Outta sight — An incredible thing about working in a world-caliber museum, besides the prestige and the pay (well, it for sure ain't the pay), is hanging out with Greek statuary as the sun rises in the morning and the whole place is a silent palace. And when quietly wandering through after closing, the oil paintings truly glisten under the soft glow of huge chandeliers inside — and sometimes you can sneak a private tour of a blockbuster exhibition, an opportunity to whisper whatever you want to Van Gogh or Vermeer. It's like spending your life far from home in a freakin' castle. The temptation — and trust me on this one — is to pull a classic prank like little Claudia and brother Jamie did in the children's classic From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, in which the adventurous twosome spend the night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking in everything, from the archives to the attic.
Now is your chance: The Detroit Institute of Arts is looking for a full-time assistant curator of contemporary art. The position recommends that candidates have a master's degree in art history, and "reasonable familiarity" with the activities of a large museum. In other words, you are, at the very least, the sort who puts museum-hopping on your to-do list when traveling here or abroad.
The position requires a fair amount of research and writing, so you can properly assist curator Beck Hart in putting together contemporary art exhibitions. Knowing your way around another language — particularly French, German and Italian — will get you points too. And, as always with the DIA, you must be a Detroit resident within three months of the date of hire. Good luck.
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