Nord Network Junior Fellowship in Conservation

Junior Fellowship Overview:

The conservation department of the Cleveland Museum of Art welcomes applications for a Junior Fellow in Conservation for a period of 36 weeks, from September 2026-June 2027. The Junior Fellow is an aspiring conservator seeking to enter the conservation field through attending a graduate program or undertaking a comprehensive apprenticeship. Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and previous conservation internship experience are preferred.

The Junior Fellow will join a collaborative and convivial conservation department in caring for, studying, preparing, and treating objects from the Museum’s encyclopedic and renowned collection. The Conservation department is engaged in a wide variety of activities including loans, rotations, and exhibitions, with associated object assessment, documentation, and treatment needs. The Conservation department is also committed to ongoing research, investigation, and care of the works in the collection. The Junior Fellow will thus have the opportunity to work closely and collaboratively with conservators, collections care specialists, curators, educators, mount makers, registrars, technicians, art handlers, and exhibition designers, providing a well-rounded professional experience in the diverse responsibilities necessary for a conservation professional working within a fine arts museum setting. A core part of the Junior Fellowship will be engaging in preventive conservation duties.

The Junior Fellowship is designed to include the development of hand skills, as well as learning and practice in other areas useful for an aspiring conservator, including but not limited to:

• Guided study of ethics, theories, and documentation practices;
• Organization, maintenance, and management of labs and storage spaces (including preventive conservation work, rehousing of objects and samples, and/or health and safety practices);
• Preventive conservation tasks such as maintenance and cleaning of objects on display in galleries, regular participation in the museum’s Integrated Pest Management program, and regular participation in the environmental monitoring of display and storage areas;
• Examination and documentation of objects in preparation for photography, photogrammetry, loan, or exhibition;
• Focused hand skill development workshops such as water gilding and inpainting;
• and specific treatment and research projects to be identified together between CMA conservators and the Junior Fellow.

The Conservation department also prioritizes participation in education and outreach programs and the Junior Fellow will have opportunities to develop materials and didactics around conservation topics for family and adult public programs and present their work to public audiences. As a core part of the department’s social media team, the Junior Fellow will develop content to share Conservation’s activities in blog posts and other social media.

The Institution:

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes nearly 45,000 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation and open free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood. A major renovation and expansion project completed in 2014 has transformed the museum into a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts and art education. The Museum's Conservation Department currently employs 14 full-time staff members, including conservators in Asian paintings, objects, paper, preventive care, textiles, and Western paintings, and as well as three technicians, two other Fellows, and a chief conservator. The department regularly hosts a variety of interns including undergraduate, pre-program, and graduate interns. The significant resources of the Cleveland Museum of Art, including its outstanding art library and archives, and nearby Case Western Reserve University with its innovative maker space, Think[box] engineering center, contribute to a unique internship opportunity.

About the Eric & Jane Nord Family Fellowship and Internship Network:

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is committed to advancing, implementing, and developing transformational fellowship and internship opportunities at the museum. The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fellowship and Internship Network develops key fellowship and internship opportunities in targeted areas at the CMA that build stronger relationships between the CMA and the communities it serves. The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fellowship and Internship Network establishes yearly cohorts of fellows and interns at the CMA, in the areas of conservation, collections management, community arts, and director’s fellowships, to advance the careers of qualified individuals interested in these museum fields.

Requirements:

The candidate must be eligible to legally work in the US and have an undergraduate degree. The candidate should have demonstrated progress on fulfilling coursework needed for entering the conservation field, such as art history, studio art, and/or chemistry.

Salary:

The Nord Network Junior Fellow in Conservation will receive $20/hour for a total of 36 weeks of work, plus an $8,000 discretionary stipend, which is intended to help offset costs of relocating, housing, and ongoing coursework and research, for a total compensation package of $33,200. Please note compensation is taxed. The Junior Fellow will also be eligible to participate in the Museum’s health, dental, and vision benefits plan.

Application Procedure:

Application materials must be received by the end of day June 1, 2026. For consideration, please submit the following materials in English:

• A letter stating your interest in working at the Cleveland Museum of Art and intent in applying for the Nord Network Junior Fellowship in Conservation, including description(s) of previous conservation experience, preparatory coursework, and internships
• Curriculum vitae
• Online portfolio (preferred) of examples of examination and treatment reports with images; examples of art and/or craftwork are highly encouraged.
• List of three references
• Short essay (500 words or less) about why you have chosen conservation as your intended profession

Applications that do not include all these elements will not be considered.