Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs

The Corning Museum of Glass Corning, New York, United States

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) seeks a strategic and innovative leader to serve as its next director of collections and curatorial affairs (DCCA). This is an opportunity to serve as a senior institutional leader at the world’s foremost institution in the art, history and science of glass where artistry, creativity, scientific inquiry, scholarship, public engagement, and invention coalesce. CMoG is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2026, an occasion to mark its strong history, expand its local and international impact, and recommit to innovation and its mission to inspire people to see glass in a new light.

As a member of the museum’s leadership team, the DCCA provides curatorial vision, collections stewardship, and staff development to build upon the museum’s excellence in developing, managing, exhibiting, sharing and preserving the internationally renowned collection, exhibition program, and sector‑leading publications. The DCCA sets and supports best practices and sustainable strategies for the departments within the directorate (Curatorial, Collections Management, Conservation, and Photography) and proactively partners with the president and executive director and leadership team to achieve key initiatives and set professional standards.

The DCCA works in partnership with the directors of the Rakow Research Library and The Studio to ensure the collaboration of the three main components that comprise CMoG —the museum, the library, and the studio. The DCCA works closely with the advancement department on fundraising opportunities in support of positions, programs, and projects. They will bring a future‑forward vision that integrates the work of collections and curatorial affairs throughout the museum and sets ambitious goals to advance the field of glass in all its intellectual and creative diversity.

Founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated as a gift to the nation, The Corning Museum of Glass quickly became known as the global center of glass art, science, and history. The museum’s authority drives the understanding and appreciation of glass across the globe and attracts over 300,000 visitors each year into its local community of 10,000+ where the median age is 39 years old.

CMoG was named by the New Yo rk Times among the U.S. museums to see for 2025, and Newsweek readers voted CMoG one of the Top 3 Best Art Museums in America.

With more than 10,000 works on display, the museum galleries showcase glass selected from a permanent collection of more than 50,000 objects representing more than 3,500 years of history. The expansive collection is presented in three core galleries — 35 Centuries of Glass , Heineman , and Contemporary Art & Design — to tell the global story of glass from antiquity through the present day.

The Innovation Galleries highlight the scientific and technological achievements using glass, ranging from casserole dishes to telescopes to optical fiber. Collection highlights include the 14th century BCE Portrait Inlay of Pharaoh Akhenaten, Roman glass, Venetian masterpieces, major Islamic and Asian works, global beadwork, works by modern makers such as Emile Gallé, René Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Frederick Carder, and the largest collection of contemporary glass in the world.

The museum organizes one to two special exhibitions each year, and one annual commission. Additionally, the museum maintains an occasional traveling exhibition program; one example is its 2025 Brilliant Color exhibition at the Toyama Glass Art Museum in Toyama, Japan, an institution with which CMoG maintains an international partnership.…