Mellon Curatorial Fellow on Oceania

MUSEUM SCI AST (009724)

UCPath Position ID: TBD_189585

Position Description History/Status

Approved Date:

8/15/2025 6:19:53 PM

Date Last Edited:

8/15/2025 6:19:49 PM

Last Action Effective Date:

Organization Details

Business Unit (Location):

LACMP

Organization Code:

1210O

Organization:

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE

Division Code:

1211D

Division:

PUBLIC ARTS UNIT

Department:

382000 - FOWLER MUSEUM AT UCLA

Position Details

UCPath Position Number:

TBD_189585

Position Description ID

242943

UC Payroll Title:

MUSEUM SCI AST (009724)

Personnel Program

Professional and Support Staff (PSS)

Salary Grade:

STEPS

Job Code FLSA:

Non-Exempt

Union Code (Collective Bargaining Unit):

RX: Research Support Professionals

Employee Relations Code:

E: All Others - Not Confidential

Employee Class (Appt Type):

2 - Staff: Career

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

1

SUPERVISION

UCPath Reports to Position Number:

40046503

Reports to Payroll Title:

Curator 4

UCPath Department Head Position Number:

40056334

Department Head Payroll Title:

ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATOR VII

DIRECTION - Indicates that the incumbent establishes procedures for attaining specific goals and objectives in a broad area of work. Only the final results of work done are typically reviewed. Incumbent typically develops procedures within the limits of established policy guidelines.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Fowler Museum at UCLA seeks a Mellon Curatorial Fellow to participate in a research project devoted to the Museum's Oceanic art collections. The project, supported by a major grant from the Mellon Foundation, will focus on Oceanic objects from the Sir Henry Wellcome Collection that were donated to the Fowler between 1965-67. The Curatorial Fellow will work alongside key Fowler staff: the Director, Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs, Director of Collections Management and Registration, Head Conservator and Collections Information Coordinator. The project (New Relational Ethics in the Museum: University Museums and Indigenous Arts from Formerly Colonized Regions) has the goal of documenting and understanding the full complexity of a group of Oceanic objects formerly in the Wellcome Collection from the perspectives of their roles, meanings, materiality, and provenance. Essential to this process is the work of robust and complete cataloguing of each object, including past attributions, cultural affiliations, collection history, and materials analysis.

Over the course of thirty-three months the Mellon Fellow will be responsible for carrying out in depth research on a selected group of Oceanic objects from the Wellcome Collection. These objects will be selected in consultation with other team members with a goal of providing the Fellow an opportunity to deepen an existing area of expertise or establish a new one. As part of this effort, the Fellow will coordinate and compile relevant sources on the objects' history – both as collected and as part of a larger cultural tradition, essentially creating a biography for each. This detail-oriented research will be augmented by research travel and community consultations. At the end of the project, we expect that the Fellow will have a deep background in understanding the role objects play in museum collections, the role they once played in the cultures that created them, and the role they continue to play in the ongoing conversations about cultural patrimony and source communities. The Mellon Curatorial Fellow reports to the Senior Curator of African Arts and Manager of Curatorial Affairs.

The Fowler Museum at UCLA invites people to understand art and the world we live in from multiple perspectives by promoting the creativity and knowledge of global and local artists, past and present. Through art, research, and programs, we foster reflection, debate, community, and joy for our campus, Los Angeles and beyond. We envision a world where art connects communities across borders and generations, inspiring respect, equity, and social justice. The Fowler aspires to be a collaborative space for life-long learning, cultural exchange, and open dialogue that celebrates multiple ways of knowing and being.

Collections Research & Documentation

1. Performs art historical, ethnographic, and other relevant disciplinary research to determine the cultural uses, meanings, and histories of Oceanic objects in the Fowler's Wellcome Collection. 2. Works with the Fowler curatorial staff to determine sub-sets of the Wellcome Collection to focus collaborative research and discussion. 3. Maintains comprehensive records of all research, including lists of bibliographic sources, digital scans of pertinent articles and information, and written summaries of salient information to be uploaded to the Fowler's collection database and for use by the project team. 4. Performs detailed visual analysis of Oceanic works from the Wellcome Collection to confirm accuracy of or update database documentation as necessary.

60%

5. Participates in in-depth library and archival research. 6. Identifies scholars, specialists, and community representatives on particular sub-sets of Wellcome objects and initiates contact with these individuals to obtain documentation or firsthand testimony about said works. 7. Writes and/or contributes to web content directed to the general public regarding the curatorial research findings of the project team; writes and/or contributes to scholarly articles about the findings of the project.

0%

8. Contributes to grant reports to the Mellon Foundation on the progress/results of grant funded activities.  9. Keeps accurate and neat records for easy retrieval; documents collection files; assists with coordination of visits by outside specialists. 10. Prepares updates for the Argus Collections Database for review. 11. Enter approved updates to the Argus Collections Database.

0%

Interdepartmental Collaboration

1. Participates in team-based research collaboration with Fowler staff on the technical examination of works of art to provide ethnographic context and other information based on curatorial investigation. 2. Oversees participation of student interns who will be appointed for short-term involvement in the research project and directs their activities and sets priorities. 3. Helps plan bimonthly interdepartmental workshops with Fowler staff to include faculty partners, interns and others as needed to discuss progress, findings, and challenges of the research project over the grant period.

20%

Community Outreach

1. Participates in research trip to communities in Oceania in order to research objects in the Fowler’s collection, share information about specific Fowler objects with source communities, and to build relationships with local institutional colleagues. 2. Gives papers or organizes panels at professional meetings and writes articles for publication in relevant museum and academic journals as a result of the research experience. 3. Develops a small exhibition in the Fowler in Focus Gallery about the results of the research project in collaboration with Fowler staff.

20%

•

Performs other duties as assigned.

•

Complies with all policies and standards.

•

Complies with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Principles of Community.

•

This position description is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties or skills required for the job and is subject to review and change at any time, with or without notice, in accordance with the needs of the organization.

QUALIFICATIONS

PhD

In the humanities, preferably art history, with a specialization in Oceanic studies

Preferred

At least one year

of curatorial experience or equivalent record of academic accomplishment.

Required

Substantial knowledge of Oceanic Arts, especially historical arts in museum collections

Required

Ability to work with registrarial, conservation, and curatorial staff at a museum

Required

Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with other staff, interns, and the Museum's

stakeholder constituencies

Required

Ability to work productively with international colleagues

Required

Experience researching physical libraries, archives and online sources of research information and documentation of same

Preferred

Knowledge of museum standards for collections security and management

Required

Experience with collections management software

Preferred

Familiarity with contemporary conservation techniques and practices

Preferred

Excellent administrative, analytical, research, and communication skills

Preferred

Ability to work independently with general supervision

Required

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND/OR CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.

Live Scan Background Check: A Live Scan background check must be completed prior to the start of employment.

CANRA: The position is designated as a mandatory reporter under CANRA. The employee must sign the "Statement Acknowledging Requirement to Report Child Abuse".

LOCATION AND PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, MENTAL (PEM) REQUIREMENTS

Environment and Work Location Information

Environment Type:

Non-Clinical Setting

Location Setting:

Campus

Location:

Fowler Museum

Standing/Walking

X

Sitting

X

X

Bending/Stooping

X

Squatting/Kneeling

X

Climbing

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 0-25 lbs

X

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 26-50 lbs

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull over 50 lbs

X

Physical requirements other

X

Chemicals, dust, gases, or fumes

X

Loud noise levels

X

Marked changes in humidity or temperature

X

Microwave/Radiation

X

Operating motor vehicles and/or equipment

X

Exposures other

X

Sustained attention and concentration

X

X

Complex problem solving/reasoning

X

X

Ability to organize & prioritize

X

X

Communication skills

X

X

Numerical skills

X

X

Mental demands other

X

X

Classification 3:  Position in which exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues is not part of the position description. The normal routine task involves no exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues and the employee can decline to perform tasks which involve a perceived risk without retribution.