Assistant Curator of Performing Arts

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

About the UMass Fine Arts Center

Since its founding in 1975, the UMass Fine Arts Center (FAC) has been a central force in the cultural, social, and academic life of the University, the Five College campuses, and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. FAC's combination of educational, visual, and performing arts programs not only makes us unique, but it also secures a very vital and necessary position for us to meet the diverse needs of scholars, faculty, students, alumni, and the broader community.

Job Summary

The Assistant Curator, Performing Arts/Asian and Asian American Performance (AC/AAAP) is supervised by and works with the Performing Arts Curator (PAC) to direct the activities of the Fine Arts Center's performing arts department and personnel. This assistant leadership position helps build a coherent, innovative, diverse, and socially relevant performing arts and culture season, featuring artists, projects and outreach and engagement activities from across disciplines, genres, and cultures, including music, dance, theatre, film/media, family shows, international, and more, and that preserves and enhances the identity and goals of the FAC. The AC/AAAP also directs FAC's Asian and Asian American performance program, the longest-running university-based program of its kind in the country.

Essential Functions

• Reports to and collaborates with the PAC to develop and advocate for the FAC's performing arts vision among on- and off-campus constituents, including general audiences, artists, community members, students, faculty, staff and donors. Collaborates on performing arts curation, strategic planning, mission statements, season themes and the range of decision-making in the department.
• In tandem with the PAC and other directors and curators, shares responsibility for performances, outreach, and engagement activities, including research, bookings, educational outreach and attending seasonal events regionally, nationally and/or internationally as needed.
• Acts as lead curator and program director for Asian and Asian American arts and culture programming in the FAC's performing arts season.
• Supervises Program Manager and/or Administrative Manager and other department staff as needed in their fulfillment of department activities, such as coordinating events, artist services, contracts, artist and audience research, grants management and other duties.
• Collaborates with FAC departments and staff, including performing arts, production, front of house, marketing, development, director, business office and/or student workers.
• Develops, maintains and increases relationships with artist representatives, presenters, service organizations and members of relevant artistic, cultural, regional, national, and/or international communities. Represents FAC performing arts programming at booking and professional development conferences, festivals and events as needed.
• Develops, maintains and increases relationships with UMass and Five College faculty, staff, and student groups as needed for performances, outreach, engagement, funding, and collaborations.
• Generates and/or collaborates on annual department budgets as appropriate.
• As needed, researches funding and writes grants and appeals for funding from campus and off-campus sources to broaden financial base for performing arts programs.

Other Functions

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  Performs other duties as assigned.

  
  

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Bachelor's degree with three (3) years of stage production and/or performing arts management experience or a Master's degree with two (2) years of the required experience can be substituted.
• A valid driver's license.
• Specialized knowledge and experience of traditional and contemporary Asian and Asian American performing arts and cultures.
• Specialized and/or general knowledge of multidisciplinary and multicultural performing arts presenting.
• Broad understanding of Western and non-Western performing arts and cultural identities.
• Sensitivity to and ability to interact with multicultural communities in multiple settings.
• Working knowledge of office software packages, including Microsoft and Google applications, such as Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, Docs, Sheets and others.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Master's degree in performing arts or cultural discipline or related field.
• Five (5) years of performance, stage production and/or arts management experience.
• Two or more years professional performing arts programming experience, including booking and touring.
• Working knowledge of multiple Western and non-Western performing arts and cultures, e.g. jazz, popular music, musical theatre, main stage theatrical, family programming, classical music, and/or other categories.
• Professional experience with cultural diversity, social justice, and other DEIA-based issues.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

This position requires repetitive movement, sitting, bending, twisting, carrying, pulling, standing, lifting, reaching, pulling/pushing, balancing, driving and typical office and performing arts environment activity.

Work Schedule

• Typically Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:30pm, with an ability to work some evenings and weekends as needed in support of performances and related activities.