Position Summary

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to appoint a Manager, Art Gallery Academic and Public Engagement reporting to the Galleries Executive Director and Chief Curator.

The NYUAD Art Gallery’s founding decade has seen major artist commissions, book publications, and historical research exhibitions from across the globe that have earned it international recognition and awards. It also supports the Project Space, which is an exhibition laboratory for the academic and regional community, featuring the work of emerging artists, MFA and undergraduate final projects, alongside faculty-generated exhibitions.

The Art Gallery Reading Room is a classroom and event space that enables robust programming and activation around art and learning. Together, the spaces of NYUAD’s Art Gallery serve as a testing ground for curatorial strategies that nourish innovation around exhibition practice in the Gulf, and in dialogue with the global art world.

As the NYUAD Art Gallery enters its second decade, The Manager, Academic and Public Engagement will broaden public audience engagement, deepen academic partnerships, and continue to grow the Gallery’s profile. This role does so by bringing the public, students, scholars, key stakeholders, patrons, and sponsors into vibrant exchange around art at NYU Abu Dhabi and in the UAE.

The Manager, Academic and Public Engagement will activate five project areas that the Art Gallery department oversees:

the Art Gallery itself (a space for museum exhibitions)

the Project Space (for experiments and projects from the UAE and NYUAD community)

the Reading Room (a community learning space for events, classes, and study)

the campus as a whole, including campus-wide art projects, such as public art and the annual Christo Award (a public art commission for emerging artists), and

collaborations with other institutions (past ones have included the Salama Foundation, Abu Dhabi Art, the Cultural Foundation, the RAK Art Festival, Middle East Institute in DC, etc.)

The Art Gallery department connects the public and the university communities in multiple realms. One key method is the teaching museum model (as a teaching hospital is to a medical school): the doing is also the learning.

The museum team of the Art Gallery actively mentors and trains students and fellows while delivering major exhibitions to the many audiences it serves. The Manager, Academic and Public Engagement will play a key role in that connectivity across public and academic realms. This role will:

invite and enable collaboration, scholarship, learning, and capacity building in the Art Gallery, ultimately nourishing a thriving community around research, exhibition-making, artist projects, publications, and programs;

develop strategies to reach and benefit multiple audiences and collaborators, both in the public realm and in the academic community, using tools that range from traditional PR and marketing to innovative programs and partnerships, and building robust relationships with stakeholders and external institutions;

initiate and foster curricular engagement, both by connecting with faculty and researchers and their course materials through the exhibition, and by generating and executing programs that support study, exchange, and insight.

This role will lead objectives in four areas of engagement:

Curricular engagement, which can be measured with class visits, student internships, etc.

Public engagement, which spans local and international audiences, and can be measured through footfall

digital reach, and depth of audience engagement with the exhibition content

Stakeholder engagement, growing the first two objectives via relationships with key opinion leaders, collaborators, funders, and university and government partners

The Manager, Academic and Public Engagement will be a key representative of the Art Gallery, and a public face of the university. Working closely with the Gallery’s Executive Director and curatorial team, they will establish and sustain relationships across academic communities, cultural organizations, and with sponsors and funders.

As a representative of NYUAD, the ideal candidate will be a polished professional, and comfortable speaking in public settings about art, community, and pedagogy. With meticulous attention to detail and schedules, and an agile and inclusive approach to managing and executing projects, s/he will lead with a mission-driven commitment to bringing people together around cultural community at NYUAD. This role helps realize the university’s overall mission to generate societal impact and excellence in education.

Key Responsibilities:

Academic and curricular engagement:

Collaborate closely with curators and faculty to develop and lead strategies for pedagogical engagement, across divisions within NYUAD, and with schools and universities regionally.

1) Responsible to develop, market, and oversee execution of academic “in-reach” and school outreach:

Expand use of exhibitions for teaching and learning.

Organize: NYUAD class visits to and engagement with the exhibitions (co-taught tours of exhibition by curators with class instructor, assignments given to classes related to content of exhibitions, etc.)

Organize: Non-NYUAD university and school visits and engagement with NYUAD art galleries

2) Design and implement rigorous programs that support undergraduate and graduate level art and art history students to develop capacities in museum practice.

Manage robust student assistantship and post-baccalaureate/post-graduate training program, which yields significant student growth in critical thinking and technical knowledge around concepts in art, museum practice, and concepts explored in each exhibition. This work includes:

Responsible for strategy for and delivery of an apprenticeship model of student training in the running of a museum and exhibition venue. Oversee management of the program, coordinating individual supervisors.

Develop and implement a new docent-training program with required reading and study, preparing students to be knowledgeable interlocutors for visitors to the exhibition.

Close alignment with Career Development Center, preparing students for next stage of professionalization in the sector, through new initiatives as needed.

3) Act as a lead point of contact for faculty community building, together with the Curators. Build relationships with faculty across the university, and with the community of teachers and professors in the UAE, with the purpose of collaborating on building out exhibition programs out for greatest impact on learning outcomes and engagement with faculty research areas. Present at faculty orientation, attend faculty events, and become familiar with the faculty community to facilitate the greatest connectivity possible.

Public engagement:

Create a portfolio of programs, campaigns, and outreach that activate NYU Abu Dhabi’s campus as a public cultural destination, and transmit the Art Gallery’s mission, activities, and key contributions to the fields of art and museum practice in the region and in key international forums. Grow both local and international audiences. Develop and lead strategy, planning, and execution in all areas related to expanding footfall, digital reach, and depth of meaningful audience engagement with the university, exhibition content, and critical questions in exhibition practice today.

1) Conceive and coordinate programming that shapes the Gallery’s profile:

Collaborate with the curatorial team to generate innovative, meaningful opportunities for global and local audiences to connect to each other and the community of NYU Abu Dhabi.

Produce events, which may include performances, talks, workshops, and more experimental formats for cultural exchange.

2) Develop campaigns to reach new audiences for the University, the exhibitions, and the programs. Collaborate on strategy around PR, social media, and marketing, with the Head of Publications and Content, with whom this role works closely. Key point person on:

Leading press and PR strategy development and collaborating on execution.

Leading on marketing strategy development and collaborating on execution.

3) Develop relationships with the larger community, representing the Arts at NYUAD in a range of public gathering activities, including art openings and events in the culture sector, locally and abroad, as well as broader programs in the local cultural sector, including performing arts, literature, and heritage.

Stakeholder Development and Partnerships:

Cultivate relationships and partnerships that further the mission of the institution, in terms of reputation and sustainability. Identify and connect to potential stakeholders, both internally and externally. Work closely with Executive Director and team to ensure existing and new relationships are cultivated and sustained through carefully considered events and personal exchange.

1) Manage a stakeholder development program that engages a full range of potential sponsors and advocates, from alumni to cultural leaders and advisors.

Liaise with the curatorial and programming staff to coordinate the design and implementation of meaningful stakeholder events and stewardship activities.

Implement and coordinate stakeholder engagement activities.

Write and communicate clearly and effectively to a broad and diverse set of constituents.

2) Track member, donor, and recent visitor activities, when sending invitations, managing guest lists, attending events, and providing check-in at events.

3) Work closely with the Head of Museum Administration and Business Operations to prepare stakeholder correspondence, proposals, briefings, and detailed reports. Occasional evening and weekend work is required, as per the nature of stakeholder engagement.

Reporting on Gallery Activities:

Generate meaningful and compelling presentations and reports that tell the story of the department to our constituents, including the community, leadership, stakeholders, funders, and advisors. Reporting data and narrative is generated together with the reporting group, including the Executive Director and the Head of Museum Administration and Business Operations. This includes:

monthly and quarterly reports

annual reporting

presentations to the Advisory Circle

stewardship reports to sponsors

presentations at staff and faculty orientation

Required Education:

Bachelor’s Degree

Preferred Education:

Master’s Degree in museum-related field

Teaching or museum education

Marketing or Public Relation related training

Required Experience:

More than 5 years of experience working in an education context, whether in a cultural or teaching institute

Experience in producing events

Experience speaking publicly about art and culture

Experience developing marketing and “key opinion leader” campaigns

A nuanced understanding of art and education, in a museum or institutional context

Directing content production, event production, and public communication

Evaluating and processing data to tell a story about that data through reports and presentations

Preferred Experience:

More than 7 years of experience directing content production to convey “big ideas” (videos, graphic design, etc.)

Experience working with sponsors and donors, stewardship, cultivation, etc.

Experience managing people and teams

Fluency in Arabic

Manager, Art Gallery Academic and Public Engagement - NYUAD Art Gallery

Manager, Art Gallery Academic and Public Engagement - NYUAD Art Gallery

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