Senior Curator

The Kitchen

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Reporting directly to the Executive Director & Chief Curator at The Kitchen, this position will provide critical support to the Curatorial Department and liaise across departments in support of expanding and amplifying The Kitchen’s program in this pivotal moment of the institution’s growth and change. As The Kitchen prepares for a significant renovation of its 19th Street building on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Senior Curator, in collaboration with the Curatorial Team, will help steward the department’s strategic vision and participate in all aspects of exhibition, program, project, and performance development, planning, and execution. A strong academic and professional background in work by contemporary artists is preferred.

The Senior Curator is responsible for developing and delivering a cross-disciplinary program: Exhibitions, Fellowships/Internships, Publications, Public Programs and Off-site projects. This senior role will offer significant engagement with the New York City art sector.

The position requires a candidate equipped to think broadly and innovatively about The Kitchen’s artist-centered mission. Must be comfortable working in a collaborative, experimental, and culturally diverse setting and possess the openness, flexibility, and diplomacy required for meaningful collaboration with contemporary artists. Innovative and outstanding communication, writing, and research abilities are celebrated.

Responsibilities

Line manages the Curatorial Team, supporting junior team members in active mentorship and development

  • Oversee publications, public programs, exhibitions, and other activities through line management of the Curators.

  • Steward the Curatorial Team in developing a “Style Guide” playbook to determine best practices regarding performances, exhibitions, and projects

  • Steward the Curatorial Team in creating project and program for the organization’s website

Programming:

  • Work with the Leadership and Curatorial teams to develop and deliver a cross-disciplinary program: Exhibitions, Fellowships/Internships, Publications, Public Programs and Off-site projects

  • Research, curate, organize, produce, and deliver exhibitions, publications, fellowships, public programs and other programs, as required

  • Regularly attend openings, programs, and events as an ambassador

  • Lead research on potential program initiatives to share back with the ED & Chief Curator

  • Propose, commission and curate research-driven projects alongside different types of collaborators: from ideation to processes of production including delivery, reconciliation and evaluation of programs and projects - within the “Without Walls” period and toward relaunching programs in renovated building

  • Supplement existing programs through the conceptualization and development of new projects, formats, and events, collaborating with the ED & Chief Curator toward growing the programmatic matrix and projected budget for the renovated building with the goal of ~17-25 programs & projects/year at initial launch

  • Manage, monitor, and update the annual program and exhibition schedule as it relates to the organization’s strategic plan and across the Curatorial team, anticipating, mitigating, and communicating changes

  • Collaborate in aligning Curatorial strategy with DEAI Cultural Transformation Plan to reach goals with regard to inclusion, access, diversity and commitment to the community through internal and external communication

  • Oversee planning and delivery of schedules for all programs, projects, exhibitions across the institution; ensure programs are produced on time, with clear planning schedules

  • Ensure good management and record-keeping of each project and internal circulation of planning schedules and tasks

  • Create and maintain systems for tracking overall exhibition goals, program-specific goals, and ongoing program requirements

  • Generate catalog texts, exhibition texts and articles for print and online, as needed

  • Contracts, budgets, ticketing, documentation, shipping, loan forms, condition reports, installation and deinstallation

Fundraising & Budgeting:

  • Collaborate with Development to conduct research for new funding sources and help write requests for support from foundation, government, individual and corporate sources

  • Draft appropriate budgets to support fundraising initiatives

  • Approve program-specific budgets that support fundraising initiatives

  • Collaborate with the development team for grant and sponsorship proposals

  • Cultivate relationships with institutional sponsors and contribute to press releases on exhibitions

  • Generate reports, reconciliations and further documents as required

  • With ED & Chief Curator, establish adequate budgetary planning for individual projects and shape comprehensive record-keeping systems for overall annual budgets and individual project budgets

  • Ensure any budget changes across all projects are identified and communicated to ED & Chief Curator.

  • Oversee reconciliation of all budgets at the completion of each project in collaboration with Leadership.

  • With Leadership create and deploy appropriate contracts for all elements of The Kitchen’s programmatic activity

  • Audit contracts to shape language that is accessible for artists; manage timely production, delivery and signature of contracts in order to ensure the reputational and legal stability of The Kitchen, prioritizing artist-centered mission.

Requirements

Required Skills/Abilities:

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

  • Excellent research, writing, and organizational skills.

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, Photoshop or related software.

  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

  • Ability to work independently.

  • Knowledge and interest in rising and diverse artists.

  • Ability to work evenings and weekends for scheduled exhibition openings and events.

Education and Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree in Arts, Art History or related field preferred.

  • Three to five years of experience in a curator role in a nonprofit arts organization.

The Kitchen’s avant-garde history engages an experimental institutional model that forms our ways of collaborating with artists via an ambitious and dynamic creative program. As part of our current commitment to DEAI we recognize that an experimental artistic program requires an experimental and innovative team of contributors. Our staff is critical to the imagination of our mission. With this in mind, we appreciate that experiences across candidates may necessarily be diverse; we encourage you to apply based on your interest first and share with us in your cover letter what brings your passions to this position. We are glad to be made aware of your candidacy as we continue to grow our community.

Starting salary is $75,000-$80,000. This is a full-time position at 40 hours/week and includes medical, vision, and dental insurance and paid time off. The position is exempt according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Salary commensurate with experience, skills, and knowledge.

The Kitchen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate because of age, sex, religion, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, partnership status, veteran status, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or any other factor prohibited by law.

COVID Guidelines

The health and safety of our community are of utmost priority. As such, all staff members are required to be fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized and/or approved COVID-19vaccine, including booster, as a condition of employment.

How to Apply

We will confirm receipt of all applications, but please note that only those candidates selected for interviews will be personally contacted. No phone calls, please. Please email your resume and cover letter to jobs@thekitchen.org with “Sr Curator” in the subject line.

Contact
Posted on September 8