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Assistant Curator

About The Museum

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art opened its doors in Amherst, Massachusetts 20 years ago with a bold but simple vision: to ensure that picture-book illustration, as an art form, is celebrated around the world.

Both as an institution and as a team of museum professionals, The Carle is committed to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. We bring those values to our exhibitions, programs, partnerships, and organizational culture. Through ongoing professional development, we continue to expand our DEAI knowledge and are striving to diversify our team, currently made up of 40 hard-working, art- and book-loving staff members.

We organize exhibitions that look at children’s book illustration artistically, culturally, and historically. Our traveling exhibition program, which is growing, reaches more than half a million people a year. More than 8,000 original illustrations make up our collection, which spans more than 120 years of publishing.

Summary

The assistant curator will work closely with the chief curator in the research and creation of six temporary exhibitions a year in Amherst, Massachusetts, and four to five traveling exhibitions annually. The assistant curator will have an opportunity to serve as lead curator, under the direction of the chief curator, on approximately two exhibitions per year, as determined by their interests and the needs of the department. Additional responsibilities might include research of the collection, the creation of virtual exhibitions, and writing text and essays for carlemuseum.org.

Supervision

The assistant curator reports to the chief curator. The position works closely with guest curators, preparators, registrars, and the digital assets specialist. The Carle is committed to collaborative cross-department work as well, and this position regularly works with the education, finance, development, marketing, and retail teams. 

Responsibilities 

  • The assistant curator manages a 12-month exhibition production schedule, assigning tasks for the department and maintaining deadlines for in-house, traveling, and virtual exhibitions. 
  • Under guidance of the chief curator, the assistant curator organizes exhibitions and supports the programming that accompanies them. This includes corresponding with artists, dealers, lenders, art institutions, and collectors. 
  • The assistant curator provides invaluable administrative support to the chief curator and guest curators including writing labels, exhibition press releases, social media posts, and website content. In addition, the assistant curator writes, uploads, and maintains exhibition descriptions and images on The Carle’s website.
  • The assistant curator assists the chief curator in evaluating and negotiating exhibition contracts, including loan agreements, exhibition checklists, and traveling exhibition contracts.
  • Along with the chief curator and registrars, this position creates and maintains database records for exhibitions.
  • The assistant curator purchases exhibition materials, updates financial spreadsheets, and submits invoices to the chief curator for approval.
  • The assistant curator researches and writes descriptions of collection artists and artworks.

Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in art history, museum studies, or a related field required; master’s degree preferred. One to three years of related experience in education or the arts. Art handling experience a plus. 

  • A genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
  • A commitment to presenting a diverse group of artists, cultures, and perspectives through the Museum’s exhibitions, programs, and publications.
  • Exceptional planning and time management skills.
  • Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-changing environment.
  • Excellent research and writing skills. 
  • Strong verbal and written communication. 
  • Knowledge of collection development and care. 

Competitive candidates for this position will meet many of the requirements listed on this job description, but The Carle acknowledges they may not, and do not have to, meet all of them 100%. We encourage you to apply if many of these job requirements describe you. The position does not require a background in children’s literature or illustration.

Through their vision and generosity, the Museum’s co-founders, the late Eric Carle and Barbara Carle, made a commitment to the future of illustrated children’s literature. An engaged board of trustees made up of publishers, scholars, educators, artists, and philanthropists ensures that The Carle continues to be relevant, forward-thinking, and financially sustainable.  

Full Time with benefits. Annual salary: $45,000 - $55,000

For priority consideration, please apply by April 13, 2022