Museum Registrar

ORGANIZATION:      Guild Hall

POSITION:       Museum Registrar 

REPORTS TO: Museum Director, Curator of Visual Arts

STATUS: Full-time, non-exempt

                   Some evenings and weekends required for programs and events. 

 LOCATION: East Hampton, NY - A hybrid work environment is available, based on  

                      organizational needs. Minimum 3 days in office required, and 5 days per  

                     week during installation/deinstallation periods.

WEBSITE: guildhall.org

TO APPLY: Please send resume and cover letter as one PDF to Melanie Crader at [email protected]

BACKGROUND

Mission Statement: Guild Hall is the cultural heart of the East End: a museum, performing arts, and education center, founded in 1931. We invite everyone to experience the endless possibilities of the arts: to open minds to what art can be; inspire creativity and conversation and have fun.

Guild Hall was one of the first multidisciplinary centers in the country to combine a museum, theater, and education space under one roof to bring the community closer together through the arts. Located in the country’s most storied creative communities, the institution has responded and adapted to many generations of artists, often presenting leading-edge artists and adventurous works. Guild Hall’s evolution has paralleled the development of major art movements. Its exhibition history includes one-person exhibitions by artists Laurie Anderson, John Chamberlain, Renee Cox, Eric Fischl, Nancy Holt, Yung Jake, Elaine de Kooning, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Barbara Kruger, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Ugo Rondinone, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, Tony Oursler, and Enoc Perez, to name a few. Annually, Guild Hall mounts eight to ten exhibitions, ranging from the historical to the contemporary, focusing on artists affiliated with the region. Likewise, Guild Hall’s Permanent Collection houses over 2,400 works, emphasizing artists from the region in all mediums. Guild Hall is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. 

Guild Hall has entered a period of revitalization that includes a facility-wide $29MM improvements project. The structural and technological enhancements have improved the institution’s ability to deliver accessible, state-of- the-art programs for a diverse, twenty-first-century audience. Construction began in the Summer of 2022, with the final phase, the Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater, completed in July 2024. The renovated museum opened in the summer of 2023.

POSITION

Guild Hall seeks a Museum Registrar to support a dynamic exhibition program and maintain the museum's permanent collection and archive. The Museum Registrar (MR) is an ideal position for an individual who enjoys working in an art museum environment, is highly organized, attentive to detail, and adept at communicating with artists, individual collectors, lending institutions, and contractors. The MR is responsible for the movement, documentation, care, and display of artwork for both Exhibitions and the Collection, in accordance with industry standards and best practices. The Museum Registrar is responsible for all aspects of registration, shipping, insurance, condition checks, and correspondence; and manages the Permanent Collection, its maintenance, artist files, and digitization. An adjunct role of this position is to implement a management system and safe storage for the institutional archives, namely photographs, print ephemera, and memorabilia from Guild Hall’s 90-year history.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Exhibition Registration

•        Manage all aspects of artwork transportation, coordinating with lenders, artists, shippers, and Guild Hall curatorial, facilities, and security teams.

•        Administer exhibition insurance, loan documentation, transportation contracts, and related agreements; ensure compliance with all contractual requirements.

•        Obtain and evaluate transportation and service quotes, ensuring accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and adherence to departmental budgets.

•        Ensure exhibitions meet Guild Hall standards, lender requirements, museum best practices, and applicable conservation guidelines.

•        Oversee exhibition installations and de-installations, including packing, unpacking, condition reporting, and coordination of art handlers, movers, conservators, framers, and other contractors.

•        Maintain accurate records for all incoming loans, including condition reports, location tracking, and exhibition documentation.

•        Monitor the condition of artworks on display and in storage; coordinate inspections, maintenance, cleaning, and conservation needs, and report concerns to appropriate staff.

•        Manage exhibition tours, outgoing exhibition loans, facility reports, and related documentation.

•        Prepare materials and correspondence for regulatory and review boards, including the East Hampton Design Review Board, as needed.

•        Track budgets, process invoices, and maintain financial records for areas of responsibility.

•        Stay current on American Alliance of Museums (AAM) standards and evolving museum best practices.

Permanent Collection and Archive

•        Serve as collection manager, overseeing the collection management database and ensuring accurate records, including acquisitions, locations, photography, research, exhibition history, bibliography, and label copy.

•        Manage all aspects of the outgoing loan program, including loan requests, borrower relations, shipping, storage coordination, and documentation.

•        Ensure proper documentation of new acquisitions, assign accession numbers, and maintain collection records in accordance with museum standards.

•        Develop and implement collection management, file organization, and metadata/tagging systems that align with best practices and finding aids.

•        Provide stewardship of the Permanent Collection through preservation planning, condition assessment, conservation coordination, framing oversight, appraisals, photography, and digitization initiatives.

•        Maintain and update the Permanent Collection website and support research requests related to the collection and archives.

•        Manage rights and reproduction requests in consultation with the Museum Director.

•        Maintain relationships with Fine Arts Insurance Company, off-site storage providers, the East Hampton Library, and other collection-related partners.

•        Develop solutions for the preservation, organization, and storage of archival materials, including photographs, slides, playbills, printed ephemera, and digital media.

•        Maintain correspondence and historical records for collection, archiving, and exhibition.

•        Respond to public inquiries regarding exhibitions, collections, acquisitions, donations, and exhibition proposals, as needed.

•        Maintain inventory and safe storage of museum furniture, fixtures, AV equipment, and art-handling spaces.

•        Communicate with the Museum Advisory Committee and support initiatives that expand access to and revenue opportunities for the Permanent Collection, including traveling exhibitions and related programs.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for Museum Registrar at Guild Hall is a collaborative and detail-oriented person with a passion for realizing exhibitions and collections care within an interdisciplinary environment and aligns with Guild Hall’s mission to promote a sense of joy and play around artistic work and practice.

Education and Experience Requirements

•        BA or MA in art history, museum studies or related field.

•        Experience in collection management systems preferred.

•        Minimum of three years of related experience in an art museum or gallery environment

•        Knowledge of current museum methodologies and best practices

•        Experience working for a non-profit arts organization

Skills and Performance Requirements

•        Excellent written and verbal communication skills

•        Strong research, problem-solving, and project management skills

•        Detail-oriented with the ability to multitask, prioritize, and work under a deadline

•        Art handling, installation, and collections care skills preferred

•        Ability to work cooperatively as part of a team

•        Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite; proficiency of Adobe Creative Suite a plus

Proficiency with Collection management software, such as Argus

COMPENSATION

•        A baseline of $60K annually; compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

•        Benefits include employer-paid health, disability, and life insurance, 22 days paid time off in the first year of hire, 403(b), and FSA plans.

Guild Hall is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Please send resume and cover letter as one PDF to Melanie Crader at [email protected]