Curator of Exhibitions and Student Engagement

About the role

The Curator of Exhibitions and Student Engagement plays a crucial role in managing and developing photographic collections, facilitating research and exhibitions, and developing academic programs at UCR ARTS. This position is part of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS) at UCR.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop photographic collections, ensuring their preservation and accessibility.
• Facilitate student- and faculty-driven research and exhibitions, promoting interdisciplinary learning and innovation.
• Develop academic programs, including lectures, symposia, and interpretive initiatives, enhancing the educational and research mission of UCR ARTS.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MA, MFA, or PhD) in art history, history of photography, visual studies, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional curatorial experience, including at least six (6) years in a leadership, supervisory, or project-management capacity.
• Demonstrated experience working with photographic collections of historical significance, including collections-based research, interpretation, and scholarly use.
• Proven ability to develop, manage, and interpret exhibitions drawn from historical photographic collections.
• Experience supporting academic research, teaching, and curriculum-connected programs through direct engagement with original works of art.
• Experience in scholarly or curatorial focus on nineteenth- and twentieth-century photography and/or photographic modernism and its legacies.
• Experience working with rare or primary-source photographic materials, including early processes and archival collections.
• Experience working in an academic museum or university-based collection with a strong teaching and research mission.
• Experience contributing to grant-funded projects or external partnerships.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the ability to engage critically with the histories of representation, power, and exclusion embedded in photographic collections, and to advance inclusive, ethical, and accessible approaches to collections care, exhibitions, research access, and programming.

Qualifications

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent research, writing, and oral communication skills appropriate to scholarly, academic, and public audiences.
• Adherence to deadlines and strong follow-through.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products (on both Mac and PC).
• Extensive knowledge of the history of photography from the nineteenth century to the present, including historic photographic processes, techniques, and materials.
• Thorough knowledge of museum standards, collections management practices, and professional and ethical guidelines.