Senior Curator

About the Job

Supervises:
Ihlenfeld Curator and O’Brien Fellow (changes yearly). Also supervises curatorial assistants, interns, and volunteers as the changing demands of projects warrant.

In-person. This is a senior level position and will require working on campus most days of the week with some flexibility to work remotely.

Visa Language: This position is not eligible for H‑1B or Green Card sponsorship.

Primary Areas of Responsibility: The Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota seeks a seasoned curatorial leader with a proven track record of conceiving ambitious curatorial projects. The position directs development of the museum collection, works closely with the registration team to realize successful exhibitions, research acquisitions, deaccessions, and facilitates collection use for scholarship. It collaborates with the public engagement and learning department to align exhibitions and projects with the institution’s priorities.

The successful candidate has extensive team‑building experience and strong verbal and written communication skills.

The senior curator works with the museum’s director to present exhibitions and projects that align with the institution’s priorities, vision and values, helping to define the museum’s curatorial philosophy and translating vision into engaging exhibitions. The candidate welcomes and values diverse perspectives.

The successful candidate possesses excellent leadership qualities that motivate and inspire peers and accepts responsibility and appropriate feedback from others. The senior curator delineates workflow, sets expectations, and cultivates a respectful work environment.

The curator reports to the director and works closely with other staff members in committees and one‑on‑one to fulfill the responsibilities of this position.

• Exhibitions:
  Conceive, develop, organize and implement permanent and temporary exhibitions that align with the museum’s vision and values; oversee long‑ and short‑term strategy for the exhibition program and collections; research, write and speak about collections and exhibitions to internal and external audiences; draft and edit labels and wall text; work closely with the PEL team to develop innovative programming; nurture relationships with artists, galleries and community groups;
  
  assist the communications department with interviews, press previews and other media requests; serve as institutional curator for exhibitions organized by external sources; serve as project lead to facilitate interdepartmental work and negotiations with relevant outside partners; research exhibition strategies that support the museum’s vision, mission, and core values; lead annual planning of the exhibition schedule; initiate and manage relationships for assigned projects;
  
  encourage and facilitate a culture of collaboration across departments; review exhibition proposals for artistic merit, mission fit, budget and scheduling; represent the museum positively; develop, maintain and strengthen relationships with the broader arts community; ensure proper dissemination of exhibition schedules and visual materials; coordinate, develop and monitor the curatorial department’s and exhibition annual budget; research and present project ideas for the museum’s exhibition program;
  
  coordinate and manage WAM exhibitions that travel to other museums; research and write museum catalogues and gallery guides; maintain the museum’s calendar of exhibitions; collaborate with Public Engagement and Learning to incorporate evaluation insights and audience feedback into exhibition planning and iteration.
• Collections:
  Research collection strategies that support the museum’s vision, mission and core values; provide expertise and justification for acquisitions and deaccessions presented to the collections committee; identify potential donors, collectors and sponsors; stay current on scholarly fields related to the museum’s collection; research and write publications about the collection; respond to inquiries about works of art; update curatorial records and assign updated values for insurance purposes;
  
  promote active use of the permanent collection by…