The New Museum seeks an
Oral History Fellow to provide research and editing support to the Museum’s
Oral History Initiative. The Oral History Initiative, which will launch in the
fall of 2017 with the New Museum’s 40th anniversary celebrations, captures the
Museum’s early history of presenting emerging artists via the firsthand
accounts of artists, curators and other collaborators. The Oral History
Initiative is a key feature of the New Museum’s newly designed Digital Archive,
creating rich intertextual links between oral narratives and other textual
primary sources and documentary photography held in the New Museum’s archives.
The fellow will be
responsible for conducting background research on interviewees utilizing the
New Museum’s archival collections, producing interview materials, and preparing
transcripts in accordance with best practices. The Fellow will also assist with
populating the newly designed Oral History module within the Digital Archive,
and developing related records to more fully reflect key aspects of that
history.
Responsibilities
include:
• Assisting with background research for the launch of New
Museum Oral History Initiative in coordination with the Museum’s 40th
Anniversary programming.
• Creating research dossiers for interviewers.
• Identifying collections with related historical materials
that are currently underrepresented in the Digital Archive and prioritizing for
digitization and ingest.
• Vetting transcripts for historical accuracy, and editing
content in accordance with best practices.
• Assisting with production of Oral History materials
(timecoded transcripts, image captions, etc.) to be showcased on the Museum’s
Digital Archive.
Preferred
Qualifications:
Currently enrolled
students (graduate level preferred, but not required) with completed coursework
towards a degree in Art History, Library/Archival Science, or closely related
field. Experience performing archival research. Background in art history, with
particular interest in contemporary art and/or artists’ alternative spaces of
Lower Manhattan. Familiarity with oral history best practices and experience
editing transcripts. Familiarity with Collective Access or other collections
management and publication platforms, a plus. Adobe Creative Suite, a plus.
Interested applicants
should send a cover letter and current resume (with links to academic and
professional projects, as applicable) to archive@newmuseum.org.
All materials should be sent as a single PDF. Professional and academic letters
of recommendation are welcome, and may be sent separately. Applicants who are
selected for the position are expected to keep regular weekly hours from
September – November 2017, to be negotiated in advance, and will be offered a
modest stipend. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the
position is filled, with the first review to begin August 7, 2017.
