Job

Art Project Manager

Equal Justice Initiative

Montgomery, AL 36043

Deadline

Rolling

Posted

Jun 30, 2022

Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting the basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a private, 501©(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. We challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment, and we provide re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people.

EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment. We are committed to changing the narrative about race in America. EJI produces groundbreaking reports, an award-winning calendar, and films that explore our nation’s history of racial injustice. We also launched an ambitious national effort to create new spaces, markers, and memorials that address the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation, which shapes many issues today.

In 2018, EJI opened two cultural institutions, the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, both located in Montgomery, Alabama. EJI expanded the Legacy Museum to four times the size of the original museum in October 2021. Situated on a site where enslaved Black people were forced to labor in bondage, the museum provides a comprehensive history of the United States with a focus on the legacy of slavery. From the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on the North and coastal communities across America through the Domestic Slave Trade and Reconstruction, the museum provides detailed interactive content and compelling narratives. Lynching, codified racial segregation, and the emergence of over-incarceration in the 20th century are examined in depth and brought to life through film, images, and first-person narratives. The expanded museum now includes an art gallery, with major works from some of the most celebrated Black artists in the world, including Glenn Ligon, Elizabeth Catlett, Simone Leigh, Gordon Parks, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold, and Winfred Rembert among others. The gallery’s collection is curated in dialogue with the museum’s historical narrative.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to thousands of African American victims of racial terror lynchings between 1877-1950. The memorial honors lynching victims by displaying their names, if known, and the circumstances surrounding their killings on corten steel monuments. The memorial includes several outdoor sculpture installations, including a new exhibit featuring dozens of historical markers that have been erected at lynching sites across the country. The museum and memorial sites attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who want to explore the legacy of slavery in America and the continuing challenges created by racial injustice.

Job Description
EJI’s art and justice initiative has an opening for an Art Project Manager to manage the curation and conservation of multiple art spaces. The Art Project Manager will serve as a valuable contributor to the new art gallery located in the Legacy Museum. This role will be responsible for managing EJI’s permanent art collection there and for developing new art spaces and exhibits. We ask for a 12-24 month time commitment for this role.

Responsibilities include:

  • Assist museum staff with managing the permanent collection, including acquisition, documentation, care, maintenance, handling and access.
  • Manage the installation of new exhibits.
  • Supervise and assist with the rotation and relocation of art.
  • Develop and implement policies for acquisition, conservation, loan, and storage.
  • Develop new cultural art spaces and exhibits, at all stages, including: site selection, development, commissioning, and installation.
  • Research and draft gallery materials.
  • Research and document the collection and potential loans and acquisitions.
  • Build relationships and partner with artists, other museums, and galleries.
  • Plan and manage receptions and other events for exhibits.
  • Provide tours, serve as a host, and field questions about the collection.
  • Collaborate with museum and memorial colleagues to implement EJI’s goals.
  • General conservation and preservation activities throughout the museum and various local exhibits, including assessing condition issues and environmental controls; maintaining exhibit and gallery spaces; and updating conservation records.
  • Other duties, as needed.

Location
The role will be based in Montgomery, Alabama. A remote position, with frequent travel, may be possible.

Requirements

Desired qualifications:

  • Master’s Degree or equivalent experience in Art, Art Administration, Art History, Fine Art, Museum Studies, or related field.
  • Knowledge of Black and African Diaspora art.
  • Knowledge of conservation and preservation techniques, including environmental controls and pest management for museum collections.
  • Training in fine art handling.
  • Ability to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
  • Commitment to EJI’s mission to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenge racial and economic injustice, and protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.