Current Opportunities

The curator at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) oversees the Museum’s curatorial affairs and educational outreach vis-à-vis the campus community and the general public. This work is to be guided by Bowdoin College’s commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the Museum’s mission to promote intellectual and civic engagement through sustained attention to and contextual analyses of wide-ranging works of art.

The successful candidate will have: 1) a vision of museums as spaces that reflect and speak to a broad range of histories, interests, and questions and that afford audiences the contexts and perspectives that will enlarge their understanding of our world; (2) a commitment to ensuring broad access for and robust engagement with the increasingly diverse students, faculty, and staff of a renowned liberal arts college and its various publics; (3) a desire to activate—with assistance from staff and outside experts—the entire collection for the purposes of sparking connections across the curriculum and conversations beyond Bowdoin; (4) a track record of distinguished publications and exhibitions. 

Responsibilities include:

Exhibitions, Collections Growth, and Public Programming:
Curates exhibitions and publications that illuminate underrepresented topics and artists and interrogate histories of representation and exclusion.
Researches and purchases works of art with the explicit aims of diversifying the collection and expanding historical knowledge and cultural literacy.
Promotes and contributes to the ethical acquisition (and potential deacquistion) of works of art in tandem with the Museum’s anti-racism plan. 
Contributes to programming at the Museum:  inviting experts to campus and making presentations about exhibitions and artworks
Supports the ethical stewardship of works of art.
Works with staff to ensure an inclusive and welcoming Museum environment for the campus community and general public.

Education, Learning, and Scholarship:
Builds relationships with faculty members so as to encourage and assist with curricular projects at the Museum of Art (with assistance from the Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow).
Promotes access to the collection for faculty and outside scholars for the purpose of object-based research and scholarship.
Collaborates with colleagues across campus, including at the Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum and in Special Collections, to promote object-based teaching and learning. 
Works with staff to ensure an inclusive and welcoming teaching and learning environment for faculty and students. 

Supervisory Responsibilities and Staff Relationships:
Supervises and mentors the Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow, the curatorial assistant, and the manager of student affairs.
Consults with the Museum’s registrar and preparators to ensure the responsible movement and installation of works of art.
Works with staff to ensure an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming working environment for all members of the Museum staff.

The curator leads a curatorial team of staff and students and reports to the Museum’s co-directors. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position with a start date of July 1, 2022.

Generally first shift, M – F, 8:30 – 5:00. This position requires attendance at a variety of programs and art museums’ related activities, some of which occur in the evenings and/or during weekends. This position will also necessitate occasional travel.

• Advanced degree in art history or related field stressing visual culture and/or cultural heritage.
• Minimum of four years of curatorial or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusivity in Museum collections, exhibitions, and spaces.
• Track record of scholarly activities, e.g., publications and exhibitions.
• Broad knowledge of the history of art and ability to function both as a specialist and a generalist.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively on multiple projects within a deadline-driven environment.
• Strong English-language writing and public speaking skills, to be demonstrated through publications and oral presentations.
• Familiarity with digital technology for purposes of documenting and working with collections, presenting them publicly, and promoting new modes of scholarship.
• Experience organizing loan exhibitions.
• Experience supervising curatorial staff.