Associate Conservator, Mellon Initiative (3 year position)
University of Kansas Libraries and Spencer Museum of Art
Lawrence, Kansas, USA
The associate conservator will be a joint appointment between the University of Kansas Libraries and the Spencer Museum of Art, and will contribute expertise that complements that of both institutions’ current staff. This three-year appointment is funded by a $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The conservator will help manage and undertake a range of mission-critical operations of a new, state-of-the-art conservation laboratory including: evaluating damaged collections; making treatment decisions and performing conservation treatments on museum and library special collections materials; providing exhibition preparation and support; undertaking conservation assessments and surveys; and sharing conservation knowledge with diverse audiences. This position will be under the direct, day-to-day supervision of the Head of Conservation Services and will be formally reviewed and supported by a cross-institutional group whose expertise includes art, libraries, conservation, and education.
The conservator will help manage and undertake a range of mission-critical operations of a new, state-of-the-art conservation laboratory including: evaluating damaged collections; making treatment decisions and performing conservation treatments on museum and library special collections materials; providing exhibition preparation and support; undertaking conservation assessments and surveys; and sharing conservation knowledge with diverse audiences. This position will be under the direct, day-to-day supervision of the Head of Conservation Services and will be formally reviewed and supported by a cross-institutional group whose expertise includes art, libraries, conservation, and education.
The ideal candidate will have an excellent background in paper conservation with a minimum of 3 years of relevant experience. The successful candidate will inform the development of a more collaborative model for the Libraries’ and the Museum’s shared conservation efforts. The associate conservator will make conservation more visible through varied outreach programs and educational outputs designed to raise awareness about the importance of conservation and to help diversify the field by exposing new prospects to conservation as a career path.
The KU Libraries and the Spencer Museum of Art strive to support and strengthen teaching, learning, and research at the University of Kansas and in communities across the state of Kansas and beyond. The Libraries’ holdings include three large collections: University Archives, the Kansas Collection, and Special Collections. University Archives is the repository for the records documenting the history of the University of Kansas. The Kansas Collection provides researchers with primary-source materials that document the history of Kansas and the region. Special Collections contains a wide range of rare books and manuscripts that date from antiquity to present.
The Spencer Museum of Art’s collection of 45,000 objects represents more than 60 cultures across 6 continents, and 5,000 years of human history. The Spencer’s renowned collection of prints, drawings, photographs, and other works on paper represents more than half of the Museum’s permanent collection. The collection is acknowledged as one of the nation's premier repositories of graphic arts among university art museums because of its depth, breadth, and the extensive manner in which it is used in teaching and research.
For more information, images of the new conservation lab, and to apply see: https://employment.ku.edu/academic/12648BR.
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