Organizer Information
Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is a major art institution in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with roots dating to the city’s first art gallery in 1888. Its collection contains more than 34,000 artworks spanning antiquity to the present, including American and European art, modern and contemporary design, prints and drawings, photography and new media, folk and self-taught art, and 20th-century Haitian art. The Museum occupies a 24-acre lakeside campus in downtown Milwaukee and is housed in buildings designed by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler. Its mission is to connect people with art, one another, and the wider world.
The Museum’s Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts brings together its photography and media arts collections. The photography collection includes more than 5,000 works, while the media arts holdings include kinetic and light works, new media installations, and video. The Museum has maintained a significant commitment to photography and media arts for decades.
Title & Description
Assistant Curator of Photography and Media Arts
The Milwaukee Art Museum is seeking a full-time Assistant Curator to work under the direction of the Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts. The position involves a broad range of curatorial activities, including exhibitions, collection research and care, acquisitions, public programming, administration, and relationships with artists, collectors, donors, and other professional communities.
The role is particularly suited to an art historian or museum professional with expertise or a strong interest in photography and media arts.
Role Overview
- Position: Assistant Curator of Photography and Media Arts
- Employment: Full-time
- Contract Type: Salary, exempt, union
- Supervisor: Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts
- Minimum Salary: $54,272; increasing to $55,764 on September 6, 2026
- Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Travel: Required as part of the position
- Education: Master’s or PhD in Art History required
- Experience: Two to three years of curatorial and/or collections experience required
- Specialization: Photography specialty preferred
Position & Tasks
The Assistant Curator will support the Photography and Media Arts department across collection management, exhibitions, research, and public engagement. Responsibilities include cataloging and researching collection objects, consulting on conservation and storage, assisting study-room visits, facilitating object photography, and helping expand the Museum’s online collection resources.
The position also involves conceiving and executing collection installations and exhibitions, serving as a site curator for touring exhibitions when required, and assisting with research, planning, loans, organization, and realization of exhibitions.
Additional duties include supporting acquisitions, preparing acquisition proposals and presentations, coordinating interns, preparing departmental correspondence and presentations, and assisting with the administration of the Photography Council. The Assistant Curator will also contribute to research, writing, teaching, lectures, gallery talks, and other public programs.
The role requires maintaining relationships with artists, collectors, dealers, donors, community members, and museum professionals, while representing the Museum and its Photography and Media Arts program internally and externally.
Categories
- Photography
- Media Arts
- Visual Art
- New Media
- Video
- Museum Studies
- Art History
- Curatorial Practice
Eligibility
Applicants must hold a Master’s or PhD in Art History and have two to three years of curatorial and/or collections experience. A specialization in photography is preferred.
Candidates should demonstrate strong written, verbal, interpersonal, organizational, planning, and project-management skills, together with the ability to work independently and collaboratively. Applicants must also be able to handle original works of art with appropriate care.
The Museum states that it is an equal opportunity employer and recruits and employs individuals regardless of protected characteristics under applicable law.
Program Benefits
This is a paid professional museum position rather than a grant, residency, or exhibition open call. The successful candidate receives a salaried, full-time union position and the opportunity to work directly with a major museum collection and its Photography and Media Arts program.
The position provides professional experience in exhibitions, acquisitions, collection research, conservation coordination, public programming, institutional administration, and relationships with artists and collectors.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: Ongoing
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Additional Details
The position includes physical requirements such as remaining stationary for periods of up to six hours, moving throughout museum and office spaces, operating computers and office equipment, communicating with internal and external constituents, and handling original artworks carefully.
The role may involve professional travel and requires the successful candidate to represent the Photography and Media Arts program beyond the Museum.