Exhibition Designer (part time)
The Harvard Art Museums’ Division of Collections Management is accepting applications for an Exhibition Designer to work under the supervision of the Assistant Director for Exhibitions. Supporting functions of the Exhibitions Department, the exhibition designer's primary focus will be on the design effort for the Harvard Art Museums’ collection galleries, temporary exhibitions and university collaborations. S/he will uphold the museum’s design standards, following established practices while seeking creative solutions in the planning of artwork displays and installations.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Prepare design documentation, including floorplan and elevation drawings, furniture construction drawings, gallery models (physical or virtual), and casework matrices. Review documentation with Assistant Director for Exhibitions prior to issuing.
- Participate in meetings to present gallery drawings, mockups of artwork and display furniture, paint color options, or other design factors.
- Help maintain and build upon design office resources, including base architectural files, casework drawings, inventories, and related documentation.
- Support the Assistant Director with design work that happens in the gallery during installation of artwork and other components.
- Create artwork and casework mockups, scale model pieces, and prototypes for gallery design planning as needed.
- Work collaboratively with curators, conservators, registrars and exhibitions staff in the execution of his/her duties.
Schedule:
Part-time (maximum 17 hours per week) Allocation of hours during the workweek is flexible, and will be determined by the candidate and the Assistant Director.
Work location:
The position will primarily work at the museums’ Somerville Research Facility, 200 Inner Belt Rd, Somerville, MA 02143. There is ample parking available, as well as a free hourly shuttle between the Harvard Art Museums building in Cambridge (the rear entrance on Prescott St.) and the Somerville Research Facility.
Qualifications:
- Proficient with computer-aided drafting software (Vectorworks preferred), and 3D modeling software (SketchUp or similar); Adobe Creative Suite (especially Photoshop and InDesign) and MS Office software (especially Excel). Organized approach to file management.
- Previous internship(s) in exhibition design, interior architecture, or industrial/furniture design.
- Knowledge of architectural and industrial design practices, documentation and standards. Understanding of fabrication techniques, materials, and finishes.
- Good hands-on sketching, model-making, and light-duty prototyping skills.
- Bachelor’s degree in relevant field of design.
- Familiarity with museum best practices (conservation, art handling, climate conditioning, lighting), ADA and life-safety regulations.
- Ability to balance multiple projects simultaneously, receive and process large quantities of complex data. An eye for precision and detail is essential.
- Highly-motivated self-starter with willingness to learn and adapt to fast paced environment.
Application requirements:
- Up-to-date resume and cover letter.
- Portfolio of relevant work, demonstrating creative thinking and spatial visualization. Should highlight the design process as well as the finished product. Provide thoughtful explanations about the project: the challenge/brief and the design approach or solution. Portfolio should be a formatted document, not a website. May be transmitted via a shareable link, in the candidate’s cover letter or resume, to a cloud-based storage site (e.g. DropBox, Google Drive).
- Two professional or academic references.
Please email all application materials to:
Mr. Elie Glyn, Assistant Director for Exhibitions
Collections Management