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Background:
Dia Art Foundation was established in 1974 for the purpose of collecting, commissioning, and presenting major works of art made in the 1960s onward. Today it consists of eight permanent sites across the United States and Germany, as well as three changing exhibition spaces in New York State: Dia Chelsea in New York City, Dia Beacon in the Hudson Valley, and Dia Bridgehampton on Long Island. Dia is taken from the Greek word for “through” and conveys the foundation’s role as a facilitator of meaningful artistic experiences that can be encountered in single and repeated visits.
About the Archive:
Dia Art Foundation’s archive was formally established in 2017. The archives support the institution’s mission by organizing and promoting knowledge around Dia’s commissions, collection, stewardship, interpretation, and public presentation of artist-driven projects across media and disciplines. Dia’s unique approach to committing time and resources to artists and thinkers is reflected in the archives, which also house and document the history of Dia’s multiple sites and stewardship and programming models.
Description:
Dia Art Foundation seeks an innovative and experienced Archivist to oversee Dia’s archives and envision the future of this resource. Reporting to the Director of Registration and Collection Management, Dia’s Archivist is responsible for organizing, processing, and administering all aspects of the institution’s archives based at Dia Beacon in Beacon, New York. The archives contain exhibition and program records, ephemera, publications, manuscripts, photographs, curatorial research, audio and video recordings, meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and architectural plans.
With the bulk of historical archival material processed, the archivist will play a vital role in developing a forward-thinking plan that realizes the full potential of this extraordinary resource, and they must be passionate about research, scholarship, and public engagement. The Archivist will liaise with the senior staff across departments to create a long-term plan for the archives and related collections and digital initiatives. They will also grow the archive and render it more accessible through, among other methods, digitization and web presence, programming, coordinating public outreach around Dia’s collections, and a public scholarly research center.
Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:
- Process (arrange, describe, rehouse) archival materials in all formats (paper, photographic, electronic, audiovisual, etc.) according to current industry standards
- Maintain an archival information management system (ArchivesSpace); produce institutional policies and procedures related to system usage, ensure staff are trained in these procedures
- With Dia’s Director and key programming staff, participating in strategic planning for the archive, with emphasis on increasing both internal and public access for this resource
- Collaborate with the Development department to seek funding opportunities and assist with the creation of grant application narratives; liaise between project staff, other departments, and vendors; track grant budgets; write grant reports
- Work with the Director and the Curatorial department to acquire collections through donation; accession new material into the archive.
- Manage the digitization of physical archival materials; work with the Director and Curatorial team to identify areas of priority; provide guidance to Audiovisual Media Associates on the archival preservation of time-based media
- Implement and manage Dia’s ongoing oral histories project, which chronicles the institution’s history by highlighting the voices of those who have played a vital role in the organization and its activities; create and maintain policies and procedures for the oral history program; conduct research and coordinate documentation in preparation for interviews with artists, founders, directors, staff, board members, and community members living or working near Dia’s sites; record, execute, and review interviews
- Assist with in-house reference research for Dia staff departments including Curatorial, Publications, Operations, and Learning and Engagement
General/Other Duties and Responsibilities:
- Assist with special projects when necessary
- Remain current on archival best practices by joining professional archival associations and attending conferences
- Supervise the activities of temporary archive staff providing support with special projects
