SHI - Exhibit Mounts Fabricator and Museum Outreach Specialist

Sealaska Heritage • Juneau, AK

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is a regional Alaska Native nonprofit founded in 1980 by Sealaska Corporation. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance the culture of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples. SHI collects and preserves materials documenting their history, culture, heritage, and language, and makes these materials available for educational and research purposes. SHI cares for approximately one thousand ethnographic and art objects and presents exhibits in the Nathan Jackson Gallery.

The Exhibit Mounts Fabricator and Museum Outreach Specialist installs, fabricates, and de-installs exhibitions and creates mounts for objects on display. The role also supports object care and handling, exhibit maintenance, storage and transport, educational tours, museum programming, and outreach activities, including leading the Museum Boxes program. The position is based at the Walter Soboleff Building and includes work in a shop environment, some travel, and regular weekday business hours.

Requirements

• A proven interest in exhibit mount fabrication and design, collections management, conservation, museum studies, or a related profession.
• Ability to adopt best-practice standards for assessing, handling, moving, packing, and shipping collection objects.
• Prior experience working with museum collections, art, and ethnographic objects.
• Ability to read design drawings, including detailed scale elevations and plans.
• Good driving record and reliable transportation.
• Experience in exhibit fabrication and maintenance or other relevant work.
• Experience giving tours and working with outreach programs in a cultural institution.
• Ability and willingness to maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail and to work well under pressure with museum professionals, vendors, students, cultural interpreters, and others.
• Bachelor’s degree in industrial design, theater production, museum studies, or another relevant field and two years of related experience, or a combination of education and relevant experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Three years of related practical experience in exhibit fabrication, exhibit installation, mount making, box construction, museum collections, or a combination of education and relevant experience.
• Degree in industrial design, theater production, museum studies, conservation, or a related field.
• Experience with Northwest Coast Indigenous art and object collections.

Responsibilities

• Install and fabricate mounts and display units, and de-install exhibits at the Walter Soboleff Building and Arts Campus.
• Assist with maintaining objects on display and coordinate with other departments on object handling and accessibility in offsite storage.
• Install exhibit signage and object labels as needed.
• Evaluate, refurbish, and maintain existing exhibits and displays with guidance from Archives & Collections staff.
• Conduct routine and preventative exhibit repairs, including maintaining and replacing exhibit lighting.
• Construct object mounts and assist with staging objects for professional photography.
• Assist collections staff in producing exhibit mount prototypes, components, and products.
• Assist collections staff and guest curators with design elements and exhibit layout.
• Build storage containers for objects in the permanent collection, education collection, Sealaska Corporation collection, and Clan Loan program.
• Assist with receiving, handling, packing, moving, and shipping objects entering or leaving SHI, including traveling exhibits and objects acquired by gift, purchase, or loan.
• Conduct in-depth condition reports for objects entering or leaving SHI.
• Pack objects for transport, deliver objects to destinations, and pick up objects for transport to SHI as needed.
• Lead educational gallery tours for educators and students.
• Liaise with other SHI departments regarding museum programming and tours.
• Assist collections staff with training museum interns in exhibit fabrication, design, and mount making.
• Advise Southeast Alaska tribal museums and cultural institutions on exhibition planning and design.
• Lead the Museum Boxes outreach program and manage its scheduling, travel, and loans.
• Develop and design additional topics for Museum Boxes.
• Follow safety rules and regulations while performing work assignments.
• Keep office space clean and organized and tools tidy and maintained.
• Establish and maintain an inventory of collection storage supplies and materials.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time