Curator Galleries/Collections

College/Department Summary

The College of Fine Arts and Design is a center of excellence for the arts and design, as well as a locus of innovation for improving and promoting arts education. Founded in 2001, the college combines the traditional excellence inherent in Oklahoma's oldest public educational institution with groundbreaking thinking about the role of the arts in the 21st century. The College of Fine Arts and Design nurtures leadership qualities in students, thus expanding the scope and qualities of their career opportunities. The institution's educational emphasis is on faculty mentorship in student-centered education, with a commitment to respect diversity and encourage inclusiveness. This commitment to excellence provides students the opportunity to interact and work closely with our more than 100 outstanding full and part-time faculty members who are dedicated to holistically developing the artist, scholar, creative professional, educator, citizen, and leader. With more than 200 performing and visual arts events every year, the college encourages students from a variety of academic disciplines and programs to view exhibits, attend special events, experience performances, partake in masterclasses, discuss their work, and ultimately find their unique artistic voice while learning to think from a global perspective. For further information see our website http://www.uco.edu/cfad

The Mission of the Melton Gallery is to serve as a forum to support the visual arts through diverse exhibitions and programming, creating a dialog between the university and the broader artistic community.

The Melton Gallery strives for the following goals:

• Extend the knowledge of contemporary art, design practices, and critical theory.
• Pursue exhibitions and programming that are issue-charged in nature.
• Cultivate diverse audiences to create an atmosphere of inclusion.
• Develop community partnerships through collaborative projects.
• Provide deliberate support for the art and design departments missions to prepare students to enter professional careers.

For more information see our website https://www.uco.edu/cfad/melton-gallery/

Position Summary

Develop, implement, curate, and manage exhibitions, and related programming for the Melton Gallery. Work with cross-functional teams to promote events and programs and maintain gallery operations. The general schedule for this position is 40 hours per week, occasional evenings, and weekends.

Department Specific Essential Job Functions

Plan, direct, budget and promote exhibitions, events, and activities for the Melton Gallery. Oversee installations in the main gallery and several other smaller CFAD exhibition spaces on and off-campus.

Work directly with artists to create promotional and archival materials, arrange delivery of works, secure agreements and arrange payment.

Create exhibitions, related programs, and publications that are developed in deliberate support of the Melton Gallery’s mission and vision.

Establish an environment of learning, enrichment, and inspiration.

Create partnerships with community organizations, cultivate new audiences and patrons of the arts.

Develop and assist Marketing with promotional materials relating to exhibitions, visiting artists, and educational programs.

Train and supervise student interns and employees. Oversee timekeeping and scheduling.

Plan, oversee, and attend all Melton Gallery opening receptions and programming events.

Additional duties as assigned may include but are not limited to grant writing.

Qualifications/Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in a related field.
• 1-3 years of curatorial or related gallery/museum experience.
• Extensive knowledge of both traditional and contemporary art and design histories and practices.
• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills

Qualifications/Experience Preferred

• MA, MFA, or PhD in art, art history, curatorial studies, museum studies, or related field.
• Experience working with budgets.
• Experience with publicity and/or marketing.
• Experience in community outreach and/or public programming.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Ability to work with faculty, students, outside curators, and community partners to engage the campus and local community through exhibitions, events, and partnerships.
• Ability to manage multiple projects.
• Grant writing and fundraising experience a plus.

Physical Demands:

Reasonable accommodations (in accordance with ADA requirements) may be made, upon request, to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.