Title: Curator
Position Type: Part-time/Contractor
Pay Range: $40-$45/hour
Closing date: Open until the position is filled
Location: Seattle, WA
About the Northwest African American Museum:
The Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) is one of the most significant voices for the Black experience in the Pacific Northwest. It is a premier cultural institution in Seattle, WA, sitting at the heart of the African American experience. NAAM’s mission is to spread knowledge, understanding, and enjoyment of the histories, arts, and cultures of people of African descent for the enrichment of all.
NAAM produces exhibitions, public programs, educational experiences, and events that center on the Black experience by featuring visual arts, music, literature, and the history of African Americans in the Northwest and the nation. NAAM is more than a museum. NAAM serves as a source of community, connection, understanding, and empowerment. NAAM’s guiding pillars are advancing equity & justice, cultivating educational empowerment, and centering & celebrating Black history, arts, and culture.
The Opportunity:
NAAM seeks to recruit an ambitious and poised Curator contractor to produce and manage the exhibits for the museum. The Curator is a highly visible contract position that will work alongside the President & CEO to take the museum’s exhibitions to the next level of vitality by promoting NAAM’s commitment to being community-centered, vibrant, and engaging. The Curator will create imaginative interpretation of the exhibition content in meaningful ways. This contract position provides artistic oversight and leadership for all aspects of NAAM’s exhibits, exhibition redesign, and collections, including the safety, development, acquisitions, and display of all art and artifacts.
An ideal contractor is experienced, collaborative, dynamic, artistic, and has the creative ability to contribute to the continued growth of NAAM, allowing the museum to continue its positive impact on the visitors, audiences, and community.
Primary Responsibilities:
NAAM is a collaborative work environment where all affiliates participate in planning and carrying out the organization’s mission and goals. Ideal qualifications include a passion for NAAM’s mission with a strong understanding of and respect for the organization’s culture. In addition, this position is specifically responsible for the following:
• Organize and curate the museum’s exhibitions and displays
• Oversee and manage the maintenance of the museum artifacts, galleries, exhibitions, displays, and collections area
• Lead the renovations of exhibition content, fabrication, and installation
• Supervise and ensure maintenance, preservation, conservation, and documentation of NAAM’s exhibits
• Steward relationships and cultivate partnerships with artists, donors, lenders, cultural institutions, and the community locally and nationally
• Catalog the acquisitions and maintain records of artifacts
• Develop and synthesize the content of museum exhibitions to provide audience/visitors an experiential interpretation of the exhibition and artifacts
• Develop and maintain NAAM’s registration, cataloging, and basic recordkeeping systems, using computer database
• Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs relating to exhibitions and collections and to ensure that issues are addressed
• Ensure that NAAM maintains compliance with national museum standards and best practices
Ideal Qualifications:
• Graduate degree preferred – Preferably in museum studies, history, arts, or relevant field
• Minimum of three years of experience, preferably at a museum, library, or archives
• A deep knowledge, passion, and appreciation for African American history, art, and culture
• Demonstrated experience in successfully curating exhibitions in a museum or similar institution
• Demonstrated leadership experience working in a non-profit or museum setting
• Strong attention to detail and precision
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated commitment to excellence in museum operations
• Ability and desire to work with a diverse range of people
• Demonstrated ability to work in a cooperative, collaborative environment
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends
• Sense of grace under pressure is highly desired
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to HR@naamnw.org.
