions of the installation and galleries in campaign materials, naming opportunities, and gift agreements.
Curate rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters, including the annual exhibition and a loaned show in contemporary architecture and design, coordinating with the AIA Managing Director, Global Campus.
Direct incoming and outgoing loans for the permanent exhibition at The Octagon and rotating exhibitions at AIA Headquarters, including loan agreements, condition reporting, couriering, insurance, and indemnity.
Set curatorial standards, schedules, and budgets for the permanent exhibition and rotating exhibitions.
Partner with Foundation colleagues, including the Director, Education and Public Programs, the Director, Advancement, and Communities by Design senior directors.
Provide curatorial content and collections stories to Foundation development and marketing colleagues.
Manage the Foundation’s curatorial, collections-care, and exhibitions budget.
Represent the Foundation in architecture, museum, and preservation fields.
Provide direction and oversight to curatorial consultants, contract conservators and registrars, exhibition designers, interns, and volunteers.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
401(k) retirement plan
Flexible work arrangements
Paid time off
Parental leave
Flexible spending accounts
Employer-paid life insurance up to twice annual salary
Disability coverage
Tuition reimbursement
Professional membership reimbursement
Employee Assistance Program for employees and family members
SmartBenefits transportation assistance up to $55 monthly toward public transportation
Pre-tax Metro parking
Computer purchase program
Fitness club discounts
Prepaid legal services
Identity theft protection