Associate Curator, Costume Institute

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

At The Met, every staff member – from security officers to researchers to scientists and beyond – lives by our core values of respect, inclusivity, collaboration, excellence, and integrity. 

Respect: Engage one another with collegiality, empathy, and kindness, always.

Inclusivity: Ensure that all are and feel welcome and valued.

Collaboration: Reach across boundaries to exchange ideas and work together toward our shared mission.

Excellence: Lead the cultural world in quality and expertise—and inspire curiosity and creativity.

Integrity: Hold ourselves to the highest moral standards, admit when we fall short, and then evolve. 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

The Costume Institute (CI) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art seeks a visionary and energetic scholar specializing in twentieth and twenty-first century fashion. You will be charged with developing special exhibitions (both independently and in collaboration with other curators), researching and publishing original scholarship on The CI’s world-renowned collection, and diversifying The CI’s collection through acquisitions.t You will also play a key role in stewarding and cultivating patrons to support The CI’s fundraising efforts. You must be a high performer, with an ability to harness ideas from a variety of vantage points (fashion, design, art history, architecture, and other similar fields) to fulfill exhibition and collection mandates. You will also be tasked with expanding our collection of twentieth and twenty-first century dress to instigate broader global and cross temporal connections. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

• Organize and support the development of Costume Institute exhibitions and gallery rotations

• Present, document, study and communicate works of art in the collection to the wider public

• Research and propose works for acquisition with a view to further diversifying The CI’s collection;

• Author justification reports; participate in collection assessment and provenance research

• Write, support and ideate scholarly documentation for print or online publication including catalogue essays, entries, labels, blogs and texts.

• Act as key author and essayist for exhibition catalogues and other specialized publications, including online content

• Assist the public and visiting scholars with research requests and appointments whenever necessary

• Cultivate and steward donors for acquisitions and fundraising

• Contribute to education and public programming

• Lead tours of departmental exhibitions

• Develop and lead training sessions for The Costume Institute’s docent group

• Foster and maintain excellent working relationships with Met staff, collectors, patrons, colleagues from other international institutions, scholars, dealers, and other individuals involved with the interests of the Museum and department

• Contribute ideas to and participate in Friends of the Costume Institute events

• Serve as an advocate for the museum both internally and within the wider field

• Support the professional development of interns, fellows and junior curatorial staffs

• Other duties as assigned

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• MA, PHD or equivalent in art history, costume, or related field
• Expertise in 20th and 21st century fashion 
• Broad knowledge of fashion history and international contemporary culture
• 5-7 years of demonstrated experience in museum curation and research
• Demonstrated experience originating research
• Experience with exhibition budgets and project planning
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent computer skills, familiarity with TMS, Adobe Suite, and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to adapt and produce results on multiple projects with shifting priorities
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team with ability to receive/give productive feedback/criticism.

COMPENSATION RANGE:

• Pay Range : $95,000.00 - $110,000.00 / Annually

The advertised pay scale reflects the good faith minimum and maximum salary range for this role. The advertised pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, special licensing or qualifications, and other factors.

Location Requirements

At time of employment, employees are expected to be located within commuting distance of the Museum. “Commuting distance” means that they are located in one of following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (the “Tri-state and PA” areas), and be able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Benefits Offerings

The Museum provides competitive compensation, and generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees. Note: Benefits Offering may differ based on Employee Status.

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
• Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
• Free financial-planning services
• Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
• 25% discount for staff in Museum shops
• A subsidized staff cafeteria
• Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the desired attributes for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

The Met is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Met will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed in this process, please contact

benefits@metmuseum.org

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.