SAAM seeks Curatorial Division Coordinator
Seeking a dynamic and versatile colleague who will provide clerical and administrative support to the curatorial division at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM). The ideal candidate will have a passionate interest in art and/or museum studies, and has excellent communication and organizational skills. The curatorial division coordinator acts as liaison with other departments and fields general inquiries from the public. The department includes three curators at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, each overseeing different collection areas and the curatorial division assistant will be a core member of our team. This position works closely with the Curatorial Division Coordinator at SAM downtown, the Exhibitions and Publications department staff, and Education and Public Engagement staff at SAAM.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Assist Curatorial Division and Asian Art Curators in organizing and maintaining division files and exhibition invitation lists, responding to Asian art gift offers, preparing program and exhibition documents.
- Arrange appointments, maintain the department and SAAM program calendars. Make travel arrangements for curators, visiting parties, special events and meetings related to the Asian Art Department.
- Work closely with the Manager of Public Engagement at SAAM for Gardner Center programs, including making travel arrangements for guest speakers, entering requests in event database, scheduling contracts, submitting payment requests, maintaining email contact list, collecting RSVPS, and responding to general inquiries. Attend in-person and virtual events.
- Coordinate with Museum Services and Conservation for checklists for SAAM gallery rotations. Format labels, and manage label schedule and timeline for all installations and exhibitions at SAAM. Reviews all labels with the perspective of equity and access, provides feedback to curators, and routes label copy for approval.
- Lead equity review on SAAM special exhibition texts with cross-divisional partners.
- Monitor department operating and exhibition budgets: pay invoices in a timely manner; assist with budget reviews and complete budget reports; manage use of departmental credit cards and allocate monthly expenses: follow up on discrepancies; submit employee reimbursement and disbursement requests to Finance.
- Coordinate meetings and special events: arrange times and locations; notify participants; prepare agendas; take and distribute minutes if necessary.
- Assist with creation and design of PowerPoint presentations for curators as necessary; perform due diligence in crediting photography when presentations are posted online under fair use guidelines.
- Provide administrative and clerical support to the Division: sort and distribute mail; respond to general enquires from the public via phone, mail, and e-mail. Order and maintain supplies for division; follow and develop guidelines and procedures.
- Act as museum liaison with community partners, in particular, the Ikebana International, coordinating with Ikebana Chairperson to create name cards every month for both SAAM and SAM locations. Coordinate with onsite contact at SAM to facilitate Ikebana installations.
- Provide support to manage interns and volunteers at SAAM, and to support the Curatorial Coordinator at SAM, and the Exhibitions and Publications department as needed.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
