Assistant Preparator - Cranbrook Art Museum

Cranbrook Educational Community; Bloomfield Hills (MI); On-site; USD 17,000 - 25,000; Part time

Job summary

Cranbrook Art Museum is seeking an Assistant Preparator to support gallery installation and deinstallation. This part-time role covers preparation of spaces and objects for exhibitions during installation periods, roughly 10 weeks each year.

The Assistant Preparator must work flexible hours, with responsibilities including wall/pedestal preparation, object mounting and lighting, and assist with movement and packing of objects. Located at Bloomfield Hills, MI.

Qualifications

• Excellent technical and woodworking skills required.
• Knowledge of handling art objects and exhibition practices.
• Ability to work with diverse materials including bronze, ceramic and wood.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with museum staff.

Responsibilities

• Prepares galleries for exhibition, including wall and pedestal work.
• Prepares objects for exhibition, including mounting and lighting.
• Assists with movement, packing and installation of objects.
• Maintains punctuality and performance standards per employee handbook.

Skills

Woodworking

Construction

Art handling

Job description

Job Category: MUSEUM

Requisition Number: ASSIS002051

• Posted : August 7, 2026
• Part-Time

Locations

Showing 1 location

39221 Woodward Avenue
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, USA

Description

Cranbrook Art Museum is a leading venue for the presentation of twentieth- and twenty-first-century art, craft, architecture, and design. The Art Museum is located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of metropolitan Detroit, on the beautiful 319-acre historic landmark campus of the Cranbrook Educational Community. The Art Museum’s sister institution is Cranbrook Academy of Art, a renowned graduate school of art, architecture, craft, and design. While the collections of the Art Museum span the 20 th and 21 st centuries, the permanent collection focus is on the achievements of faculty and students of the Academy of Art and of artists in the Detroit metropolitan area. The Art Museum frequently presents public art programs in the city of Detroit, working with a range of creative collaborators, diverse artists and curators, and various community partners. Each year the Art Museum also presents artworks created by the graduating class of Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2011, the Art Museum completed a renovation of its original 1942 Art Museum and Art Library building designed by Eliel Saarinen and created a new Collections Wing, a purpose-built, state-of-the-art handling and storage facility for its collections, which allows for a curated and publicly accessible viewing of selections from nearly 7,500 works of art.

Cranbrook Art Museum is accepting applications for an Assistant Preparator. This position will assist the team responsible for the preparation of galleries, installation and deinstallation of objects for exhibition. This is a part-time position, working during installation periods, approximately 10 weeks each year between May and October. The Assistant Preparator must be able to work flexible hours.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Prepares galleries for exhibition, including wall and pedestal construction and painting.
• Prepares objects for exhibition, including installing, deinstalling, matting, framing, mounting, and lighting.
• Assists with the movement, transportation, packing and installation of objects in the museum.
• Maintains attendance, punctuality, and performance standards set forth in Cranbrook’s employee handbook.

Requirements:

• Excellent technical, construction and woodworking skills.
• Knowledgeable in art handling techniques and in the care, preservation, and exhibition practices for various types of objects including bronze, ceramic and wooden sculptures, paintings, works on paper and textiles.
• Interest in contemporary art.
• Excellent communication skills required. Will regularly communicate with Preparator, as well as Registrar, other museum staff members and work study students.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.