Research Assistant, Walther Collection

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

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:

As the Research Assistant, you will provide key support in the upcoming major exhibition of The Walther Collection at The Met, scheduled for Fall 2028. You will assist in research and administrative aspects of the exhibition. You will support the curatorial, administrative, and exhibitions team throughout the planning, development and execution of the exhibition, which will be an ambitious presentation of modern and contemporary works of photography and time-based media from across the globe—selected from The Met’s 2025 landmark gift of over 6,500 works from Artur Walther.

This is a position with an established end-date or time frame. Time frames will begin upon hire: January 2027-2029.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

• Assist with limited loan paperwork, programming coordination, and artist correspondence for the show

• Assist with in-depth bibliographic and provenance research; exhibition history compilation for the exhibition and accompanying catalogue.

• Work closely with exhibition Curator and Publications and Editorial Department on the organization of the exhibition catalogue, including the editing of texts, securing images and rights, preparing captions and bibliographies, and corresponding with external authors.

• Maintain exhibition checklist in TMS (The Museum System) and object files; process exhibition agreements and other forms, coordinate with registrars/departmental collections team on database updates as appropriate.

• Coordinate with registrars/departmental collections team to obtain and track installation requirements and other constituent information in TMS.

• Organize meetings with other Met departments, including Design, Education, Editorial, Registrar, External Affairs, and Development, and coordinating agendas and follow-up/next steps.

• Support Curator in development and implementation of exhibition design, working closely in collaboration with Design Department during Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Drawing design phases.

• Assist Curator with the composition of interpretive material, including gallery labels, images/captions, digital content, or other assets, and securing rights.

• Assist with grant applications and other fundraising opportunities, as needed.

• Assist with the build-out of the exhibition web page and other promotional materials/media, as needed.

• Assist with coordination of any programs and/or symposia related to the exhibition and lead walkthroughs and gallery talks as needed.

• Assist with gallery installation/deinstallation and working with couriers.

• Database support for Walther Collection rotations across the Museum.

• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Art History or related field, with MA preferred.

• Strong background in the history of photography, media and performance, visual and cultural studies, and/or global approaches to modern and contemporary art. Interest in critical theory, decolonial studies an asset.

• Prior experience working with living artists, ideally within international contexts preferred

• Demonstrated academic research experience, as an independent researcher or fellow.

• Ability to work in a collaborative, fast-paced environment, and effectively meet deadlines is essential.

• Knowledge of German, Mandarin, Portuguese, or French an asset.

• Demonstrated computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel), Microsoft Teams, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and Adobe Photoshop; experience with TMS (The Museum System) database preferred.

• Detail-oriented with impeccable organizational skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

COMPENSATION RATE:

• Pay Rate: $34.00 / Hourly

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.

Visa Sponsorship

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

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

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 [e-mail].

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.