Head Curator
1 week ago
The head curator oversees all aspects of the curatorial team’s contribution to the Colby Museum’s artistic, research, and interpretive vision to ensure the museum’s role as a destination for American and contemporary art and a place for meaningful education and engagement with campus, local, national, and global communities. They supervise and mentor the curatorial team and student interns, inspiring innovative and relevant work that is also pragmatic in its approach. They lead the development of a multi-year exhibition schedule, including Colby-organized projects that travel to other venues, in partnership with the museum’s director and the director of exhibitions and publications. The head curator directs the ongoing research and presentation of its renowned collection, partners with collections staff and the deputy director for planning and operations to ensure the comprehensive stewardship of the collection, shapes and enacts the collections development strategy, and oversees acquisitions with guidance from the Collections and Impact Committee of the museum board of governors. They collaboratively develop interpretation strategies with engagement team members. The head curator is responsible for curating a selection of projects within the multi-year cycle of exhibitions and museum publications, and contributes new scholarship; they may also serve as a venue curator. Active in the field of art, the head curator partners with the Lunder Institute for American Art to help identify mission-aligned opportunities related to fellowships and areas of inquiry that can benefit from research, field-wide dialogue, and documentation.
Day to day, the head curator balances creativity and ambition with pragmatism as they lead the team and manage budgets, time, and commitments. They maximize resources and actively contribute to fundraising in order to allow the museum to remain a generative and innovative institution. They maintain active relationships with supporters and partners and frequently represent the museum in a variety of contexts.
As part of the museum’s senior team, the head curator provides ongoing institutional-level advice to the museum’s director. They foster an equitable and inclusive culture that prioritizes collective accomplishment and values a diversity of perspectives and expertise in project development. They seek to increase access to the museum for Colby students, faculty, families, and alumni; artists, peers, and scholars; and local and regional communities, strengthening the Colby Museum’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading academic museums. With the museum’s director, other senior leaders, and the museum’s board, the head Curator plays an essential role envisioning, planning, and enacting institutional initiatives that significantly advance the museum’s mission and goals.
The museum’s trajectory of evolution and increased visibility is entering a new phase. In the coming years the Colby Museum aspires to strategically adapt and expand its facilities to support an innovative model for the care of and access to its collection, with the possibility of a new art conservation program that would be uniquely designed for Colby’s liberal arts context, in order to promote and encourage interdisciplinary research, learning, and pathways at the undergraduate level. These initiatives related to infrastructure and programs would increase the museum’s capacity to manage its collection and engage wider audiences with art, including launching a new art-on-campus program. The head curator will be an essential partner and leader in researching and advancing these initiatives.
About the Colby College Museum of Art
Founded in 1959, the Colby Museum is a leading academic art museum, with strengths in American art and contemporary art, at one of the nation’s preeminent liberal arts colleges. In keeping with Colby’s liberal arts mission, the museum advances a mission of access and acts as a forum for research, experimentation, dialogue, and joyful connection. Its programs seek to inspire and generate possibilities, so that everyone can become more curious, nimble, and able to contribute to a changing world. The museum incubates art scholarship and practice in ways that explore and expand how the idea of America is understood and how art is made, interpreted, and shared. It does so by supporting new research, organizing and presenting ambitious exhibitions and thoughtful displays of its collection, providing mentorship, and convening a diversity of people and perspectives. The museum grows and uses its collection to activate the power of art to expand the imagination and forge new connections, leading to a more open and compassionate society.
In the past decade, the Colby Museum has grown rapidly and now encompasses nearly 40,000 square feet of exhibition space. The collection has nearly doubled since 2012 to include nearly 11,000 objects. The museum now produces approximately twelve exhibitions a year and two publications. The museum has expanded to include two sites in downtown Waterville: the Greene Block + Studios, where the Lunder Institute for American Art is based, and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, which includes the museum’s Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art. Learning and engagement programs have also increased in reach and impact, drawing over 16,000 people in the past year. This includes collaborations with over 180 courses a year in nearly 30 departments across the College and class visits by 3,000 K–12 students and educators each year.
Essential Functions
To succeed in this position, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess the education/experience and employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as generally listed here. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned.
Leadership, Curatorial Management, and Integrated Program Development
Inform strategic and long-range museum initiatives. Convey the organization’s vision, plans, and annual institutional priorities. Initiate and facilitate external partnerships that advance the museum’s mission and curatorial priorities.
Supervise and mentor the curatorial staff (current direct reports: four curators and one curatorial fellow), and interns; establish and manage workflows and delegate projects and tasks. Provide guidance related to project content and approach. Communicate regularly with the curatorial team to align priorities and clarify roles. Ensure the effective completion of projects as well as accountability to the curatorial work and to each other. Anticipate and, as needed, address challenges as these arise.
Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and, with other museum senior team leaders, share responsibility for interconnected program development related to exhibitions, research, collections development, interpretation, learning and engagement, and publications.
Co-develop exhibition and curatorial budgets on an annual and multi-year basis in collaboration with the director of exhibitions and publications, as well as senior team leaders. Ensure effective management of project and area budgets and contract drafting.
Foster a supportive and collaborative culture. In keeping with Colby’s values, model and encourage self-awareness in matters of equity and access, applying these principles to management practices and the development of the museum’s curatorial and engagement program. Participate in and help shape learning processes as needed and ensure the professional development of curatorial staff.
Develop and nurture relationships with artists, collectors, dealers, and donors. Represent the Colby Museum, serving as a visible and vocal advocate for its artistic program and mission on campus, locally, regionally, nationally and, as appropriate, internationally. Advocate for the arts at Colby and the College’s vision for academic and community impact. Travel and interact with a range of peers to ensure the visibility of the museum’s activities and contributions.
Collection Development and Stewardship
Strategy, policies, and practices: Establish and enact the strategy for long-term collections development and related initiatives. Set practices for assessing the museum’s collection and refining collecting directions as well as policies with the deputy director of planning and operations and manager of collections and registration. Lead acquisition and deaccessioning decisions in partnership with the collections team members, the museum director, and the museum board of governors. Oversee and advance collection-related processes and practices. Serve as liaison to the Collections and Impact Committee of the Museum Board of Governors.
Acquisitions: Lead and manage the regular cycle of identifying and proposing works of art for acquisition. Cultivate collectors and artists and pursue gifts of art and artworks for purchase.
Loans: Assess loan requests in partnership with collections and engagement staff.
Research and display: Set the agenda for research and display in relation to the museum’s collection.
Collections Care and Documentation: Oversee curatorial team's development of content and content sharing, contributing to the timely documentation of the collection. Inform needs for storage and conservation. Ensure orderly maintenance of curatorial archives. Inform plans for spaces, digital access, and workflows that support the collection and access to it.
Art on campus: Work with the museum director, deputy director for planning and operations, manager of collections and registration, and the College to develop over time an art on campus program, contributing curatorial vision to this initiative. Eventually supervise an art on campus curator.
Exhibitions, Publications and Programs
Exhibition schedule: Plan a multi-year exhibition schedule (approximately twelve exhibitions annually on site and one–two traveling exhibitions) in partnership with the director of exhibitions and publications. Identify and secure institutional partnerships for exhibitions and co-producing arrangements for projects that travel.
Curatorial leadership: Guide curatorial staff in generating exhibitions and programs that make the most of the collection and museum resources, enact the museum’s mission, garner attention, and both interrogate and broaden established narratives of art, especially American art.
Exhibition and Collection Presentations: Curate loan and collection exhibitions as well as select traveling exhibitions, and guide the curation of the permanent collection galleries.
Learning and Engagement: Inform and support the pedagogical and strategic vision for engagement and interpretation of the museum’s artistic content, producing content and at times leading or co-leading programs, including class visits, public programs, and other forms of academic and public engagement.
Scholarship and Interpretation: Generate and, as needed, edit scholarly publications and other forms of writings (essays, exhibition texts, labels, and digitally shared content) related to the exhibition program and the collection.
Community: Participate in cross-departmental and community-based committees and initiatives as needed.
External Communications and Fundraising
Provide content to inform fundraising and communications strategies that promote the Colby Museum, its programs and its scholarship broadly. Draft content for grants; ensure the timely contribution of content by curatorial staff. Cultivate donors and actively solicit gifts of art. Partner with the director to steward relationships with key benefactors as well as artists who are represented in the museum’s collection. Regularly report on donor interactions and communications.
Prepare reports and other communications, ensuring the effective management of grant-funded curatorial projects
Actively represent the museum in media stories, digital contexts and in-person settings
Participate in and attend local, regional, and art world events making the museum visible among the communities we serve while listening and learning from our audiences and partners
Cultivate and solicit collectors and donors to support artistic projects, collections development, and museum priorities in consultation with the director, deputy director for planning and operations, director of museum development and Advancement colleagues.
Inspire a positive and supportive working relationship with the Museum Board of Governors and attend meetings
Position Qualifications
Education and Experience:
Masters degree required, knowledge of art history and proven track record of direct working relationships with artists.
Seven to ten years of experience working in the arts, culture and/or education; minimum five years of progressive leadership experience in curatorial practice in exhibition, publications, collections, and artistic program management. Demonstrated experience managing staff and budgets.
Distinguished track record of developing and realizing exhibitions and publications, conducting strategic collections research and development, and collaborating on interpretation and public programs
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
Effective management and mentorship of staff, students, and emerging professionals
Strong organizational skills and ability to establish and communicate priorities; project and budget management skills, cross-departmental leadership and collaboration skills, meeting management; negotiation skills
Strong written and oral communication skills, including interpersonal skills and public speaking; ability to compellingly communicate the museum’s mission, vision, and artistic program to a diversity of audiences
Demonstrated passion for the value of a liberal arts education and commitment to fostering an equitable work environment supportive of people from different cultures, backgrounds, and life paths.
Ability to use a team approach to plan and produce complex, interdisciplinary programming, and to integrate community engagement within curatorial processes of exhibition-making and interpretation. Ability to assess and act on opportunities to increase the narrative complexity and diversity of the museum’s collections and programs, advance equity in our daily practices and work culture, and to promote and implement inclusive practices across all aspects of curatorial work
Key Relationships
College: Museum Director; President; Provost and other Colby Senior Staff; Advancement and Colby Communications staff; Director, Arts Office; Director, Center for Arts and Humanities; Chair, Art Department and faculty across the College
Museum: Deputy Director for Planning and Operations; Director, Lunder Institute for American Art; Director, Museum Development; curatorial staff; Mirken Director, Learning and Engagement; Director of Administration and External Affairs; Director of Exhibitions and Publications; Manager of Museum Collections and Registration; Manager of Communications.
External: Broad external relationships with donors, artists, art dealers, journalists, collectors, as well as Maine-based arts partners
Physical/Mental Demands
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and/or may be encountered while performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.
The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.
This position requires extensive interpersonal interaction with colleagues, members of the public, College leaders, and patrons. There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.
While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities.
There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.
This position requires that the candidate have an active driver’s license, the ability to drive, and the ability to regularly travel domestically and at times internationally
Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.
The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks concurrently.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.
To Apply:
Interested candidates should apply electronically by clicking the “Apply Now” button on the Colby College website. Please upload a cover letter and resume to your application. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
