Curator, Live Arts & Publications

General Purpose Statement

The Curator, Live Arts & Publications is a hybrid curatorial and editorial role responsible for the Aspen Art Museum's year-round program of live events and commissions, performances, as well as for the editorial work that accompanies the museum’s overall artistic program. Reporting to the Chief Curator, and in dialogue with the museum’s curatorial team, they develop and realize artist commissions and public projects from first artist conversation through public presentation across the full annual calendar, including the museum's annual festival, AIR.

Curatorial direction for the museum’s public program and evolving series of live events is set with the Chief Curator, who holds final approval on commissions and artist selection. The Curator, Live Arts & Publications holds primary responsibility for the museum's program publications and editorial output, including exhibition and program texts, commissioned writing, digital and serial editorial initiatives, and managing editorship of the museum's print publications. 

In their production of public programs and live events, they work in close collaboration with the Head of Exhibitions, as well as the delivery of marketing assets including exhibition texts, press releases, related web and social media content. This is a lead role within the museum’s publications team, leading the production of museum’s exhibition catalogues and artist books, as well as exhibition guides and other assets across the exhibitions and live events that comprise the museum’s artistic program. 

Directly Manages: No direct reports. Establishes work scope for editorial and curatorial teams, and contract writers and editors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Public Programs and Commissions

• Propose, develop, and realize artist commissions and public projects across performance, moving image, sound, and installation for AIR and the museum's year-round program, with the Chief Curator and Artistic Director approving artist selection and project direction
• Facilitate approved projects from initial artist conversation through research, development, production, rehearsal, and public presentation
• Serve as a key curatorial contact for commissioned artists, collaborators, composers, performers, and their representatives
• Build and maintain the forward pipeline of public projects, including multi-year and co-commissioned work with partner institutions
• Represent the museum in co-commissioning and presenting partnerships with peer institutions, festivals, and venues
• Support accessibility planning across public programming, including ADA compliance in venue, format, and interpretive materials

Editorial and Publications

• Serve as managing editor of the AIR print publication, from commissioning contributors through structure, editing, production schedule, and press
• Write and edit interpretive materials, wall texts, program notes, and website content across the museum's public program
• Commission and edit essays, artist texts, and criticism from external writers
• Develop the editorial voice and standards for the museum's program-related publishing, including digital and serial editorial initiatives
• Coordinate with design, production, and distribution partners and manage rights clearances
• Work with Marketing & Communications to ensure editorial and promotional content are aligned

Budget, Contracts, and Production

• Develop and manage project and editorial budgets in collaboration with the Deputy Director, Operations
• Support contract development, fee structures, payment schedules, and budget addenda for artists, performers, and production vendors
• Hold production schedules, installation timelines, and rehearsal calendars across cross-departmental teams
• Ensure budget goals are met and variances are flagged and resolved in advance of presentation

Institutional Collaboration

• Contribute curatorial detail to grant proposals, donor materials, and sponsorship reporting in collaboration with the Advancement Team
• Coordinate with the Director of Public Engagement to ensure that commissioned and time-based programming and the museum's education, community, and visitor-facing programming are complementary rather than duplicative
• Contribute to institutional planning around the shape and ambition of the public program
• Attend departmental and cross-departmental planning meetings as required

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 5-7 years' experience in curatorial, programming, or editorial work in a museum, biennial, festival, or comparable contemporary art context
• Demonstrated record of realizing artist commissions or public projects from concept through public presentation
• Strong published writing and editing record, including experience editing the work of others
• Experience as managing editor or equivalent on a print publication
• Fluency with production realities: budgets, contracts, schedules, technical requirements, installation, and rehearsal
• Established relationships with contemporary artists, writers, and institutional peers
• Experience with performance, sound, moving image, or other time-based practice preferred
• Experience with co-commissioning across institutions, including multi-party agreements, preferred
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• Willingness to work extended hours and weekends during festival production periods

Benefits

• Recreation allowance of $1,100 or Discounted ski pass
• Full healthcare coverage
• Relocation assistance
• 401k benefits
• Professional development and research travel budget

Hours and Work Schedule

This is a salaried position that generally requires availability Monday through Friday, with regular evening and weekend work during production periods, festival presentation, and public programs. The role follows a defined annual rhythm: late spring through the AIR festival is a period of intensive production, while the remainder of the year is weighted toward research, artist development, commissioning, editorial production, and pipeline building for the following cycle. The Associate Curator, Public Programs and Editorial position is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and does not receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty in a seven-day work week.