Type
Salary range
Application Deadline
Description
Media & ARCHIVES ASSISTANT
Monday – Friday (Full-time, hourly non-exempt)
David Kordansky Gallery seeks a highly motivated, extremely organized, and collaborative individual to join our team as Media & Archives Assistant. Reporting to the Media Manager (Los Angeles), the Archivist (Los Angeles), and the Director, New York, the Media & Archives Assistant is a critical, cross-departmental role, responsible for supporting a range of significant functions of the Marketing & Communications team, including scheduling and facilitating photography and video, image editing and retouching, processing invoices, publications inventory maintenance, facilitating press requests, scanning and formatting press placements, and assisting with the creation of sales PDFs, among other duties. This position is a full-time hourly position and may require flexibility for additional hours based on the needs of the gallery. A generous benefits package is offered.
ABOUT THE GALLERY:
David Kordansky Gallery is one of the most dynamic venues for contemporary art in Los Angeles—and soon, in New York—and is internationally regarded as a leading gallery of its generation. Established in 2003, the exhibition program is dedicated to presenting artists’ work with passion and intellectual rigor, and to bringing the utmost care and precision to showcasing artistic visions. The Gallery is committed to presentations that blend scholarship and connoisseurship with equity and inclusion. We are an institution rooted in our hometown of Los Angeles, and in California, even as we embrace cultural activity as a fully global phenomenon.
Maintaining a culture of belonging is important to us—we strive for a workplace where every single team member feels valued, supported, and heard. We believe in the power of creativity and seek opportunities for connection, collaboration, and learning between cultures and communities. We are committed to championing policies and practices that promote diversity, foster cultural equity, and sustain an environment of inclusivity. The Gallery is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit, qualifications, and abilities. The Gallery does not discriminate, and does not permit discrimination against its employees, interns, volunteers, or applicants. We recognize our strengths lie in the broad range of individuals who contribute their time and talents to our mission, and we pledge to create a safe, accessible, and inclusive place to work.
The Gallery’s consistent growth, developed in tandem with its artists’ ambitions, occurs through the unique participation and contribution of each employee. We look for colleagues who are the most driven, the most talented, and the most creative. Every member of the Gallery’s team should aim for excellence and ingenuity, surpassing challenges and discovering new possibilities together. We value long-term commitment and loyalty, and in turn provide avenues for career advancement across all departments.
Responsibilities
MEDIA Responsibilities:
- Assist the Media Manager (Los Angeles) by maintaining an ongoing list of gallery photography needs and schedule photo shoots for incoming work, gallery exhibitions, fair presentations, and other gallery projects
- Provide in-person supervision of photography and videography sessions
- Discuss and plan out photography schedule with Exhibitions team, including Head Preparator(s), Registrar(s), and Artist Liaison(s)
- Create and share shot lists notating requested views
- Receive invoices and submit for payment
- Assist with download, processing, and quality control of incoming images; retouch and resize as directed; share with gallery staff; archive final high and low-res images per gallery standards
- Create new media, such as floor/scale views, digital framing, cropping to templates
- Track requests for high-res images and share files, as needed
- Modify existing assets for web and social media, including layout and design, retouching, formatting, resizing, and animating
ARCHIVES and SALES Responsibilities:
- Assist in facilitating press requests with the DKG LA press team
- Scan and format incoming press and published texts as directed by the Archivist (Los Angeles)
- Maintain physical archives and book inventory in a clean, orderly, and safe manner, as directed by the Archivist. This includes:
- Unpacking and inventorying new book shipments
- Promptly scanning texts in all incoming catalogues
- Placing copies in designated artist and DKG archives
- Notify Archivist of low inventory levels to replenish and plan accordingly
- For Gallery-published titles, monitor Gallery Administrators’ and Sales Team’s dispersal of books to an approved client list
- With Gallery Administrators, keep complimentary bookshelf stocked and add new catalogues when they are available from inventory shelves daily (sending updates to Archivist)
- Assist with the creation of sales PDFs on an as-needed basis
GALLERY OPERATIONS:
- Assist the Gallery Manager with front-of-house and other administrative tasks, as needed, including coverage of the front desk, answering phones, and maintaining general office tidiness
Assist with staffing gallery events and opening receptions
Requirements
Qualifications:
Our ideal candidate is highly detail-oriented and creative with exceptional organizational skills; an excellent verbal and written communicator; and possesses the ability to work successfully in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. We seek candidates who are extremely self-motivated, responsible, and efficient, and who hold a sincere appreciation for and experience with navigating diverse cultural spaces. In addition:
- Background in visual arts with a strong interest in contemporary art required
- Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, Photography, Graphic Design, or related degree strongly preferred
- Minimum two (2) years of experience working at a contemporary art gallery, artist studio, or contemporary art museum preferred
- Advanced or expert skills in Adobe Photoshop and InDesign required
- Interest in contemporary art publications welcomed
- Intermediate skills in a Mac-based environment required, including: Google Suite (Gmail, Calendar, Sheets) and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Basic knowledge of databases such as ArtBase / FileMaker (or similar) preferred
- Fluency in multiple languages welcomed
- Physical abilities to perform all core functions and duties, including but not limited to the ability to talk; hear; see; sit for extended periods; walk; climb, balance; stoop; kneel; crouch; crawl; push; pull; reach; and lift up to 50 pounds
- Preference is given to candidates with expert knowledge of global contemporary art, including art of the African Diaspora, Latin America, and Asia
- BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
Compensation & Benefits:
- This is a full-time hourly position (overtime eligible) at 40 hours per week.
- The pay scale for this position is $20 – $25 per hour.
Benefits for full-time employees, following a waiting period, include:
- Premium medical insurance (partially subsidized, at minimal cost to employee)
- Vision insurance (fully subsidized, at no cost to employee)
- Dental and long-term disability insurance
- Paid personal and vacation days
- Paid sick time
- Paid holidays and floating holidays
- Paid gallery closures
- Paid family leave
- Participation in a 401k retirement plan (with employer contribution)
ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
- This position is based in New York, NY.
- The gallery greatly values the health & safety of its employees, and is following all COVID-19 city, county, and state business guidelines for the pandemic.
During the pandemic, approximately 50% of the work required of this position can be completed remotely, with weekly in-person visits required.
How to apply
How to Apply:
Please submit the following to jobs@davidkordanskygallery.com with the subject line “DKG NY: Media & Archives Assistant”:
- a cover letter detailing your previous experience as well as:
- a brief explanation of how you would approach the position
- a description of a relevant project you completed recently
- a current résumé
- a brief PDF portfolio (8-10 pages) with accompanying short descriptions outlining the type of project, the editing programs used, and the length of time for completion
In your application, please note all relevant skills requested in the qualifications above.
BIPOC and LGTBQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants with most, if not all, of the requested qualifications are invited to apply. Submissions including the above items will be prioritized. No phone or walk-in inquiries, please.