Joseph De Heer Curator of Asian Art [Denver Art Museum]

Opportunity for a dynamic, ambitious, experienced curator to direct the Asian Art Department at a major AAMD art museum in the West

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) seeks an energetic, entrepreneurial individual with the experience and expertise to develop exhibitions, run a department, and oversee and reinstall the DAM’s distinguished Asian collection — considered one of the top 20 such collections in American museums.  A specialty in Chinese art is preferred, but broad expertise is essential to curate a collection covering vast regions and historical eras.  The Curator should enjoy working with donors and collectors and welcome reaching broad audiences, including families with children.

Christoph Heinrich, the Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM since 2010, has put in place a vision of dynamic programming for visitors and families, including destination exhibitions.  Rotating permanent-collection installations keep the Museum fresh.  The DAM vision includes a commitment to pulling back the curtain on the creative process of artists, not only by featuring frequent on-site contemporary-art installations but also by incorporating interactive educational spaces in the galleries and special exhibitions.  The DAM is committed to implementing ambitious, large-scale exhibitions and exploring new and dynamic ways of engaging audiences.

Today, with 250 full-time staff and an operating budget of $26M, the DAM is one of the 15 largest museums in the AAMD.  The Curator will have the opportunity to organize occasional world-class exhibitions with significant budgets along with smaller shows and projects.  As part of the DAM Strategic “2021” Plan, the Curator will reinstall the Asian collection for the first time since 1993 in its 22,000 square feet of gallery space in the 1971 North Building, designed by architect Gio Ponti.

Denver is now the 22^nd largest city in the US and the region’s population soared an estimated 8% from 2010 to 2013.  Denver is known for fabulous skiing in the Rocky Mountains and for the young, creative, entrepreneurial populations it attracts from both Coasts.  The new Clyfford Still Museum next door, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and performing arts organizations and professional sports teams round out the high-quality lifestyle in the Denver/Boulder region.

Key Opportunities

The DAM offers an outstanding opportunity to a dynamic, creative, and experienced curator who is passionate about Asian art and who will lead the museum’s distinguished Asian art collection — considered one of the top 20 collections in American museums — to an even higher level of regional, national, and international prominence.

With the DAM team, the Curator of Asian Art can:

• Reinstall the Asian collection of 5,000 objects in the over 22,000 square feet of modern gallery space in the North building, creating an updated installation and interpretation, incorporating new technologies and some of the many objects acquired since the 1993 installation.
• Organize ambitious, world-class  “Banner” exhibitions every 3 to 4 years in one of the 3 special exhibition galleries — the 10,000-sq.-ft. Anschutz Galleries, the location of the Cartier exhibition (see: http://brilliantindenver.com/about-the-exhibition?gclid=CM3Fs4D83sICFWIA7AodpR0ASA),- the 7,000-square-foot Gallagher Gallery, location of the Matisse exhibition (see:http://www.denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/matisse-and-friends) or the 3,000-sq.-ft.  Martin McCormick Gallery.
  • The DAM is committed to implementing ambitious, large-scale exhibitions of Asian art and exploring new and dynamic ways of engaging audiences.
• Create changing focus exhibitions highlighting aspects of the collection.
• Acquire works for the permanent collection through purchases and through gifts from DAM’s active patrons and collectors.  Acquisitions can range from ancient to contemporary.
  • Denver hosts a vital Asian-American community and cultural organizations, with which the department can continue to engage.
• Collaborate on public programs, such as lectures, symposia, and artist workshops.
• Bring exposure to Asian art to an audience of over a half-million visitors per year, including schoolchildren and underserved audiences who have few such opportunities within 500 miles.
• Manage a department of 3 to 4, with the possibility to advance in future years to a more senior post.
• Enjoy Denver and the lifestyle of the Rocky Mountain West.

Required Job Qualifications

• Five or more years’ experience as a museum curator, or equivalent professional experience
• Substantive record of exhibitions and publications
• Experience with a substantial collection, including collection installations and acquisitions
• Passionate interest in Asian art, culture, history, religions, and traditions
• MA degree in related art field
• Thorough knowledge of Asian art with a focus on Chinese art preferred and eagerness to learn areas of the collection outside one’s specialty field
• Proficient in an Asian language (Chinese preferred)
• Demonstrated research skills
• Team player, collaborative
• Ambitious for the institution and to serve broad audiences, not just the cognoscenti
• Ability to work with donors and collectors who actively support the department
• Fundraising and public-speaking abilities
• Management potential to oversee a department with a staff of 3-4
• International network of professional colleagues, collectors, dealers, and artists
• Willing to travel extensively

Desired Additional Qualifications

• Ph.D. preferred
• Experience as part of a team that has created and implemented a major permanent-collection installation
• Basic knowledge of Asian language(s) and research capability in French and German
• Has future potential to advance to a wider management position

Detailed Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with educators and designers in the development, creation, interpretation, and installation of permanent galleries and special exhibitions organized or booked by the museum
• Collaborate with curatorial colleagues, collectors, patrons, and cultural organizations to generate important exhibitions, publications, and public programs
• Take responsibility for the Asian art collections, including study, rotation and display, care and record-keeping, provenance research, digitizing, and publication
• Build and refine the collection
• Actively cultivate funding for acquisitions, exhibitions, research grants, and fellowships through association with professional organizations, foundations, and patrons on local, national, and international levels.  Work actively with the department’s support group, the Asian Art Association
• Prepare and give lectures, tours, and workshops to the public, professional colleagues, and other groups
• Supervise the curatorial assistant, two other departmental staff and, currently, one contract worker, plus volunteers
• Prepare and monitor the department’s budget and work plan
• Participate in institutional planning
• Maintain professional affiliations in scholarly organizations, professional societies, and relevant committees
• Given that the DAM is an institutional member, abide by, follow, and comply with the guidelines of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM), including the AAMD Report on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art and the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property; and conduct appropriate provenance research on pertinent objects in the department’s collections

International candidates will be considered.  Fluency in English is essential.

Nominations welcome. 

Inquiries and nominations are welcome at SearchandRef@museum-search.com.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply in confidence:

Email cover letter, résumé or CV (Word document preferred), salary requirement, and names of 3 references with contact information by February 19, 2015 (end of day) to retained search firm: Marilyn Hoffman, Museum Search & Reference, SearchandRef@museum-search.com.  References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant.  Screening of applications will continue until the completion of the search process.  Position open until filled.

DAM policy is to prohibit discrimination against any person or organization based on age, race, sex, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, marital status, gender, veteran status, political service, affiliation, or disability.

About the DAM’s Encyclopedic Collections 

Since its founding in 1893, the DAM has amassed more than 70,000 works of art, one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of world art between Chicago and the West Coast.  Internationally known for its holdings of American Indian art, the Museum has also assembled an extensive group of pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art objects now considered one of the finest collections anywhere.  Other areas of concentration are European and American painting and sculpture, architecture, design and graphics, modern and contemporary, Asian, African, Oceanic, western American and textile art.

About the Asian Art Collection

The Asian art collection has occupied the galleries on the fifth floor of the North Building since it opened in 1971.  The Jesse and Nellie Shwayder Galleries encompass 22,000 square feet of space and display changing selections from the DAM’s collection and loans.  Geographic galleries are devoted to the arts of China, India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Tibet and Nepal.  Thematic galleries include objects associated with the Scholar’s Tradition, Buddhist Art, Bamboo in East Asia, and Everyday Traditions in South and Southeast Asia.

The Asian art collection originated in 1915 with a donation of Chinese and Japanese art objects from a single collector, Walter C. Mead, and has broadened to include works from the entire Asian continent.  Spanning a period from the fourth millennium B.C. to the present, these objects illustrate the wide-ranging achievements of Asian artists and artisans.  The Asian art collection has grown principally through the generosity of donors whose gifts range from single objects to large collections.

Beginning in 1946 with an initial gift of South Asian art, a series of gifts from Harry B. Goodwin and his wife Mary in 1948 and 1971 helped establish the DAM’s collection of Indian and South and Southeast Asian art.

The Southwest Asia gallery includes examples from the Anatolian and Arabian peninsulas, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia.  Objects represent many millennia of art, beginning with the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, and following the flourishing of Islam to the present day. Regions where this culture spread, such as Africa, Southern Europe, and Southeast Asia, also are represented.

In addition to the Asian art department, the departments of textiles, architecture, design and graphics, modern and contemporary art; New World art, and photography also collect Asian art, and curators have collaborated on acquisitions.  In the contemporary arena, the Logan Collection encompasses groundbreaking global work created in the last 20 years.  The Logans were among the first Americans to collect work by contemporary Chinese artists and now own one of the largest collections of such material in the world (http://www.denverartmuseum.org/collections/logan-collection).

For more information on the Asian art department, its collections, and past events, visit: http://www.denverartmuseum-asian.org/.

For digitized collections, visit: http://www.denverartmuseum-asian.org/asianart/collection_f.html

About Denver

Denver offers major-city sophistication in a location inspiring for natural beauty.  A hub for those seeking the Rocky Mountain ski slopes, Denver is also home to major museums, four major sports teams, and a wide variety of neighborhoods.

The Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area is over 2.7 million people, and the region had the second fastest growth rate of the top 22 Areas in the US, second only to Houston.  The Mile High City is now larger than Washington, Boston, or Atlanta.  Despite its size, Denver is a livable, friendly city where many DAM staff walk or bike to work.  Its temperate climate boasts 300 days of sunshine per year.

Arts, culture and creativity are fully integrated into daily life, work and play in Denver. The city is known for its public art, downtown theatre district, indie music scene, art districts, creative sector businesses and microbreweries and distilleries, to name a few features that make Denver special. The city hosts a vital contemporary art scene enlivened by a rich variety of cultural organizations, galleries, and collectors.  The city has 5 distinct arts districts, featuring over 50 art galleries, many studio buildings, and boutiques with local crafts and artisanal products from jewelry to wine.  See: http://brilliantindenver.com/plan-your-visit/more-things-to-do-in-denver/explore-denvers-arts-world for more information about the arts districts.

In addition to the Museum of Contemporary Art and Clyfford Still Museum, Denver’s many other museums include the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado), Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art (of 1875–1990), Children’s Museum of Denver, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Denver Zoo, and Denver Botanic Gardens.  Enjoy symphony, ballet, opera and Broadway shows at cultural organizations including The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and Denver Center Theatre Company. Architectural monuments include the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Denver Public Library, and Colorado State Capitol.  Enjoy Colorado Rockies baseball at Coors Field or take in a football game at Mile High Sports Authority Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos.  Denver is also home to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche professional hockey team.

Enjoy skiing, snowboarding, hiking, or biking at nearby resorts such as Loveland (only 50 minutes away), Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Copper Mountain, or travel to Aspen or Vail.  Draw inspiration from the area’s unrivaled natural beauty at Mt. Evans,Denver Mountain Parks, or Rocky Mountain National Park near Boulder.

Visit: http://www.denver.org/ and http://artsandvenuesdenver.com/events-programs/imagine-2020-creating-a-future-for-denvers-culture for information.

About Colorado

Colorado’s relaxed, high-quality lifestyle is attracting cosmopolitan, creative people who seek work/life balance, farm-to-table food, a green mentality, and incomparable outdoor beauty.  Visit: http://www.colorado.com/ to learn more about all the state has to offer.