Assistant Curator

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities:  

Exhibition Development: The Assistant Curator develops and implements both assigned and proposed museum exhibitions, developed in alignment with the museum’s strategic goals, ensuring the museum meets MSU’s standards of academic excellence in the planning, research, writing, and the development of exhibition programs and interpretation. The role ensures budget compliance and contracts meet MSU standards, in partnership with other museum team members. A meaningful element of the position is to assist in the development of major exhibitions under the purview of the Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs. 

Contribute to Collection Growth and Stewardship: The position contributes to the development and periodic review of the collection roadmap, supporting the museum’s collections strategy and ensuring it aligns with the museum’s long-term collections vision. This includes research on specific objects, proposing potential additions to the collection, ongoing contributions and updates to object files in accordance with best practices and field-wide standards. 

Grant Development: Participate in the curatorial team’s grant writing in support of exhibitions, programs, commissions, acquisitions, and publications, including contribution of ideas, gathering documentation and supplemental materials, and writing and managing individual grants. 

Support Fundraising and Donor Relations: In partnership with the Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, the Museum Director, and university advancement team, the position helps to build relationships with artists, collectors, foundations, and donors.   

Cultivate Campus and Community Partnerships: The position regularly represents the museum and the curatorial vision of the institution with partners on and off campus. This includes deepening the museum’s ties to MSU students, faculty, and staff, and nurturing relationships with local and regional institutions and communities. The Assistant Curator supports these efforts through relationship-building, educational engagements, and developing curatorial proposals with partners.  

Serve as Museum Ambassador Locally and Nationally: The position serves as an institutional ambassador, representing the museum to professional networks, peer institutions, academic collaborators, and the public. This position advances the museum’s national and international profile through participation in professional conferences, scholarly publications, and other curatorial and academic opportunities.  

Committee Coordination: As assigned and working closely with the Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, Assistant Curators coordinate the activities of the Collections Committee. This includes the scheduling of committee meetings, compilation of documents, setting agendas, taking minutes, maintaining committee membership records, and contributing to the priorities and vision for each. 

The Assistant Curator plays a vital role in exhibition development, as both lead curator or in support of other projects. For most exhibition projects, an advisory committee is formed to support the work of the museum, and the coordination of this advisory committee is likewise either led or supported by the Assistant Curator. 

Teaching: This position may play a teaching role in museum and other campus programs (e.g., participating in classes, presentations, and lectures, or providing experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate/graduate students who are working on museum projects.