JOB: Positions at Smithsonian American Art Museum

Notice of Opportunity: SAAM Seeks 3 contractors for journal and fellowship programs
Journal Editor
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) is issuing a formal Request for Quote (RFQ) for a contractor to perform copyediting, developmental editing, and proofreading services for American Art, the peer-reviewed journal co-published by SAAM and the University of Chicago Press. The contractor will serve as copyeditor and proofreader for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2024 issues of American Art (vol. 38, nos. 1–3), and as a developmental editor for journal contributors and affiliated authors with an option to extend annually for four more years. American Art will contract an experienced and highly skilled editor who is knowledgeable about a range of topics in art, art-related visual culture, and social and cultural history, and have a history of professional contributions to diversity initiatives.

Advisor to Diversity and Equity Initiatives in SAAM’s Research and Scholars Center
SAAM is also issuing a formal RFQ for contractor(s) to provide outreach, evaluation, and mentorship services for the Research and Scholars Center’s (RSC) diversity and equity initiatives. The contractor(s) will serve as advisor(s) to the Terra Foundation Fellowships and the “Toward Equity in Publishing” (TEP) professional development program under the aegis of the peer-reviewed journal American Art. SAAM will award an hourly contract to one or two contractor(s). SAAM may award one individual contractor one contract of approximately 360 hours for one basic year with an additional one-year option to extend; or it may divide the duties between two individual contractors, with each receiving a contract of approximately 180 hours/year with an additional one-year option to extend.

If either sound like an exciting opportunity for you, please contact AmericanArtJournal@si.edu for the Request for Quotes, Statement of Work, and editing sample.

The application deadline is June 12, 2023. Please send all application materials in a single email to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu. We anticipate having contracts for all opportunities in place no later than September 1 with work to commence on or about October 1, 2023.

Prospective contractors are strongly encouraged to enroll in the federal System for Award Management (SAM). The contract cannot be made prior to evidence of the contractor’s active and valid registration in the “all awards” category of SAM.

For further details about the journal copyeditor contract, please contact Robin Veder at AmericanArtJournal@si.edu, with your surname and the header “American Art editor” in the subject line. For further details about the Research and Scholars Center advisor contract, please contact Amelia Goerlitz at GoerlitzA@si.edu.

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CFA: Toward Equity in Publishing

Call for Applications: Toward Equity in Publishing
Deadline: September 15, 2022

Toward Equity in Publishing is a professional development program provided by the peer-reviewed journal American Art, which is co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and University of Chicago Press. The program, supported by the Dedalus Foundation, will work toward ameliorating the inequitable conditions that precede and impede publication by providing developmental editing and workshops to demystify academic publishing. Eligibility is limited to, untenured faculty, junior museum staff, independent scholars, and unpublished graduate students.

For more information and application instructions, please visit americanart.si.edu/research/toward-equity-publishing.

Seeking Advisors
American Art seeks senior scholars for the Toward Equity in Publishing advisory committee. Please send letter of interest and CV to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu.

JOB: Head, Research and Scholars Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is now accepting applications for the Head of the Research and Scholars Center in Washington, DC. This is an outstanding senior leadership role, overseeing a team responsible for the fellowships and internships programs, archives and special collections, research and collections databases, and the museum’s peer-reviewed journal, American Art.

Permanent, Federal GS-15 position in Washington, DC, salary range from $148,484-$176,300/year. Apply by April 6. Telework possible, but not fully remote.

General U.S. citizen applicants (DEU): https://usajobs.gov/job/643252500
Merit Promotion Authority (MPA) applicants only: https://usajobs.gov/job/643249900

Qualifications: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position, Specialized experience is defined as experience in program management, administration, and staff supervision; strategic planning skills; art history and visual culture, particularly American art; interests and needs of scholars and researchers of American art and related fields; principles and practices of information management; developing computer databases; archival standards and procedures for special collections; professional associations and resources within the visual resource, information management and archival fields; and writing and editing.

JOB: Curatorial Fellow for Asian American Art at SAAM

The Smithsonian American Art Museum seeks Curatorial Fellow for Asian American Art. This two-year job offers invaluable professional experience for an exceptional emerging scholar interested in an art museum career. The selected candidate will play a key role in an initiative to expand the representation of works by artists of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in SAAM’s collection and galleries. Working with a supervisory curator, they will be active in acquisitions planning and development; collections assessment and research; project administration; and gallery installation and interpretation. The fellow will also participate in the upcoming reinstallation of SAAM’s permanent collection galleries and in the intellectual life of the museum’s Research and Scholars Center.

The ideal candidate will have completed Ph.D level graduate studies or be ABD in Asian American art or history, and have a record of museum experience and/or scholarly publication. The position is classified as temporary, full-time Federal employment (GS-9), with a starting salary of $ $61,947 plus benefits. The position begins in August 2022.

The posting is open through March 10, 2022

Please submit applications at:
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/633269900 (Status/MPA)
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/633310400 (Non-Status/DEU)

The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer.

JOB: Developmental editors for professional development program, Toward Equity in Publishing

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is accepting  bids to contract developmental editors for Toward Equity in Publishing (TEP), the professional development program launched by the journal American Art and supported by a grant from the Dedalus Foundation. The position entails providing developmental and line editing to TEP author-participants. Each editor will assist 2–4 TEP author-participants, providing up to 40 hours of service to each, not to exceed 160 hours per year. The number of author-participants assigned to each editor will depend on how many developmental editors are contracted by the Smithsonian. Work will commence on or after February 1, 2022, with a possibility to extend for a total of 28 months, depending on satisfactory performance and availability of funds. The closing date for contract bids is November 15, 2021.

To receive the Request for Quotes, Statement of Work, and instructions for submitting the bid, please write to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu.

Prospective contractors are strongly encouraged to enroll in the federal System for Award Management (SAM). The contract cannot be made prior to evidence of the contractor’s active and valid registration in the “all awards” category of SAM.

For further details, please contact the executive editor, Robin Veder, at AmericanArtJournal@si.edu, with your surname and the header “TEP Developmental Editor” in the subject line.

FEL: Luce Curatorial Fellowship @ Smithsonian American Art Museum

Application deadline: June 1, 2021

The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) seeks an outstanding emerging scholar of American art for a curatorial fellowship funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Beginning in fall 2021, this two-year position, with a possible third-year renewal, will provide an invaluable professional development opportunity to a scholar interested in a curatorial career in an art museum. It will also support scholarly research on SAAM’s permanent collection, one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. The selected fellow will work under the supervision of a senior curator and in collaboration with a team of staff from various departments. The appointee will develop practical skills in all four areas of curatorial practice: research, installation and exhibition development, collections management and planning, and public service. He or she will also participate fully in the intellectual life of the museum’s Research and Scholars Center, home of its research fellowship program and journal, American Art.

DUTIES
Under the guidance of the supervisory curator, the Luce Curatorial Fellow will take a key role in the reconceptualization and reinstallation of works from the collection in thematically organized sections of SAAM’s Luce Foundation Center for American Art, the only visible art storage and study center in Washington, D.C. The rehang of the Luce Foundation Center will build on overarching concepts in the museum’s 2022–2023 reinstallation (currently in development) and illuminate connections among artists, artworks, and different facets of the collection. The appointee will research artists and artworks, rectify outdated or inaccurate records, write interpretive texts, and conduct audio/video recordings and/or offer tours to further support these installations. They will work with conservation, design, and installation staff to evaluate requirements and limitations of artworks within specific spaces and execute planned installations. The fellow also will have the opportunity to collaborate with museum interpretation and education staff to address diverse audiences and formats. The appointee may assist project-related development efforts and also propose speaking engagements or public presentations related to their research findings. In the second or third year, the fellow will have the opportunity to propose an installation for the galleries, an online exhibition, or a touring show.

QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will demonstrate scholarly excellence and promise in addition to a strong interest in a museum career. A PhD in art history within the last five years is preferred; however, the fellowship is open to individuals with other academic specialties, such as African American and Women’s Studies. Applications are requested from scholars whose interests and areas of expertise align with one of the museum’s collection strengths:

  • 19th-Century Art: The reinstallation of the permanent collection will necessitate the re-envisioning of the Luce Foundation Center’s display of 18th and 19th-century American art. The goals are to use the Luce Center as an extension and expansion of themes central to the reconceptualized galleries and to explore additional themes and constellations of significant artworks. The fellow will be a full participant in the curatorial discussions of those themes, interfacing with curators responsible for 20th century, modern and contemporary holdings as needed, and conducting in-depth research on individual artworks, artists, and historical frameworks associated with their area of expertise. Those areas can fall anywhere within the range of 19th-century art from the Federal period through the Gilded Age.
  • Folk and Self-Taught Art: Since 1970, when it acquired and first exhibited James Hampton’s The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has been acknowledged as a leader in recognizing and repositioning folk and self-taught artists and their important contributions to American art. SAAM’s collection became internationally known in 1986 with the acquisition of the Herbert Waide Hemphill collection and has grown exponentially since 2012 when the museum hired its first full-time curator specializing in this area. Within the area of folk and self-taught art, and reaching into the broader collection as needed, the Luce Curatorial Fellow may focus on frameworks including but not limited to era, region, type of practice, and cultural significance, or consider a particular artist or cultural group in depth. The appointee will also assist on the exhibition project Amish Quilts from the Faith and Stephen Brown Collection, opening in Spring 2024.

HOW TO APPLY
The fellowship is categorized as a term trust position (IS-9, not-to-exceed three years) with a starting salary of $60,129 plus benefits and an allowance for research and conference travel. The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, and health insurance.

Applications must be received by Tuesday, June 1, and include:

  • A cover letter outlining the candidate’s interest in the fellowship
  • A statement of 750 to 1,000 words that describes the applicant’s area of research and how it relates to one of the two areas of curatorial focus outlined above
  • A published paper or other writing sample
  • Curriculum vitae with two references

Please submit applications to SAAMFellowships@si.edu.

All applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of the chief curator, deputy chief curator, mentoring curator, and chair of academic programs. The fellowship must begin by December 31, 2021.

SAAM believes that recruiting and maintaining an equitable, inclusive, and diverse staff is critical to our mission. We welcome and encourage applications from qualified persons of color; who are Indigenous; with disabilities; who are LGBTQIA+; who are veterans; and/or with other underrepresented backgrounds and experiences. The Smithsonian does not discriminate on grounds of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, or disability.

JOB: Managing Editor, American Art

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is accepting applications for managing editor of American Art, the peer-reviewed journal co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the University of Chicago Press. The position entails support to SAAM’s Research and Scholars Center, including management of rights and reproductions, peer-review, fact-checking, copyediting, proofing, and prize administration. The closing date is March 30, 2021.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/595128400
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/595128100
Additionally, interested applicants are encouraged to submit bids for the interim managing editor contract. The length of contract will depend on the timing for the permanent hire. To receive the Request for Quotes, Statement of Work, and instructions for submitting the bid, write to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu with the header “Interim Managing Editor.” The closing date for the interim contract is March 26, 2021.

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