Curator

Center for Maine Contemporary Art

Rockland, Maine

Curator Job Posting

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA), which has earned an international reputation by focusing on the arts of Maine, seeks a Curator to develop and lead the exhibition program. This is an exciting transitional moment in the institution’s development. The gorgeous modernist building turns 10 years old in 2026 and the institution turns 75 in 2027. The museum has a lively professional staff, hired a new Executive Director in 2024, and is embarking on a strategic planning process to imagine and plan its future. The new Curator will have the opportunity to have a profound impact on CMCA and on the arts and artists of Maine.

CMCA was founded in 1952 as an artists’ collaborative, showing and selling their work. It has matured as a museum and is now the foremost institution dedicated to showing and advancing contemporary art in the state. It holds no permanent collection but acts as a Kunsthalle, mounting 10 to 12 changing exhibitions each year in 5,500 square feet of exhibition space, both solo shows highlighting the work of individual artists and thematic exhibitions examining contemporary issues and trends.

Reporting to and collaborating with the Executive Director and supervising and collaborating with the Exhibitions and Facilities Manager, the Curator will create a vision and strategy for the exhibition program. They will develop most of the exhibitions, collaborate on installations, write exhibition catalogues and text, visit artist studios, and get to know the artistic landscape of Maine. They will be an excellent public speaker and be a dynamic, intelligent, and graceful representative of CMCA across the state.

Principal duties and Responsibilities

Develop a deep and wide familiarity with the contemporary art and living artists of Maine and be able to place them in the context of Maine’s rich artistic heritage. Make studio visits, get to know artists with connections to Maine. Develop relationships with other curators, galleries, collectors, and the local community.

Be a spokesperson for CMCA across the state and the nation. Be a strong advocate for contemporary art and artists.

Develop a long-term vision and plan for the exhibition program. Plan a multi-year exhibition schedule. Be aware of audiences and impacts.

Be sensitive to issues of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion in the exhibition program and in interactions with fellow staff, board, donors, audience, and individual visitors.

Propose, plan, and create specific exhibitions, both single-artist exhibitions and thematic exhibitions. Develop exhibition concepts, checklists, and schedules. Collaborate with the Exhibitions Manager in negotiating loans with artists, galleries, collectors, and other institutions. Project-manage exhibitions and catalogues.

Write exhibition-related text, and as needed edit other’s text, including introductory text and labels, press releases, exhibition brochures, catalogues, website, and social media. Work with Exhibitions Manager and graphic designer to produce these in print and online.

Collaborate with Exhibitions Manager to develop and manage budgets for the overall exhibition program and for individual exhibitions. Collaborate, when needed, in managing exhibition logistics, transportation, installation, and insurance.

Be comfortable curating works of art in any medium: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, conceptual art, installation, and craft.

Coordinate and supervise the work of guest curators and interns.

Work collaboratively with the Education Department to develop interpretation, engagement, and educational programs. Deliver public adult programs, including exhibition tours and gallery talks, and participate in artist talks.

Work collaboratively to develop press and marketing around the exhibition program, and for CMCA.

Travel widely within the state, to New York City, and to art fairs farther away. Lead tours of donors and collectors to museums, galleries, and art fairs.

Create a supportive working environment with the board, including attending board meetings and making presentations.

Participate in exhibition fundraising: help to cultivate and steward donors. Give tours. Provide content to inform fundraising, assist in grantwriting, work with sponsors.

Qualifications

CMCA acknowledges that competitive candidates may not meet all the experience requirements 100%. We encourage you to apply if many of these job requirements describe you.

BA/BS required. M.A. in art, art history, curatorial studies, or a related field preferred.

Requires a broad knowledge of contemporary art and a sense of what is unusual, new, groundbreaking, interesting, and important to be seen right now—the current or next great thing—while remaining flexible and open to new developments and to changing your mind.

Knowledge of Maine art is preferred but not required—that can/will be learned on the job.

Proven track record writing and presenting on contemporary art and creating/curating exhibitions.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including facility with public speaking. Be able to make contemporary art accessible to a popular audience, to write and speak with clarity, and without jargon or condescension.

Excellent interpersonal skills. Experienced manager and excellent collaborator. Work well in a team environment. Open and sensitive to all people. Innate awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion as important to success.

Strong organizational and project management skills.

Have an established network of curators, scholars, galleries, and artists to draw on; and ability to grow such a network.

Enthusiasm for working with donors, collectors, galleries, and the public.

Be able to drive a car and have an active driver’s license.

Facility with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Google Drive.

Characteristics

Excellent organizational skills and multi-tasking ability are essential. Be able to manage multiple projects at once with hard deadlines, and to work in a fast-paced environment with a small team of fellow staff.

Bring joy and a sense of humor to the workplace.

Respect all people and foster an equitable and inclusive culture.

Be able to imagine big, think strategically, but balance creativity with pragmatism.

Salary and Benefits

This position is full-time, exempt, and with benefits that include vacation and holidays, medical and dental insurance, State of Maine MERIT retirement plan.

Work is onsite with one day remote per week, with the opportunity to work remotely at other times for best efficiency.

Salary range $65,000-75,000.

How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. Submit resume, cover letter, and a writing sample of less than 1,000 words to [email protected]

ABOUT CMCA

Our Mission

CMCA is dedicated to advancing contemporary art in Maine through direct engagement with artists and the public, creating exceptional exhibitions and education programs that communicate the transformative power of the art of our time. CMCA fulfills its mission by supporting and exhibiting the work of artists with ties to Maine; by providing engaging learning opportunities that open new possibilities for artists and visitors; and by serving as an essential platform for making art an accessible and vital part of our communities.

Our Story

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art has been supporting, exhibiting, and sustaining arts and artists with ties to Maine since its founding in 1952. In the years since, CMCA has grown from a scrappy upstart presenting shows in barns and backrooms to the state’s preeminent contemporary arts organization, hosting a slew of internationally-known artists along the way.

Founded in Rockport, Maine, as an artists’ cooperative known as Maine Coast Artists, the center was born out of an excitement for Maine’s rich artistic history and as a place to showcase the work of painters, sculptors, and photographers working contemporaneously. For its first fifteen years the center had no permanent space and a rotating slate of volunteer curators, but its earliest shows included such future luminaries as Alex Katz, Louise Nevelson, Fairfield Porter and Jamie Wyeth, to name a few. We still highlight the work of undiscovered and emerging artists, as well as established artists. CMCA is the only institution hosting a biennial with an open invitation for submissions to all artists with Maine connections.

For close to fifty years the center occupied an old firehouse on Rockport’s main street. Then in 2016 CMCA moved to the larger community of Rockland and opened a stunning modernist building of metal and glass designed by Toshiko Mori, an internationally-known, New York-based architect. The corrugated metal exterior and sawtooth roof with monitor skylights draw on the industrial vernacular of the working waterfront. On the outside, an outdoor courtyard and walls of glass were designed to invite and welcome visitors. Inside, the building offers the greatest spaces for showing contemporary art in the state, especially the 50 x 52-foot main gallery bathed in Maine’s legendary light. Over the last decade, Rockland has become a vibrant center for the arts. At the heart of the city are two adventurous museums, CMCA and the nearby Farnsworth Art Museum; gathered around them now is a cluster of commercial art galleries. CMCA is still a small institution but has earned a reputation beyond its size as the leading venue for cutting-edge art in the state of Maine.

CMCA is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind.

Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. Submit resume, cover letter, and a

writing sample of less than 1,000 words to [email protected]

03/28/2025