Exhibition Research Assistant - Modern & Contemporary Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York (NY); On-site; USD 96,432,000 - 99,187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

403(b) Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Disability Insurance

FSA / HSA

Commuter Benefits

Staff Discounts 25%

Staff Cafeteria

Museum Staff Pass

Job summary

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is seeking a Research Assistant to support the upcoming Walther Collection exhibition, Fall 2028. You will aid research, administration, and collaboration across curatorial, editorial, and exhibitions teams, working with a global collection of modern and contemporary photography.

You will help manage bibliographic work, rights, captions, and the exhibition catalogue, while coordinating with registrars, design, and education teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Art History or related field; MA preferred.
• Strong background in photography, media, performance, and global modern/contemporary art.
• Experience with living artists, ideally in international contexts.
• Academic research experience, independent or fellowship.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines.
• Knowledge of German, Mandarin, Portuguese, or French an asset.
• Proficient in MS Office, Teams; familiarity with TMS database preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; detail-oriented and organized.

Responsibilities

• Assist with limited loan paperwork, programming coordination, and artist correspondence.
• Conduct bibliographic and provenance research; exhibition history for the Walther Collection show.
• Collaborate with Curator and Publications on catalogue organization, image rights, captions, and bibliographies.
• Maintain exhibition checklist in TMS and object files; coordinate with registrars on database updates.
• Coordinate installation requirements and information in TMS with registrars/collections team.
• Organize meetings with Met departments and manage agendas and follow-ups.
• Support exhibition design development across schematic to construction drawing phases.
• Assist with interpretive materials, captions, and image rights for gallery content.
• Assist with grant applications and fundraising opportunities; support exhibition web page and promotional materials.
• Coordinate programs, symposia, and lead gallery talks as needed; assist with installation/deinstallation and couriers.
• Database support for Walther Collection rotations across the Museum.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Research skills

Art history

Photography history

International collaboration

Academic research

Multilingual

MS Office

TMS knowledge

Communication

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's in Art History

MA preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Teams

Adobe Acrobat Pro

Adobe Photoshop

TMS database

Job description

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is seeking a Research Assistant to support the upcoming Walther Collection exhibition, Fall 2028. You will aid research, administration, and collaboration across curatorial, editorial, and exhibitions teams, working with a global collection of modern and contemporary photography.

You will help manage bibliographic work, rights, captions, and the exhibition catalogue, while coordinating with registrars, design, and education teams.