Head Curator

Description

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a leading voice for contemporary art and culture and provides a national platform for the art and artists of our time. We seek to share the transformative power of modern and contemporary art with audiences at all levels of awareness and understanding by creating meaningful, personal experience in which art, artists, audiences and ideas converge.

We enhance public understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through acquisition, exhibitions, education and public programs, conservation, and research.

To fulfill its mission, HMSG develops collaborative relationships with institutions and organizations within the Smithsonian, the United States, and abroad. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft, the museum’s elevated circular building has 60,000 square feet of exhibition space inside and nearly four acres outside in a multilevel Sculpture Garden and Plaza. The collection consists of approximately 13,000 objects of modern and contemporary art, consisting of paintings, sculptures, variable media, and works on paper.

The Supervisory Curator serves as the Head Curator with primary responsibilities in these four areas of curation: research, exhibition development, development and management of collections, and public service, with a high degree of independence. Manages and participates in determining the direction and goals of the curatorial program.

In addition, the incumbent participates in the administration of the Museum’s curatorial programs and staff relating to paintings, sculpture, graphic arts, and photography, as well as performance, digital media, video, and technology.

As a recognized scholar in the field of modern and contemporary art, is expected to supervise by example in performance of personal research, exhibition development and execution, and public service.

Supervises department staff, interns, and fellows, including assigning projects, guiding and counseling staff, completing performance plans and appraisals, and recommending personnel actions.

Directs curatorial staff to ensure successful distribution and oversight of administrative tasks related to exhibition development, working with artists, traveling exhibitions, new media projects, outside exhibitions, grant proposals, label review, art forum and research fellows. Oversees programmatic aspects of the office such as collections development, deaccessioning, loan requests, or exhibition schedules.

Initiates, develops, and coordinates major research projects of considerable scope in collaboration with professionals at HMSG and other museums, with staff at artists’ foundations, and with scholars.

The incumbent conducts scholarly research in the field of Modern and Contemporary art, defining topics of genuine significance in the field, determining feasibility of the topic for publications and exhibitions, considering the appropriate scope of the topic. Research may involve locating and examining material previously unknown and never examined.

Participates with the Director and other staff members as appropriate in proposing objects for acquisition through purchase or gift and participates in reviewing collection objects for possible deaccession.

Understands and assumes appropriate responsibilities for negotiating with donors and dealers for copyright to objects when considering acquisitions.

Manages permanent collections by providing updated information on objects for curatorial files. Reviews objects under their care periodically for conservation needs and is alert to questions of conservation.

Works with the Museum Director to develop the museum’s exhibition calendar on a 2-to-3-year lead.

Plans and realizes concepts and topics for large, complex exhibits involving loans from museums and private collections as well as smaller, more focused exhibitions and serves as coordinator for traveling exhibitions.

Translate academic language and concepts into clear and readable language for public display. Develops interpretive materials such as wall texts,…