On March 14, 2018, the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art broke ground in Los Angeles. The museum states that it will offer a one of a kind museum experience, when it opens in 2021, focusing on narrative and celebrating storytelling through art.

Narrative Art involves telling stories through various works and mediums such as classical paintings, comics, film, theater, etc, with a focus on how artists capture these stories.

The concept of narrative art  has roots as far back as hieroglyphics, and in all honesty, it shouldn’t be a novel concept in museums. Storytelling is essential to audience engagement with objects and material. Everything from tours to educational programs, to labels, should have a bit of a narrative thread that effectively engages the audience through the stories they tell.

Narratives in museums may come from artistic expression or intent in a piece, visitor interpretation (such as VTS), or interpretive lenses that might draw upon many contexts that are social, political, religious, etc. Whichever form a story may come in, it is the power of narratives that help the visitor connect to the content.

Narratives must involve a structure, from the rising action, there must be a climax, or an “aha” moment, and some type of resolution or conclusion. In museums, the climax, or “aha” moment is a primary goal of interpretation. It is an important aim to have the visitors reach a moment  of realization, connection, provocation, or if we’re really lucky, a transformation in their frame of thinking.

According to the website of the soon-to-be Lucas Museum, the collection will consist of paintings, illustrations, comics, and films, which provides an abundant platform of media to act as various entry points into narratives for diverse audiences. Perhaps this museum will act as a resource and a means to inspire more museums with various media to engage with narrative art in their interpretation practices.

Here’s your weekly roundup of new jobs! Happy Hunting!

New England

• Director of Marketing [Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT]
• Deputy Director for External Affairs [deCOrdova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA]
• Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Curatorial Fellow [Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA]
• Manager of Youth and Family Programs [Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT]
• Associate Director [Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock, VT]
• STEM Educator and Teen Program Coordinator [Connecticut Science Center, Hartford, CT]
• Interpreter- Fruitlands Museum [The Trustees, Harvard, MA]
• Administrative Assistant to the President and Human Resources Coordinator [Strawberry Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH]
• Marketing and Events Director [Old South Meeting House, Boston, MA]
• Advancement Coordinator [Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME]
• Director of Development [Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, RI]
• Education Specialist- Interpreter [Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, MA]
• Prospect Research Manager [ Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA]
• Historic Site Educator [King’s Chapel, Boston, MA]
• Development Coordinator [Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, MA]

Mid-Atlantic

• Museum Director [Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto PA]
• Assistant Curator [The Art Students League of New York, New York, NY]
• Faculty Associate of Museum Professions [Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ]
• Head Registrar [International Arts and Artists, Washington, DC]
• Manager of Retail and Wholesale Operations [Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ]
• Curator/Head of Special Collections and Gallery [University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD]
• Senior Deputy Director/ COO [Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, NY]
• Curatorial Assistant/ Public Engagement Coordinator [Georgetown University Art Galleries, Washington, DC]
• James A. Michener Art Museum Executive Director [Arts Consulting Group Doylestown, PA]
• Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO [Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA]

Midwest

• Senior Exhibit Designer [Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL]
• Exhibitions Assistant [International Quilt Study Center and Museum]
• Director of Education and Outreach [Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society, Galena IL]
• Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship, St. Louis, MO]
• Chief of External Affairs [Holden Forests and Gardens, Cleveland, OH]
• Fitzpatrick Chair of Paleontology [Science Museum of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN]

South

• Vice President for Institutional Advancement [The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA]
• Curatorial Fellow [Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, TX]
• Exhibitions and Collections Manager [Stark Foundation, Orange, TX]
• Chief Curator [Menil Drawing Institute, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX]

West

• Administrative Coordinator for Development [Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA]
• Director of Data Information Services [Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA]
• Curator of Education [Museum of Florida History, Tallahassee, FL]