Postdoctoral Curator: Indigenous Americas

Job Description

With funding provided by a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame invites applications for four postdoctoral research fellowships in its main curatorial areas:
European and American Art before 1900, Indigenous Americas and Africa, International Modern and Contemporary Art, and Photographs.

Fellows will be appointed for two years with the possibility of a one-year extension. Each fellow will work with a collection curator who will direct their research activity. Fellows are expected to be in residence at the University for the duration of the appointment, anticipated to run from September 28, 2026 through September 2028, in order to contribute to the community of scholars on campus.

The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art opened its new building in December 2023. With a collection of over 32,000 objects, it serves a campus with about 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty, in addition to diverse communities in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan. Its holdings are increasingly recognized nationally and internationally for their breadth and quality.

The Lilly Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow for Indigenous Americas and Africa will have the opportunity to work with a global collection spanning thousands of years of human creativity, with depth in archaeological and contemporary ceramics from the Americas, Andean textiles, and Central African material culture. Initially, the Fellow will focus on these areas in preparation for gallery rotations and forthcoming collection catalogue.

The Fellow will also assist the curator, museum registrars, and prep team with rehousing the Indigenous North American and African collections to facilitate access for community consultations.

The Fellow will work with the curator to research the permanent collections and devise appropriate strategies for updating and formalizing cultural care protocols. Working closely with the museum’s Indigenous Consultation Committee, the fellow will engage in community-based research and outreach. The fellow will conduct provenance research in support of repatriation efforts including Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance.

A chief initiative of the Museum’s strategic plan is to publish a new selected works catalogue. In consultation with the curator, the fellow will select objects to research and write select entries. The Fellow will also be encouraged to identify works or themes in the collections that correspond to their own research interests and publish in scholarly journals or present  position is ideal for someone with content specialization in any of the above- mentioned collection areas.

• Examine works and describe media, support, and subject matter; update attributions; measure.
• Compile bibliographies, exhibition histories, provenance, and historic scholarly opinions.
• Update records in the museum’s collections management database.
• Conduct in-depth research on selected works in the portfolio.
• Coordinate bi-monthly meetings with the museum’s Indigenous Consultation Committee.
• Assist curator with NAGPRA consultations.
• Write labels and other didactics for public display.
• Contribute as directed to the forthcoming selected works catalog.
• Upon request, meet with faculty and students to connect them with the collection.
• Be available for public programming (lectures, presentations, gallery talks, tours, panel discussions, etc.)

• PhD in art history, anthropology, cultural studies, or related discipline (received within the last five years) from an accredited institution in the U.S. or Europe.
• Interest in working closely with artists and communities.
• Familiarity with archival research.
• Ability to communicate equally with multi-disciplinary academic and diverse general audiences with clarity and precision.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating efforts with staff in other departments.
• Experience working in museums with collections is desirable but not essential.
• Understanding of collections management databases a plus.
• Interest in and enthusiasm for museum work, with preference given to applicants intending to pursue a curatorial career.

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a).

We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.