Collections Fellow - Grant Funded

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is America's first museum and school of fine arts. Located in center city Philadelphia, PAFA is intimate in scale with a strong sense of community. PAFA offers a certificate in studio art. PAFA's museum has an outstanding collection of American art, and the museum actively collects and exhibits art, including work in new media. Additionally, PAFA is home to the Brodsky Center, a print and papermaking center focused on the creation of innovative editions by contemporary artists.

PAFA is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an environment that welcomes and encourages recruiting and retaining qualified candidates from diverse groups. PAFA provides equal opportunity to applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a veteran.

POSITION: Collections Fellow

PAFA is accepting applications for a Collections Fellow, a part-time temporary, grant funded position designed for early-career museum professionals, recent college graduates, and current graduate students interested in gaining experience in collections care, management, and refinement. Working closely with PAFA curators, registrars, and collections managers, the Collections Fellow will receive training in Axiell, a collections management database used widely by museums and will develop areas of personal interest within the fields of collections research, care, maintenance, and refinement. There will be opportunities for the Collections Fellow to participate in a wide range of activities in the day-to-day operations of a museum and to meet with other fellows supported in the same grant funded cohort at different local cultural organizations. The Collections Fellow will report to PAFA's Director of Archives, Library, Collections.

• This is a part-time temporary position. The position is not eligible for PAFA employee benefits.
• The fellow will work 20 hours per week from January 2027 through December 2027.
• Compensation is $20 per hour/ $400 per week.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities and opportunities include but are not limited to the following:

PAFA Permanent Collection – 75%

• Provide research and administrative support to PAFA's museum team for ongoing collections assessment, care, and refinement.
• Prepare condition reports, review catalogued works of art, conduct research and verify provenance information, exhibition histories, and bibliographic references, as well as document critical opinions found in literature.
• Prepare and edit reports, presentations and other supporting materials.
• Assist in scheduling collections meetings with the PAFA project team and act as liaison with other PAFA departments.
• Other duties pertaining to PAFA collections as assigned.

John Rhoden Collection – 25%

• Provide research and administrative support to PAFA's museum team for the distribution of sculpture from the John Rhoden Collection.
• Assist in the preparation and mailing of collection informational packets, checklists, and other materials as required.
• Maintain the sculpture inventory and distribution information in PAFA's collection management database.
• Finalize the distribution timeline of sculptures by John Rhoden to other museums by coordinating checklists, travel, and organizing correspondence with curators and registrars.
• Prepare and edit correspondence, reports and presentations.
• Assist with travel arrangements for visiting museum colleagues and the preparation and submission of expense reports.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree required, master's degree in art history or related field preferred
• Museum, gallery, or other related experience preferred
• Basic computer skills, including the use of Microsoft Office Suite required
• Scholarly research databases, collection management databases and photo editing software skills preferred
• Excellent interpersonal, written communication and research skills
• Excellent organizational skills: ability to multi-task and meet deadlines
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to work collaboratively as well as independently

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts accepts digital applications only. A complete application should include the following:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

When submitting your application online, please save your documents as Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or PDF (.pdf) files. To help us process your applications as efficiently as possible, please save your files with the following filename format:

• LastName_FirstName_Resume
• LastName_FirstName_CoverLetter