Research Associate, Native American Art

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. 

About the Department

Founded in 1924, the American Wing is the only western collecting area of The Met’s seventeen curatorial departments to regularly blend art and design in our more than 75 galleries. With a collection of roughly 20,000 works by African American, Asian American, Euro-American, Latin American, and Native American makers—ranging primarily from the mid-17th to early -20th century, with select contemporary expressions—the American Wing represents one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of North American artistic expression in the world. These dynamic collections include paintings, sculptures, drawings, furniture, textiles, regalia, ceramics, basketry, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, as well as historic interiors and architectural fragments, produced by highly trained staff and self-taught artists, both identified and unrecorded, comprising an expansively defined American art department housed within a global museum.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

As the Research Associate for Native American art, you will support the Associate Curator of Native American Art in the research and documentation of The Met’s Native American holdings. You will contribute to ongoing collection and exhibition development as well as assist with various related administrative duties, including bibliography and database work. You will also collaborate with the American Wing’s NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) Coordinator and Community Liaison to assist in planning community visits and related activities.

This is a position with an established end-date or time frame. Time frames will begin upon hire: 1 Year, with the possibility of renewal.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

Curatorial

• Investigate and document diverse works to be featured in loan exhibitions and collection installations, including provenance, bibliography, and exhibition-history research 
• Create and maintain checklists and associated files
• Draft and edit content for exhibitions and publications in collaboration with curator
• Assist curator in interfacing with various Museum departments involved in project development and realization, including Exhibitions, Registration, Conservation, Design, Digital, Editorial, Communications, Development, and Education
• Assist curator with provenance research for potential purchase and gift acquisitions, as well as incoming and outgoing loans for exhibitions
• Prepare PowerPoint materials for lectures in support of projects; deliver gallery talks and tours as needed
• Coordinate and assist with procurement of rights for images, video, music, and other content for exhibitions and related publications
• Assist with on-site gallery installations
• Other duties as assigned

NAGPRA-Related

• Assist NAGPRA Coordinator & Community Liaison with provenance research as needed
• Assist with logistics of community visits and repatriation arrangements as needed
• Assist with data entry of information resulting from consultations, community visits, and other communications as needed

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

• M.A. in Native American Art History, Native/Indigenous Studies, Museum Studies, or Anthropology
• Advanced knowledge of Native American art and culture
• Familiarity with NAGPRA compliance and repatriation protocols, also the Duty of Care under new regulations published on Jan. 12, 2024
• Past experience in curatorial museum work
• Familiarity with research resources
• Familiarity with relational databases for museum collections management, TMS preferred
• Highly organized and detail-oriented
• Independent research skills
• Past experience working with Native American Nations, Tribes, Pueblos, Organizations, and communities
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical stewardship of Native American and Indigenous communities
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Proven ability to work well both independently and as a member of a team

COMPENSATION RANGE:

• Pay Range: $72,000.00 - $74,000.00 / 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 [email protected]. 

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.

Please click the Apply button to apply through The Met Careers Site.