Curatorial Research Assistant

at  Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

ABOUT THE LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART

As the first museum to focus exclusively on storytelling through images, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art believes that visual storytelling can connect us and help shape a more just society. With a growing collection that encompasses artworks from across cultures, places, times, and mediums, including paintings, sculptures, murals, photography, comic art, book and magazine illustrations, and the arts of filmmaking, the Lucas Museum will explore narrative art’s potential to prompt questions, invite opinions, inspire community, and move people to think about the impact of images on our world.
Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson and led by director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, the Lucas Museum was designed by renowned architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec as executive architect and is under construction in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park. An 11-acre campus with extensive new green space designed by Studio-MLA will embrace the museum’s 300,000-square-foot building, which will feature expansive galleries, two state-of-the-art theaters, and dedicated spaces for learning and engagement, dining, retail, and events. www.lucasmuseum.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to the Curator and Manager of Collections Development, the Curatorial Research Assistant is a member of the Lucas Museum curatorial team tasked with providing in-depth research and organizational support for collections and exhibition development. This position plays a key role in object research and related historical analysis of museum collections, as well as specific project-based curatorial initiatives.
The Curatorial Research Assistant, under the direction of the Lucas Museum Curators, will work independently and collaboratively with Museum staff in the essential activities of a curatorial department. The Research Assistant supports the logistics, research, planning, and facilitation of activities and programming in their assigned area, in addition to various research and administrative aspects designed to support curatorial endeavors.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Education & Experience
• Master’s degree from an accredited institution in history, art history, media studies, cinema studies, or related field, preferred; Bachelor’s degree and equivalent experience will be considered
• Minimum of two (2) years of cumulative experience in a museum or other arts institution context required

Skills

• Exceptional research skills including archival and digital research methods and tools
• Proficiency in the use of computers and Microsoft Office software

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and sound judgment

Knowledge

• Broad knowledge of art history spanning the pre-modern era through nineteenth-century visual culture, 20th-century popular culture, and modern and contemporary art preferred
• Familiarity with best practices in collections research preferred
• Knowledge of The Museum System (TMS), including data entry in TMS to create constituent records, object records, and capture rights information · Reading knowledge of two or more languages preferred
• Knowledge of basic museum processes and procedures

• Deep passion, alignment, and commitment to the Lucas Museum’s mission

Abilities

• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Ability to understand and follow complex, detailed instructions
• Research ability sufficient to gather information about works of art or other materials
• Ability to follow professional museum standards, collection care principles, and museum policies
• Collaborative team player with proven ability to build relationships and work effectively and positively with Museum leadership and staff, a diverse set of external partners, and the general public
• Ability to engage with a wide variety of stakeholders, including Museum colleagues, industry experts, and other external partners
• Comfort with ambiguity, and an ability to envision the new and different, and a commitment to developing and working with diverse audiences
• Ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial, creative, collaborative, and nimble environment

• Exercises judgement and independent discretion while conducting online and in-person archival research with local, national, and international repositories to provide a recommendation to the Curatorial Department
• Uses expertise in art history or related field to perform object research on culture and style, place, object use and context, and materials to provide a recommendation to the Curatorial Department that will influence decision making for exhibitions and potential acquisitions
• Serves as a liaison between the Museum and archivists, advisors, scholars, curators, artists, and artists’ designated representatives regarding research on artists’ careers and practices, as well as specific works of art
• Drafts research-based texts on works in the collection as well as loans that may serve a variety of content purposes, such as object files, the Museum’s website, materials for the Learning & Engagement division, publications, and forms of gallery interpretation
• Builds and organizes research files to support recommendations for the Curatorial Department
• Contributes to team meetings, as well as multiple working sessions with project advisory committees and inter-departmental Museum working groups based on expertise
• Manages, tracks, and contributes to exhibition development, including exhibition and loan checklists; provides logistical and administrative support for exhibitions
• Contributes to and supports catalogue research and development
• Contributes to and supports Curatorial department planning and initiatives, as assigned
• Works with technical teams at the Museum to realize required Curatorial aspects of the museum’s inaugural planning
• May require some travel as necessary for specific exhibition, project, and collections research.
• Special projects and other duties as assigned