Associate Director of Curation and Exhibition

Position Title: Associate Director of Curation & Exhibition

Reporting Division: Exhibits & Programs

Reporting Department: Curation and Exhibition

Reporting Supervisor: VP - Exhibits & Programs

Location: Main Building

FLSA Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Organizational Function: Senior Manager

PURPOSE:

Help develop and lead the institutional exhibition program, and oversee curation and exhibition staff. Conduct research on objects and archival materials in the Minnetrista Heritage Collection to elicit stories and work with cross-departmental teams to present stories and artifacts to the public through a variety of means. Enhance access to and visibility of the Minnetrista Heritage Collection.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Hold either a Bachelor’s degree in public history, museum studies, U.S. history, or a related field with a minimum of 5 years’ museum or related experience; or have earned a master’s degree with a minimum of 3 years’ museum or related experience.
• Demonstrate strong supervisory, organizational, planning, writing, communication and project management skills, especially to run effective meetings and work sessions and keep projects on time and on budget.
• Proficient in advanced research methods and experience conducting research in primary and secondary sources with an ability to translate research into a variety of delivery formats for appropriate audiences and through a variety of interpretive methods.
• Familiar with reading, preparing, and managing budgets.
• Adhere to a broad knowledge of professional museum collections principles, practices, and procedures, including preservation methods and practices, particularly as they relate to the display of historic materials.
• Possess strong communication skills, both verbal and written, and enjoy working with others. Be an active listener willing to both provide and consider varying opinions and constructive criticism.
• Able to think creatively and from varying viewpoints.
• Comfortable utilizing technology such as, but not limited to, collection management systems, digital photography, and photo editing software.

To be successful in this position, an individual must be aligned with Minnetrista’s cultural values and visitor-centric focus. The incumbent ensures effective working relationships by cultivating and maintaining professional credibility with all staff, administration, and volunteers. The individual demonstrates maturity, sound judgment, positive attitude, and works collaboratively with peers and colleagues throughout the organization and community.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Minnetrista’s culture is team-oriented and collaborative. To that end, all position responsibilities include the following three performance expectations & priorities:

• Achieve the organization’s purpose by demonstrating Minnetrista’s vision, values, mission, goals, and strategies daily.
• Help others achieve the organization’s purpose through collaboration and teamwork.
• Carry out job function through completing the following essential duties directly or through subordinate personnel.

JOB DUTIES:

• Oversee and project manage Minnetrista’s institutional exhibition program. Lead cross-departmental team in setting multi-year exhibition calendar, developing original exhibits, and selecting travelling exhibits for display on Minnetrista’s site.
• Guide exhibit project teams to keep all aspects of exhibitions – research, design, production, installation, programming, scheduling, outreach, and publicity – on time and on budget, and accessible as required by ADA standards.
• Partner with Experience Designer to translate exhibit storylines into effective designs, and collaborate on establishing production, installation, and de-installation schedules.
• Manage yearly exhibition budget, and manage contracts for travelling exhibitions and outside contractors as necessary.
• Conduct research on objects in the Minnetrista Heritage Collection including, but not limited to, object history, tracing provenance, verifying authenticity, and establishing relationships with other artifacts. Expand findings through additional research outside of Minnetrista’s institutional holdings when needed.
• Record relevant research in object databases and files, as appropriate.
• Ensure Minnetrista storytelling is diverse and inclusive, reflecting the full identity of the community and region.
• Collaborate with collections management staff to identify and elicit stories from the collection; provide research and content support for institutional staff including, but not limited to, theatre & events and education & experience.
• Use research to elicit stories from artifacts and archival materials to develop exhibit storylines, and write exhibit scripts, labels, blog posts, articles, and other written content as assigned.
• Identify artifacts and archival materials for display from the Minnetrista Heritage Collection and from outside institutions and private owners when necessary; coordinate incoming loans for exhibition with collections management staff.
• Oversee and coordinate with collections management staff for the installation and de-installation of artifacts and historic materials including, but not limited to, completing condition reports; creating, recommending, and reviewing artifact mounts; unpacking and repacking artifacts; and assisting with installation and take-down as needed.
• Maintain and ensure proper rotation schedules for artifacts on display in long-term exhibitions.
• Identify, evaluate, and recommend objects for acquisition and deaccession as appropriate and make recommendations to collections committee.
• Represent Minnetrista Museum and Gardens to the public and the museum field through lectures, presentations, interviews, articles, and other appropriate means.
• Remain current on museum, collections, and exhibition practices and standards.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Candidate must be able to work in an office environment as well as collections storage areas and exhibition spaces. May involve standing on concrete floors or sitting at a work station for long periods of time, exposure to dust and/or mold and moderate to high noise levels. Must be able to climb stairs, stretch, reach overhead, and lift up to 50 lbs. Must be able to move around 40 acre campus. Periodic travel may be required.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Minnetrista values diversity and inclusivity and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Revised 7/10/2020, 5/2023