Curatorial Associate

In 2023, the Museum reopened following a four-year renovation that expanded the building and grounds. Designed by the renowned architecture firm Studio Gang, the facility includes landscaped grounds by the firm SCAPE and secures AMFA’s position as one of the top cultural institutions in the region. The building includes state-of-the-art galleries, an Art School, restaurant, Museum Store, theater, lecture hall, and other programming and event spaces.

AMFA is an active partner in the educational, economic, and cultural life of a diverse community, inviting discovery, creativity and learning through engagement with the visual and performing arts.

Also in 2023, AMFA entered the Art Bridges Mid-South Cohort, a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee; Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; Fisk University Galleries, Tennessee; and the Mississippi Museum of Art which will culminate in two exhibitions and related programming.

The Curatorial Associate will support our Curators and Registrar with exhibitions and programs associated with the ArtBridges Mid-South Cohort, along with other projects. These duties include various administrative, curatorial, and registrarial tasks related to all aspects of the organization and implementation for the upcoming exhibition, A Month of Sundays, and other temporary exhibitions as needed.

Reporting to the Curator and the Director of Collections and Exhibitions, the Curatorial Associate will work closely with the Curatorial and Exhibitions team.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Support the Curator and Registrar in all aspects of exhibition planning.
• Assist with the preparation and maintenance of accurate checklists, reports, image files, and other exhibition details.
• Conduct scholarly research on artists and artworks, including but not limited to biographies, chronologies, exhibition histories, and documentation of individual works.
• Help curators create, coordinate, and edit exhibition descriptions and didactic materials such as wall texts, labels, and other exhibition-related content.
• With the support of registrars, coordinate and oversee shipments of artwork, prepare and maintain related paperwork, including but not limited to incoming and outgoing receipts, loan letters and agreements, shipping documents, condition reports, and photographs.
• Manage loans and loan correspondence, data entry, image scanning, and maintenance of digital image assets.
• Obtain necessary copyright rights and reproductions permissions.
• Work with our database, The Museum Systems (TMS) Collections.
• Serve as liaison to partner museums within the Art Bridges Mid-South Cohort.
• Other related duties, as needed.

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor of Arts degree in Museum Studies, Art History, Public History, or a related field (Master’s preferred); or two years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 1-2 years of curatorial experience in museum or gallery setting, preferably focused on contemporary art.
• Art handling experience preferred.
• Excellent organization, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong research and writing skills with a focus on art history.
• A creative problem solver with a passion for arts and cultural institutions.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office including Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat.