"Mellon Curatorial Fellow on Oceania"

Department Summary

The Fowler Museum at UCLA invites people to understand art and the world we live in from multiple perspectives by promoting the creativity and knowledge of global and local artists, past and present. Through art, research, and programs, we foster reflection, debate, community, and joy for our campus, Los Angeles and beyond. We envision a world where art connects communities across borders and generations, inspiring respect, equity, and social justice. The Fowler aspires to be a collaborative space for life-long learning, cultural exchange, and open dialogue that celebrates multiple ways of knowing and being.

Position Summary

The Fowler Museum at UCLA seeks a Mellon Curatorial Fellow to participate in a research project devoted to the Museum's Oceanic art collections. The project, supported by a major grant from the Mellon Foundation, will focus on Oceanic objects from the Sir Henry Wellcome Collection that were donated to the Fowler between 1965-67. The Curatorial Fellow will work alongside key Fowler staff: the Director, Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs, Director of Collections Management and Registration, Head Conservator and Collections Information Coordinator. The project (New Relational Ethics in the Museum: University Museums and Indigenous Arts from Formerly Colonized Regions) has the goal of documenting and understanding the full complexity of a group of Oceanic objects formerly in the Wellcome Collection from the perspectives of their roles, meanings, materiality, and provenance. Essential to this process is the work of robust and complete cataloguing of each object, including past attributions, cultural affiliations, collection history, and materials analysis. Over the course of thirty-three months the Mellon Fellow will be responsible for carrying out in depth research on a selected group of Oceanic objects from the Wellcome Collection. These objects will be selected in consultation with other team members with a goal of providing the Fellow an opportunity to deepen an existing area of expertise or establish a new one. As part of this effort, the Fellow will coordinate and compile relevant sources on the objects' history – both as collected and as part of a larger cultural tradition, essentially creating a biography for each. This detail-oriented research will be augmented by research travel and community consultations. At the end of the project, we expect that the Fellow will have a deep background in understanding the role objects play in museum collections, the role they once played in the cultures that created them, and the role they continue to play in the ongoing conversations about cultural patrimony and source communities. The Mellon Curatorial Fellow reports to the Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs.

Salary & Compensation

*UCLA provides a full pay range. Actual salary offers consider factors, including budget, prior experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business considerations. Salary offers at the top of the range are not common. Visit UC Benefit package to discover benefits that start on day one, and UC Total Compensation Estimator to calculate the total compensation value with benefits.

Qualifications

• At least one year of curatorial experience or equivalent record of academic accomplishment. (Required)
• Substantial knowledge of Oceanic Arts, especially historical arts in museum collections (Required)
• Ability to work with registrarial, conservation, and curatorial staff at a museum (Required)
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with other staff, interns, and the Museum's stakeholder constituencies (Required)
• Ability to work productively with international colleagues (Required)
• Experience researching physical libraries, archives and online sources of research information and documentation of same (Preferred)
• Knowledge of museum standards for collections security and management (Required)
• Experience with collections management software (Preferred)
• Familiarity with contemporary conservation techniques and practices (Preferred)
• Excellent administrative, analytical, research, and communication skills (Preferred)
• Ability to work independently with general supervision (Required)

Education, Licenses, Certifications & Personal Affiliations

• PhD In the humanities, preferably art history, with a specialization in Oceanic studies (Preferred)

Special Conditions for Employment

• Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.
• Live Scan Background Check: A Live Scan background check must be completed prior to the start of employment.
• CANRA: The position is designated as a mandatory reporter under CANRA. The employee must sign the "Statement Acknowledging Requirement to Report Child Abuse".

Schedule

8:00am to 5:00pm

Union/Policy Covered

RX-Research Support Professionals