Job Posting: Fellowship in Conservation of Contemporary Art – SFMOMA (San Francisco, CA)

Fellowship in Conservation of Contemporary Art at SFMOMA
The Conservation Department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is pleased to offer a two-year, advanced Fellowship in the conservation of contemporary art, beginning fall 2016. The Fellow will participate in the inauguration of the new SFMOMA including the Snøhetta expansion and the museum’s Collections Center. The Fellowship will focus on 20^th and 21^st century art. In keeping with the nature of contemporary art, the Fellowship is designed to initiate constructive dialog between conservators working in different disciplines (including paper, paintings, objects, photographs, and electronic media) as well as artists, curators, art historians and other expert contributors. Honoring disciplinary expertise, the Fellow will be supervised by the staff conservator affiliated with her/his specialty.
Contemporary art often requires problem solving that diverges from traditionally prescribed conservation measures. In addition to performing technical examination and treatment on works in the museum’s collection, the Fellowship will give focus to the non-traditional methods that are employed in creating, and caring for, contemporary works of art. The Fellowship will also include activities such as exhibition planning, installation, and collection research. Effective methods for documenting these factors will be explored, since compiling information about artists’ materials, processes, and intentions may be among the most important contributions conservators of contemporary art can make toward future care of collections,. The Fellow will undertake research and/or a specific project related to contemporary art and will be encouraged to present a paper or publish the findings.
The applicant should have a graduate degree from a recognized conservation training program (or related program) and one to two years of post-graduate experience. A specialization in painting, objects, paper, photographs, or electronic media conservation is required. The applicant should have enough experience to be able to work with a degree of independence in the studio. The ability to collaborate creatively with other conservators and museum staff members is essential.
Stipend: $38,000 plus benefits with $2000 for research and travel to conferences.  For more details, contact SFMOMA Conservation Department at (415) 357-4054.  All applications and supporting documents must be received by February 15, 2016.  Candidates should submit curriculum vitae and a statement (no more than one page) as to the candidate’s reason for applying, and two letters of support to: Elise S. Haas Conservation Department, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 3^rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.