Dynamic Curator/Collections Manager seeks exciting new role

[annikaliv]

Headline: Dynamic Curator/Collections Manager seeks exciting new role
Name: Annika Erikson
Email Address: annikaerikson@rhs.org.uk
Current Location: London, England, UK

Preferred Job Category: Curator

Personal Statement:
I am passionate about delivering interpretation projects in order to increase appreciation and awareness of cultural heritage/art collections, and also about looking after these collections. I enjoy a varied and challenging role, and currently deal with exhibitions, cataloguing, research, writing, lecturing, preservation and conservation project management, surveys and audits, loans, donations and acquisitions. I am particularly interested in Curating, Interpretation Project Managment, Collection Management, and Research.

Education:
The University of Arts, London, Camberwell College of Arts 2001 - 2004

Major in Organic Conservation (BA with Honours) with emphasis in paper, coursework included conservation of paper, books, ethnographic material, textiles, library and archive material, object storage, presentation and display, papermaking, museology and chemistry

Minor in Curation and Philosophy

Long Beach City College, Long Beach, California, USA 2000 - 2001

University level coursework in General and Organic Chemistry, Art History II (Early Renaissance to Baroque), Art History III (Modern Art), Art History V (Asian Art), Colour Photography, Studio Photography and Experimental Photography

The Aegean Center for Fine Arts, Paros, Kyklades, Greece 1998

Unique program which included touring Italy and Greece. University level coursework in Art History of Italy and Greece, History of Photography, Black and White Photography, Digital Photography, Colour Photography, Figure Drawing, Sculpture and Ancient Greek Literature

Pratt Institute, New York City, New York, USA 1997

University level short course program in Art Foundation and Oil Painting

Burlington High School/ Champlain Valley Union 1994 - 1998

General education in English, Math, Science, History, Geography, Art, German

Professional Experience:
Acting Picture Library Curator/ Picture Library Assistant May 2006 - present
Royal Horticultural Society, The Lindley Library, London, UK

Manage RHS Art Collection, comprised of 22,000 artworks dating back to 1620, photographs from the daguerreotype to the contemporary.

• Curating exhibitions: Project managed a touring exhibition displayed at the Inner Temple, Chelsea, and upcoming Hampton Court Palace Flower Shows, attracting 333,000 visitors since September 2008 and enhancing the RHS website, show catalogues and Garden magazine. Exhibition development experience including negotiations with potential external partners such as the Royal Society, Kensington Palace, Fulham Palace and the Garden Museum.

• Interpretation: Independently manage tours and appointments with artists, academics, Universities, and special interest groups. Advising students, art dealers, auction houses, artists and academics with curatorial enquiries. Research on artists’ biographies, techniques, materials, and historic figures, to feed into interpretation projects and develop the collection as a cultural heritage asset while supporting the interpretation strategy. Lecturing for the RHS and on a freelance basis. Creating and modifying detailed catalogue records onto SIRSI.

• Collection management: Surveys and reports of storage and display sites, audits of the main storage facility, updating master list of artworks and overseeing movement and hanging of artworks. Administration and courier of international loans. Selection of new acquisitions for purchase, commission or donation, management of budget, payment, contracts, cataloguing, storage, and housing.

• Preserving the collection: Insuring archival storage, environmental controls and monitoring are in place, condition reports made, and any badly deteriorated artworks prioritised for conservation. Project management such as developing conservation project for Chinese paintings collection, attaining sponsorship of PhD pilot project, writing proposals and giving presentations, working with the fundraising department. Overseeing PhD, MA, volunteer and short term contract projects. Contributions to Preservation Plan and Disaster Plan for the Library, and writing policy documents for the Picture Collections. Rudimentary conservation practical treatment and cleaning of watercolours, prints, historic photographs and gilded frames.

• Judging: Botanical Art exhibitions judging administration as Secretary to the Picture and Photographic Committees, and judging at Society of Botanical Artists’ exhibition.


Archivist
Shiva Design, London Bridge, London, UK Mar – Jun 2005
Consultancy position that involved systematic organisation and archiving of product library, architectural prints and drawings, photography, and files. Other duties included research, photographing and documenting architectural design features and liaising with web designer to produce a website.

Internship/Assistant Conservator
St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, UK Oct 2003 – Feb 2005
Internship that evolved into an assistant position. Re-housing the Architectural Prints and Drawings Collection of 7,000 works. Plans were cleaned, basic treatments preformed, then catalogued and placed in better storage, with further conservation needs evaluated. Management of interns, proposal and implementation of strategies for housing out-sized and unusual objects, phase box making, packaging and transportation of objects.

Internship
P & O Ferries, London, UK Poster Collection May 2003
Survey of historic advertising poster collection, which included creation of tailored condition report, examination of collection, and entry of information onto collections database.

Internship
Jamie Reed (Sex Pistols) Private Collection, London, UK Feb – May 2002
Project included surface cleaning, removal of adhesive residue, re-attachment of collage elements for contemporary art object that later sold for 1.5 million pounds.

Assistant to Director of Exhibitions
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA, USA May 2000 – Aug 2001
Position in an established art museum involving research and writing for exhibitions, documentation of loans and recent acquisitions, installation staff scheduling, payment, art movement, installation assistance, handling, condition reports, Slide Library, Reference Art Library and Accession Logs management. Oversaw and trained Cataloguing Assistant and Getty Interns and served as staff liaison for Artists Council members.

Head Collections Cataloguer
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA, USA May 2000 – Aug 2001
Part-time job share with above position including database management, cataloguing, collections research, technical support and staff training for a collections management program Embark. This multi-million dollar project, funded by the Getty Foundation, involved the cataloguing of an object’s history and use, as well as image and keyword database input. Regular reports and presentations made for Getty Foundation.

Head Receptionist/Gallery Attendant
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA, USA Oct 1999 – May 2000
Multi line phone operation, bulk mailings, customer service, cash register, daily art check, supervision, training and staff scheduling, installation assistance, special events, visitor relations.

Curatorial Assistant
Firehouse Gallery, Burlington, Vermont, USA Jan – Jun 1998
Included the training and scheduling of over 60 gallery attendant/ performer volunteers for an exhibition on China. Managed opening and assisted with installation.

PUBLISHED WRITING

• “Lilian Snelling,” the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Press
• “A Taste of Conservation at the RHS” ICON News [magazine]
• “A Glimpse into the Golden Age of Botany: George Dionysius Ehret,” The Linnean [journal], Linnean Society London
• “Borders” [catalogue], Borders exhibition at Furman University in South Carolina

Applicable Skills:
Excellent computer skills, microsoft package, photoshop, illustrator, scanning and digital camera skills, cataloguing software: SIRSI, Embark
Proactive and organised creative thinker, with excellent promotion and communication skills, the ability to enthuse others.

Other:
Fellow of the Linnean Society, Member of ICON (Institute of Conservation)
Travelling through Italy and Greece gave me a lasting love of art history, architecture, ancient history and food. Travelling through the deserts of California and Nevada, Yosemite, Yellowstone, New Mexico and Alaska encouraged an appreciation of nature and great landscapes. I have enjoyed photographing and sketching these experiences along the way. Since joining the RHS I have developed a great interest in gardening and the transient beauty of flowers.