Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Curatorial

Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Curatorial (Regular, Full-Time)

Art of the Ancient Americans 

Reporting to the Associate Curator & Department Manager, Curatorial Fellowship in the museum’s Art of the Ancient Americas department will receive curatorial training and support scholarly research in connection with the permanent collection and related projects at LACMA. The Fellowship supports the highest level of professional development, with opportunities to be fully integrated into all aspects of curatorial work, gain experience in research, critical thinking, cataloguing, exhibition organization, community engagement, education and publications, conservation, public speaking, and provenance research. The goal of this Fellowship is to provide opportunities for talented emerging scholars to learn how to translate their knowledge of Indigenous American cultures within the context of a museum and its public-facing outlets (collections, galleries, public programs, publications, websites) and by participating in the department’s ongoing projects.

The Ancient Americas department has over the last ten years developed and implemented a more ethical, contemporary approach to holding, storing, and working with pre-Columbian collections. We seek a Fellow whose experience will complement and further our goals for facilitating respectful and creative relationships between people, places, histories, and objects. Our program aims to connect the objects in our collection with the peoples and descendant communities who created and are connected to them.

This fellowship has a projected end date of September 30, 2028

Responsibilities: 

• Contribute to developing permanent collection installations, rotations, and didactic material for the Geffen Galleries, entailing collaborative work with multiple departments across the museum

• Contribute to developing relationships with local communities and indigenous groups in the Americas, including but not limited to Land Acknowledgement initiatives, public programs, rethinking interpretive materials, and collaborating with other institutions

• Research Ancient Americas collection and actively review and update object records in LACMA’s database and Collections Online 

• Participate in other ongoing departmental activities, including discussion of loans, acquisitions, conservation, development, public programs, and online content

• Assist with the planning and drafting of interpretive materials for exhibitions during the fellowship period.

• Participating in LACMA’s Curatorial Forum, Junior Curatorial Forum (which hosts reading groups and colloquia), and other division-wide discussions 

• Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time

Benefits:

• The expected hourly rate for this Los Angeles, CA based position is $25.00 subject to change, and the position is eligible for LACMA’s comprehensive benefits package..

• LACMA is committed to providing its employees with valuable and competitive benefits as a core part of a strong overall employee experience.  

Qualifications: 

• Experience in the arts of the Indigenous Americas, such as a master’s or doctoral degree in Indigenous studies, anthropology, art history, archaeology or a related discipline, or commensurate experience

• Proficiency in Spanish or an Indigenous language is preferred

• Excellent writing, organizational, and communication skills

• A strong interest in the critical interpretation, care, and display of works of art for a general public audience, and collaboration with Indigenous groups