JOB SUMMARY

The Curator contributes to the artistic excellence of the Walker’s Visual Arts Department, playing a key role in the conceptualization and implementation of timely and innovative exhibitions, programs, publications, and acquisitions, and coordinating special initiatives within the Visual Arts department.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES  

Curatorial

• Generate timely and relevant exhibitions that may tour internationally; including preparing checklists, securing loans, managing project budgets, coordinating installations, and liaising with artists, estates, lenders, staff, and others involved in exhibition production.
• Advance new scholarship on the collection and within the field, and assert the Walker’s mission to produce adventurous, groundbreaking content and projects of critical and public note.
• Work closely with Development team in fundraising efforts, including providing materials for grant applications, and actively cultivating donors in support of Walker exhibitions, acquisitions, and programs.
• Identify and recommend acquisitions for the permanent collection; cultivate gifts of art and recommend possible de-accessions.
• Implement new commissions and acquisitions for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Walker campus.
• Foster new creative relationships with artists whose works advance Walker’s mission.
• Work with Walker staff across departments on communicating exhibition content and collaborating on implementation to assure projects are delivered within determined timelines and budgets.
• Collaborate with Design and Editorial Department to generate exhibition catalogues, including liaising with authors, managing the collection of images, and authoring essays and other content.
• Work collaboratively with Public Engagement, Learning, and Impact (PELI) department and Design/Editorial departments on developing in-gallery and online interpretive materials, meeting deadlines.
• Collaborate with Public Engagement, Learning, and Impact (PELI) department on generating exhibition-related public programs.
• Maintain independent contributions to field with regular travel to international art events, participation in conferences, symposia, studio visits, and juries.

Special Initiatives

• Working closely with Development and Executive Director, oversee the Visual Arts activity related to annual art auction, coordinating solicitations, strategizing on donations and sales, and tracking materials

• Lead publishing efforts within Visual Arts team: attend editorial content meetings; oversee and manage schedule for curatorial staff publishing efforts including online publications.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7 years of curatorial experience with a multidisciplinary emphasis and a thorough knowledge of museum practice, collection management policies, scholarly writing, and contemporary art history
• Must possess excellent interpersonal skills to effectively work with colleagues, artists, collectors, dealers, donors, and colleagues across departments, as well community partners.
• Excellent verbal communication and writing skills as well as the ability to make effective presentations to a wide variety of audiences including internal staff, board of trustees and general public audiences.
• The ability to manage and execute a variety of projects simultaneously is essential.
• Well organized, detail oriented, and excellent planning and implementation skills with the proven ability to handle a variety of administrative and artistic responsibilities. 
• Experience with multidisciplinary artistic programming is desirable.

POSITION SPECIFICS

• Full-time (35 hours), Salary Exempt, minimum compensation is $75,000 annually with some flexibility dependent on level of experience; flexibility to work some evenings and weekends required.
• Excellent benefits package, Walker membership and museum discount, and the opportunity to work alongside talented individuals and support remarkable artists, events and programming.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to do computer work up to 7 hours a day
• May occasionally need to lift 15-30 pounds

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The Walker is committed to being an inclusive workplace. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities and audiences we serve. We are dedicated to fair and inclusive employment practices for all individuals.

The Walker Art Center requires all employees to comply with our COVID vaccination policy, which requires staff to be fully vaccinated or test every 6 days. The Walker Art Center is an equal opportunity employer and will consider request for reasonable accommodations based on disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs possible without undue hardship