Independence Hall Curator - Karl C. Harrison Museum George and Martha Washington Collection

Position Announcement

The American Village

Fulltime position:
Independence Hall Curator/Karl

C. Harrison Museum of the

George and Martha Washington Collection

Reports to:

Chief Education Officer

The American Village is a 501(c)(3) history and civic education center located on a 188-acre campus located thirty minutes south of Birmingham in Montevallo, Alabama. Chartered in 1995, the American Village campus opened in 1999 and serves Pre‑K—12 and college students from throughout Alabama and the southeastern United States. The mission is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and constitutional self‑government through its innovative, engaging, and nationally recognized programs for students and the general public.

More information can be found on the website:(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

The American Village seeks a dynamic and engaging Curator of American Art to maximize the effective interpretation of an important collection of several hundred artifacts including written correspondence, porcelain, and furniture as well as memorabilia collected by the late Shelby County entrepreneur Karl

C. Harrison and his wife Mildred Bennett Harrison. The collection is made up of items directly owned by George and Martha Washington along with items owned by their heirs and descendants. The ideal candidate should be excited to explore the historical ties between the items in this collection and the founding era of America. The collection will be located in a new facility that is part of the Independence Hall replica complex which opened to the public in September, 2025;

the anticipated opening date of the new Karl

C. Harrison Museum of George and Martha Washington is October 19, 2026 – coinciding with America’s Semiquincentennial year (250th birthday) of the nation. Independence Hall at American Village was designated by the Alabama legislature as the state’s Semiquincentennial Celebration Capitol and serves as a nexus for celebrations and commemorations across the state, allowing the Harrison Collection to be prominently highlighted during its inaugural year of opening.

• Working in partnership with other Village departments to conceive and implement new installations and gallery interpretation.
• Administering and managing all aspects of work within the East Wing Harrison Museum, including spearheading cross-departmental teams and projects.
• Researching and disseminating findings through publications, lectures, gallery talks, labels, web-based media, and other forms of communication.
• Organizing and orchestrating in-house and traveling exhibitions and bringing in significant exhibitions from elsewhere; working with the Development Team to secure funding; and with the Education department to craft public programs and engaging interpretive materials.
• Developing and implementing long-term goals and objectives for the collection through acquisitions that include gifts, bequests, and purchases.
• Working with fellow staff to ensure the highest quality of care and maintenance of the permanent collection.
• Participating actively in the intellectual life of the Museum by engaging in collection- and exhibition-related programming; carrying out creative research and publishing on the collection; growing access to the collection; supporting all fundraising activities to build the collection and exhibition programming; supporting all public relations efforts; working with partner organizations and the community in furtherance of strategic goals.
• Working closely with collectors and prospective donors both locally and farther afield.
• Participating in professional organizations and other opportunities that arise for professional development.
• Supervise and…