Los Angeles County Arts Commission
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Arts Commission seeks a Collections Technician with experience in overseeing art conservation projects, collections management and art maintenance for its Civic Art Program.
Responsibilities
The Collections Technician is a specialized position that requires demonstrated experience and skills in project management, art conservation and collections management. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Collections and working as a member of a team, the position will assist with the following duties for a growing collection of 300+ civic artworks including sculpture, murals, architecturally integrated art and portable works.
Project Management
- Manage the overall project planning, implementation and execution of conservation projects
- Prepare budgets, create reports and track conservation projects
- Source contractors and vendors for conservation projects
- Draft and execute agreements with vendors such as conservators, art handlers, installers, framers, etc.
- Assist the Deputy Director of Collections with short and long range conservation and maintenance plan objectives and strategies
Conservation/Maintenance
- Perform basic cleaning and minor repair of civic artworks
- Train facilities personnel to perform routine maintenance on civic artworks
- Prepare reports with projected art maintenance costs for County departments, to assist with budget forecasting
- Provide art maintenance information to County departments
- Assist Collections staff with ongoing inventory of portable civic artworks, specifically art maintenance and installing security hardware
- Assess artworks and complete artwork condition reports and photo document artworks as needed
- Evaluate damaged artworks and draft incident reports as needed
- Assist Deputy Director of Collections in refining and improving the maintenance protocols for County departments to care for new and historic civic artworks, as well as developing new protocols
Collection Management
- Update and manage digital database and physical files for civic artworks
- Review conservation documents for new civic art commissions
- Undertake special projects as directed by the Deputy Director of Collections
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in art, public art, art history, arts management, conservation, museum studies or related field and minimum 3-5 years of relevant experience working in conservation and/or in a hands-on capacity with an art collection, or equivalent combination of education and experience in the public and/or private sector. Master’s degree is desirable.
REQUIRED Experience
- Demonstrated project management experience in art and/or artifact related contexts such as public art, museums and/or conservation
- Demonstrated art conservation and/or art maintenance experience
- Demonstrated art and/or artifact collections management experience
REQUIRED Skills
- Self-motivated and able to excel in a fast-paced environment
- Strong working knowledge and skills in the care and handling of artworks (public art preferred)
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Excellent organizational ability
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize own work and multi-task
- Demonstrated ability to take initiative and ownership of projects
- Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment in making decisions
- Ability to direct the work of others, for jobs requiring supervision
- Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and EmbARK (or similar collection database)
- Strong interpersonal skills to work effectively with a wide range of County staff and external vendors and consultants
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines
- Demonstrated experience working independently and as part of a team
- Ability to produce precise, detail-oriented work
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs.
Term & Compensation
This is a contract position. The monthly compensation is $5,000 – $6,250 based on experience. The Contractor is required to have a valid driver’s license, access to a personal vehicle, general liability and auto insurance and must complete a Live Scan (criminal background check). This one-year contract position allows for flexible hours with the potential for renewal annually.
To Apply
Please submit a cover letter, résumé, three professional references, and a one page project description of a conservation, art maintenance or collections management project that you managed, within the last five years, with up to three jpeg photos of the project, to Clare Haggarty, Deputy Director of Collections, [email protected]
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position will remain open until the staffing need is met and may close without advance notice.
Applicants selected for an interview will be expected to give a 10 minute PowerPoint presentation about their past work experience and how it relates to this position.
Background
The Civic Art Program was established in 2004 after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the County’s first Civic Art Policy, which allocates one percent of design and construction costs of new County capital projects to a Civic Art Special Fund. The program provides leadership in the development of high-quality civic spaces by integrating artists into the planning and design process at the earliest possible opportunity, encouraging innovative approaches to civic art, and providing access to artistic experiences of the highest caliber for the residents of Los Angeles County. The Civic Art Policy mandates that the Arts Commission document, preserve and conserve County-owned artworks, which includes both artworks commissioned since the policy was adopted and historic artworks created before the establishment of the Civic Art Program.
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission fosters excellence, diversity, vitality, understanding and accessibility of the arts in Los Angeles County. The Arts Commission provides leadership in cultural services for the County, encompassing 88 municipalities, including funding and job opportunities, professional development and general resources. lacountyarts.org.
