Summary

The Jesse Howard Fellowship is an initiative that reflects the Artspace mission to serve the region as a teaching museum by providing important professional development opportunities for promising young artists and art historians. The Howard Fellow is an essential member of the Artspace team and will make critical and meaningful contributions to the Artspace program while gaining valuable skills to support a future career in the arts.

The Howard Fellow assists the Director and Manager of Operations & Communications with all aspects of caring for the Kansas City Art Institute’s fine art teaching collection and managing related resources and activities. This includes working with staff to maintain the collection management system database, conducting research on artists and works of art in the collection, providing registrational, curatorial, and educational support for the organization and presentation of exhibitions in the Cohen Resource Room, conducting an annual Art on Campus inventory, playing a lead role to organize and coordinate one annual Art on Campus installation rotation, and developing interpretive materials for artworks on view and featured on the Artspace website.

Additionally, the Howard Fellow will support public program initiatives relative to their interests and skills, participate in strategic planning and evaluation, training and mentoring of work-study students and academic interns, and provide overall public program support when appropriate.

During the second semester, Fellows have the opportunity to propose and realize an exhibition or special project for the Cohen Resource Room.

Key Details

• Reports To: Voth Artspace Director (Raechell Smith)
• Schedule: Part-time

Deadline: ASAP (Posted May 12, 2026)

Eligibility

Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications:

• Able to perform physical duties of the position including use of ladders, lifts, manual dexterity to handle objects and tools.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. and/or carrying up to 25 lbs.
• Knowledge of art history and contemporary art.
• Experience with museum/exhibition practices including exhibition design, installation, preparation, packing, and art shipping.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality as appropriate.
• Ability to interact and work successfully with staff, faculty, and students as related to job responsibilities.
• High computer literacy with knowledge of Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, and Facebook.
• Must have strong organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Should have the ability to communicate well, both oral and written, with individuals of various backgrounds.
• Must have a pleasant, courteous, and professional attitude and presence.
• Ability to resolve conflicts in a constructive manner.
• Ability to work successfully under the pressure of deadlines and manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision, and to bring projects to conclusion on a timely basis.

Required Education:

• Completion or advance work towards completion of BFA or BA with a strong focus on Art History.

Compensation

$15 per hour

About

Founded in 1885, the Kansas City Art Institute is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected colleges of art and design. A premier private, fully accredited, four-year institution, KCAI offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 13 majors. Its mission is to prepare students to creatively transform the world through art and design.

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Tagged as: Collections Management, Curatorial & Research