Research Staff Member 154 views

Preußischer Kulturbesitz is Hiring for Research Staff Member

About Company:

Preußischer Kulturbesitz – a federal government agency – at the Ethnologisches Museum of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin is looking to fill the position of Research Staff Member on a permenant basis. The Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, with over one million objects, are among the largest and most important specialized museums devoted to non-European cultures worldwide. They preserve internationally important collections of tangible and intangible art and cultural artifacts from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

Both museums will present exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum. The displays there will be focused on the dialogue between the cultures of the world and current topics of global relevance from a range of perspectives.

The Ethnologisches Museum and the Musem für Asiatische Kunst are under a joint directorship. Both collections have their own specialist head.

Job Profile:

We are seeking a curator for the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum from West Africa and/or Southern Africa. The collections are among the largest and most important collections from these regions worldwide. They include approximately 45,000 objects of archaeological interest, art, religion, everyday life and culture from pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial times, predominantly from the former German colonies of Togoland, Cameroon and German Southwest Africa (today Namibia), as well as important collections from Nigeria and other West African countries. Responsibility for the collection also includes the care of an extensive historical collection of over 40,000 photographic positives and negatives.

Area of Responsibility:

• Curatorial responsibility for the collections from West Africa and/or Southern Africa:
• Scholarly documentation of the collection holdings, including in-depth research and studies of individual works; research on the materiality and the histories, societies, cultures and artistry of the collection objects (or their countries of origin); research into provenance, and publication and recording of the newly gained insights in the museum’s digital catalogue system
• Scholarly principles for the organisation and maintenance of the collections from North Africa, West, and Central Asia
• Maintaining networks with the countries of origin and the people and scholars from these countries in Germany as well as developing cooperative projects
• Looking after the exhibitions on display at the Humboldt Forum and developing scholarly proposals for exhibitions and special exhibitions
• Development of themes and proposals for publicly effective presentations of the collection holdings, special exhibitions, or events, including accompanying publications on the collection area; if needed, selection of objects on loan/initiation of loan requests
• Scholarly participation in the future Research Campus Dahlem
• Assumption of interdisciplinary responsibilities in the Ethnologisches Museum

Requirements:

• A completed university graduate degree (Master’s, Magister, Magistra, Diplom (Uni) or a comparable qualification) in cultural and social anthropology (ethnology), art history or history with a relevant regional focus
• Work experience in a museum
• Experience in the development and coordination of exhibitions
• Good national and international networks in the relevant fields
• Scholarly experience working with object provenances
• Good knowledge of German and English (at least B2 each)
• Methodological competence for the independent development and evaluation of research topics in a larger scholarly context
• Affinity for communicating about works of art in museums
• Organizational talent, communication skills, the ability to work in a team and to work under pressure

Preferred:

• Doctorate with regional focus corresponding to the collection area
• Mastery of at least one indigenous language from the areas from which the collections originate
• The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz welcomes applications from people of all nationalities. As an interdisciplinary cultural and research institution, the SPK offers family-friendly working conditions and guarantees equality between women and men in accordance with the Federal Equality Act. Severely disabled persons are given special consideration if they are equally qualified.

Note: Please visit website for more information: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/karriere/datenschutz.html.

Interested candidates please send your full application materials by e-mail (preferably as a single PDF document), indicating the reference number SMB-EM-6-2020, to the following address by 15. October 2020: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Personalabteilung, Sachgebiet I 1 e, Von-der-Heydt-Str. 16-18, 10785 Berlin

If you submit a paper application, please send only copies of original documents, as we cannot return the materials unless you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope.