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Associate Curator for Drawings, Prints & Graphic Design, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

OVERVIEW:
An opportunity to serve as the Associate Curator for Drawings, Prints & Graphic Design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Must have the ability to read Italian and/or French in order to perform research, writing and collection research/ cataloguing and exhibitions. Expertise in works on paper from a twentieth and twenty-first century design, including digital design.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES
: •Develops an acquisition priority plan for building the collection, with an emphasis on modern and contemporary work, strategically filling in historic gaps and spearheading the museum’s burgeoning collection of digital media, a recent priority. •Performs research related to the subject/collection areas where assigned, concentrating especially on twentieth and twenty-first century design, including digital design. •Initiates, plans and prepares temporary and permanent exhibitions. •Responds or supervises response to public inquiries related to the collection and other pertinent topics. •Responsible for fundraising for acquisitions and exhibitions and to work with the Development Department to develop fundraising support for programs. •Serves as a first line supervisor for the organization, which includes but is not limited to: assigning work, setting priorities, and reviewing and evaluating work and performance of subordinates; approving leave; coaching and developing employees; recommending corrective or disciplinary actions; assisting in budget planning and projecting short-term needs; managing projects within assigned resources; resolving routine problems that typically impact the objectives of the organizational unit; and when required, coordinates with customers outside the immediate organization.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

*Experience reading Italian and/or French in order to perform duties associated with collection research and cataloguing (screen out).

*Knowledge of art history and the history of American and European design and decorative arts, its principles, traditions, historical contexts, and research methods dating from the 1400 to the present.

*Knowledge of digital media and digital end-products to capture the design process in communications and architecture.

*Knowledge of a collection devoted to works on paper (with an emphasis on modern and contemporary design, including digital drawings) to perform collections management, scholarly research, exhibition planning/production, publishing, public service, and administration.

*Ability to fundraise for acquisitions and exhibitions and to work with the Development Department to develop fundraising support for programs and activities assisting with fundraising as appropriate.

*Ability to supervise, lead, develop staff, collaborate and work effectively with all levels of museum and curatorial staff and visitors.
*Ability to write scholarly papers and articles for journals,
Exhibition catalogs, museum publications, labels and web posts.
*Education Requirements: Bachelors Degree or higher in museum studies/art or design history with a specialization in American and European design and decorative arts dating from the 1400 to the present (or equivalent)
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