Curator of Contemporary Art [Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL]

Description

The Tampa Museum of Art invites applications for a Curator of Contemporary Art. This is a new full-time permanent position, available until filled.

ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES

The Curator of Contemporary Art will report directly to the Chief Curator, who also serves as Richard E. Perry Curator of Greek and Roman Art. S/he will be a vital member of the small but dynamic curatorial team, working closely with the Chief Curator as well as the Exhibitions and Collections Manager and the Exhibition Designer/Chief Preparator.

Primary responsibilities will relate to both the permanent collection and traveling exhibitions, including (but not limited to) the following:

Permanent Collection

• Responsible for care, display, interpretation, and promotion of modern and contemporary artworks in permanent collection, particularly those created after 1950;
• Develop a strategy for the rotation of modern and contemporary artwork exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection, in traditional gallery spaces as well as lobby/atrium and selected outdoor spaces;
• Develop, coordinate, and execute special exhibitions—both at the museum and to travel to other institutions—inspired by the permanent collection, strategically augmented with loans;
• Collections- and exhibition-related research, disseminated through public lectures and gallery talks, and a range of publications (general and scholarly, internal and external)
• Assist with the development of the permanent collection through gifts and purchases.

Traveling Exhibitions

• Identify traveling exhibitions from other institutions for presentation at the museum;
• Serve as the coordinating curator for certain selected traveling exhibitions.

Other

• Collaborate with Executive Director and curatorial and development colleagues on donor cultivation, providing support and programming as needed for collector and patron groups;
• Collaborate with education department colleagues to plan and develop effective educational programming and materials related to exhibitions and collections;
• Develop collaborative relationships with other museums in order to share collections and exhibitions, as well as expertise and best practices.

REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum five years previous curatorial-related experience in an art museum, developing and managing exhibitions and gallery rotations
• MA in art history required (PhD preferred), with background in and broad knowledge of both modern and contemporary art
• Substantial research interest and publication history in at least one sub-field of contemporary art
• Proficiency in MS Office applications required (Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator preferred)
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.

CONTACT

Qualified applicants should send CV/resume and cover letter including reasons for interest in the position and summary of relevant experience to human.resources@tampamuseum.org. Indicate the job title “Contemporary Curator” in the subject line. Only those applicants who meet our requirements for this position will be contacted. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

ABOUT THE TAMPA MUSEUM OF ART

The Tampa Museum of Art opened its award-winning new home in 2010 with a commitment to providing innovative public programs with a strong focus on classical, modern, and contemporary art. The Museum balances a growing collection, including one of the largest Greek and Roman antiquities collections in the southeastern United States, with a dynamic annual schedule of special exhibitions. It is the region’s largest museum devoted to art of our time and has built a reputation for embracing contemporary photography and new media. Since its founding in 1979, the Museum has been dedicated to providing quality education to students and adults, with more than half of its programs offered free of charge. The Museum is home to Sono Café, a Slow Food movement café overlooking the Hillsborough River, and has emerged as Tampa’s premier venue for special events.

COLLECTION OVERVIEW

The Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection is at the heart of its mission to “gather, study, discuss, and present the finest visual arts for a curious public.” In 2014, objects from the Museum’s permanent collection inspired and/or enriched two major traveling exhibitions with richly illustrated catalogues: Poseidon and the Sea and My Generation: Young Chinese Artists.

The collection (totaling more than 7000 artworks) falls into three general categories:

• Classical Antiquities (approximately 660 works);
• Nineteenth-Century Prints and Photographs (approximately 1,300, mostly views of archaeological sites and classical antiquities in European museums);
• Modern and Contemporary Art (more than 5,000 artworks), including:
  • The C. Paul Jennewein Archive (approximately 2,600 artworks, including finished sculptures, preparatory sketches, photographs, maquettes, and molds);
  • nearly 1000 20th-century photographs (including works by Baldessari, Cartier-Bresson, Close, Sherman, Warhol, Winogrand, and others);
  • nearly 1000 works on paper (prints, watercolors, and drawings, including works by Calder, Gottlieb, Motherwell, Rauschenberg, Rosenquist, and others);
  • some 350 paintings, mostly produced after 1950, and mostly by local and regional artists (such as Pachner, Solomon, and Wujcik; internationally known artists in the collection include Ralph Goings, Rockwell Kent, and Alma Thomas);
  • some 350 works of decorative arts and sculpture, ranging from Hiram Powers and Jacques Lipchitz to Bertoia, Stankiewicz, Chihuly, and Woodman; and
  • seven (7) “new media” artworks (light, video, and installation, most notably Leo Villareal’s site-specific LED light installation Sky (Tampa), occupying more than 14,000 square feet on the Museum’s south façade).

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum five years previous curatorial-related experience in an art museum, developing and managing exhibitions and gallery rotations
• MA in art history required (PhD preferred), with background in and broad knowledge of both modern and contemporary art
• Substantial research interest and publication history in at least one sub-field of contemporary art
• Proficiency in MS Office applications required (Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator preferred)
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.