Historic Richmond Town seeks a curator to be responsible for illustrating the holistic cultural representation of our vibrant community through material culture storytelling. This will be achieved by envisioning and producing meaningful exhibitions and initiatives, and curating the collection to enrich our understanding of history within a broader societal context. The Curator is an information broker who will lead the expansion and formalization of the outward-facing public access points for exhibitions, collections, and curatorial programs in order to create a space of shared power. This will all be done in alignment with Historic Richmond Town’s mission. Reporting to the Curator is a support team that includes the Collections Manager and Collections Care Officer.

This position is a member of the executive team and reports directly to the CEO.

Historic Richmond Town includes New York City’s living history village, a historical museum, an arboretum, a working family farm, and two other historic sites - including one of the oldest houses in New York State. Over 100,000 people visit annually to enjoy tours, education programs, museum exhibits, and special events. Historic Richmond Town is proud to be an equal opportunity employment workplace dedicated to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work and learning environment and look for future team members who share that same value.

OUR PEOPLE

At Historic Richmond Town, we co-create cultural leaders who work to improve our community. Our people are united by a shared belief in the power and necessity of public history, and work together to effectively create meaningful experiences for our visitors.

Primary responsibilities and values:

• Vision. Develop and execute a year-round calendar of new, unique, high-quality exhibitions, with accompanying programs, from idea through evaluation. Creatively envision goals and work toward them over time with different partners and collaborators. 

• Values. Promote public history as a key democratic element of community, education, and historic preservation. Believe in the ability of history to improve lives. Have a strong drive to work towards a more just and equitable society. Possess an interest in providing a platform for life-long learning. Strive for excellence and detailed orientation in all initiatives. A respect and interest for the history of Staten Island, while seeking to bring new and fresh ideas, is a must. 

• Leadership. Be an advocate and strong “voice” for curatorial through public access, community engagement, and related initiatives. Evaluate and be accountable for intradepartmental initiatives and strategic planning with regards to their impact on curatorial accessibility. Be able to articulate and advocate organizational values in a patient yet firm and inspiring way. Possess strong decision-making capabilities and communication skills with a flexible nature to accommodate many ideas and working styles. Be a dynamic leader of the curatorial spaces, including the digital landscape and physical spaces of galleries, period areas, archives, research library, and collection storage.

• Exhibitions & Programs. Envision and produce meaningful exhibitions and curatorial programming. Keep up-to-date with best practices and seek to strengthen HRT's position as a thought leader for material culture-based public history. Co-create and present programs such as lectures, talks, and training sessions as they relate to curatorial, as well as providing content for collateral such as website and publicity materials.

• Collections. Plan and conduct intentional collecting with ever expanding perspectives and approaches. Maintain a healthy network of collectors and patrons with knowledge of the market for mission-relevant material culture. Ensure high quality day-to-day care and stewardship of the collections, which includes 80,000 artifacts, photographs, and archival records.

• Research. As a generalist, be rooted in the meaningful sum of knowledge, experience, and skill. Expand individual expertise and grow community trust as a broker and conduit of material culture for conversations.

• Outreach, Advocacy & Collaboration. Build support for the organization in the various communities around it and throughout New York City. Possess an interest in and ability to understand the various dynamics at play and develop personal relationships through spending time and being an effective listener and community partner–including through public speaking. Be a team player, and seek to actively work interdepartmentally. Contribute to relevant strategic planning and management matters. It is critical to build strong diverse networks, and quantitatively gather information and feedback from constituents.

• General Administration. Excel in staff management and interpersonal interaction. Be a keen listener with a strong ability to guide others at differing levels of experience, and the ability to teach and be taught by other staff. Work closely with the CEO and Business Office to draft the annual department budget and program/exhibit budgets; use Business Office reports to monitor expenses and income throughout the year, and ensure adherence to budget.

• Work Environment. Most work is conducted indoors in a standard office setting. Work is also regularly done in cooler or hotter environments such as historic buildings with minimal climate control. These spaces may involve exposure to dust and other allergens.

REQUIREMENTS

Ideal candidates will enjoy working with a team of collaborative people and thrive at establishing cohesive systems. Candidates will have at least five (5) years experience with material culture and at least two (2) years working with curation of material culture. Experience with PastPerfect is a plus but not required.  This position requires traveling between the four sites located on Staten Island, and around the 35-acre main campus. The curator will need full dexterity to handle historic objects and be able to sit or stand at a desk for long periods of time within the regular work day. Hybrid model available. 

POSITION DETAILS

Full Time: $65,000 - $75,000, commensurate with experience (FLSA status exempt above estimated annual compensation threshold of $62,400 for New York City in 2024)

Work required over Labor Day weekend for the annual Richmond County Fair.

BENEFITS

A comprehensive medical, vision and dental benefit packages available. Ability to participate in New York City’s Cultural Institutions Retirement System (401k, pension, life insurance). This position comes with free parking and large shared office space situated among 100 acres of bucolic rural space within the New York City metropolis. 

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to jphillips[at]historicrichmondtown.org. Please feel free to leave your name and address off your application but be sure to include a contact number and email. No phone calls, drop-offs, or faxed applications will be considered. Those whose candidacy is being considered will be contacted.

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

https://www.historicrichmondtown.org/curator-position