Description

John Michael Kohler Arts Center

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Director of Collections and Registration 

Opportunity to lead the collections and registration department of an arts center recognized internationally

for its groundbreaking collection and exhibitions.

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) seeks a Director of Collections and Registration to lead its collections and registration department. This is a rare opportunity to guide the care and stewardship of a world-renowned collection at a premier institution dedicated to the presentation, preservation, and advancement of self-taught and contemporary art—particularly artist-built environments.

JMKAC houses almost 38,000 objects across a 133,000 sq. ft. campus—including the 77,000 sq. ft. Arts Center and the 56,000 sq. ft. Art Preserve. The Director of Collections and Registration will lead a department responsible for both permanent collections and rotating exhibitions, working in a collaborative and creative environment committed to innovation in both care and interpretation. The Curatorial Department is a highly motivated, ambitious and collaborative team that shares resources across overlapping areas of responsibility amidst shared values and goals.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Curator, the Director of Collections and Registration is responsible for the care, management, and documentation of JMKAC’s permanent collection. The position supervises a team of four as part of the larger visual arts department of twenty. This role calls for a collections leader who is both detail-oriented and a strategic thinker—well-versed in museum best practices but also flexible, innovative, and comfortable navigating the complexities of unconventional materials and environments. 

JMKAC’s collection includes artist-built environments, artist home-based collections, folk art, self-taught and contemporary works, and materials generated through the Arts/Industry residency. The Director will play a key role in ensuring the long-term care and accessibility of these works, while supporting the Center’s ambitious exhibition program. 

JMKAC enjoys significant support from its founding family and the Kohler Co. which also holds a collection of contemporary art created through its renowned Arts/Industry program in partnership with JMKAC. Click Here for information about the Arts/Industry Program. The Arts/Industry Residency program partnership was founded in 1974 and brings together the values of Kohler Company’s fine design, artistry, innovation and craftsmanship with artists and industry workers and reflects JMKAC’s unique position as an arts center dedicated to collecting, preserving and presenting nontraditional art forms.  

JMKAC has achieved national and international recognition for its innovative programs within the greater context of contemporary art. Since its inception, JMKAC has worked to bring recognition to these art forms of the 20th and 21st centuries. Exhibitions include contemporary artists, emerging artists, self-taught artists, craft-based artists, and folk artists. The Center has a long history of creating exhibitions that are primarily artist-driven and is especially interested in providing a platform for artists who have been overlooked or underrepresented. As such, the works of art are not selected based on their standing in the art world but rather their individual qualities and their suitability in strengthening the JMKAC’s curatorial thesis. Through recent expansion efforts that include the Art Preserve, JMKAC remains an international leader in exhibiting, collecting and preserving these important objects. 

The Director of Collections and Registration will foster collaboration among the curatorial, education, and programming sectors to help ensure the delivery of insightful and impactful exhibition programs and help guide the collecting priorities of JMKAC. They will champion fresh thinking and approaches to art exhibitions and collecting, and seize opportunities to be creative, and innovative in the preservation and care of the collection. This is an opportunity to join a leadership team and advance JMKAC’s reputation as a thought and program leader at a national level. 

Qualified candidates need not be experts in nontraditional or vernacular art but should be well versed in collections management and best practices. The Director of Collections and Registration will be an out-of-the-box thinker capable of making the sometimes seeming impossible possible. JMKAC fosters an environment in which  “no” is replaced with “yes and how” reflecting the incredible positive and forward-thinking vision of its founder. They will also be a self-starter, putting team before self, encouraging cross-departmental thinking and visitor-centric approaches to presenting the art forms that have inspired JMKAC since its inception. 

Requirements

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The Director of Collections and Registration is responsible for maintaining professional but flexible standards of registration, care and risk mitigation in housing the collection, transit, display, and storage of the art; documentation; legal issues as they apply to JMKAC’s collections, loans, and exhibitions. The Director of Collections and Registration must be able to work collaboratively with teams, shape collection policies, and execute exhibition planning and implementation. With a broad knowledge of contemporary art and its inherent complexities including materials and construction challenges, the Director of Collections and Registration must anticipate issues before they arise, communicate directly with colleagues, and take appropriate action to ensure the security of the objects and their exhibition while making every effort to help attain ambitious programmatic goals. Responsibilities include managing the collection and collaborating on its growth. Oversight of the Collections department, its administration and budget, and mentoring staff are part of the equation in a very busy curatorial department. This position reports to the Chief Curator. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Collections department, overseeing care, conservation, storage, and registration practices.
• Oversee all registrarial aspects of rotating exhibitions, including condition reporting, packing and unpacking, shipping logistics, loan agreements, insurance, and coordination with artists and lenders to ensure safe handling and timely installation of artworks.
• Develop and implement collections management policies, maintain the collections database, and ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards.
• Manage budgets related to shipping, crating, conservation, and storage.
• Collaborate with curators, artists, and other departments on installations, commissions, and exhibition planning.
• Shape institutional policy on collection priorities, documentation, and interpretation.
• Serve as primary contact for all registrar-related duties on temporary and traveling exhibitions.
• Liaise with artists during commissions and installations, ensuring the integrity of their work and safety of materials.
• Lead planning for collections-based access, including research visits, study collections, and public engagement.
• Supervise and mentor department staff, fostering cross-departmental collaboration.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Master's degree in museum studies, Arts Administration, or related fields or experiences
• Minimum 6 years museum experience in museum registration and/or collections management
• Experience with fine arts insurance, knowledge of standard museum loan and registration processes
• Knowledge of standard best practices and procedures for art handling, transportation, installation, storage, condition reporting, preservation, and basic conservation
• Proficiency in collections management database software, email, word processing and spreadsheet software, Microsoft Office suite
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage time and meet deadlines
• Detail oriented
• Flexibility in problem solving
• Able to prioritize and handle multiple tasks and projects simultaneously
• Aptitude to work across departments in a highly collaborative, goal-oriented manner.
• Ability to maintain a professional and positive attitude in a dynamic and creative setting

Collections and Exhibitions at JMKAC

JMKAC’s collection includes almost 38,000 objects and is notable for its holdings in artist-built environments (over three dozen in total), Arts/Industry works, artist home-based environments, self-taught artists, and contemporary practices. Works range across all media, including painting, sculpture, photography, new genres, and large-scale installations. A unique acquisition partnership with the Kohler Foundation has enabled the addition of over 6,000 objects in the last three years alone.

Opened in 2020, the Art Preserve is a 56,000 sq. ft. purpose-built facility dedicated to artist-built environments. Designed by Tres Birds (Denver, CO), the building offers open storage, curated displays, an education space, library, and researcher access areas. The Preserve complements JMKAC’s core mission to care for and share these singular environments and objects.

The visual arts team of twenty curates 10–16 original exhibitions annually, aligned around one major themes that reflect current issues in contemporary art. JMKAC’s exhibitions are artist-driven, conceptually rigorous, and designed to engage broad audiences.

More About the John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Founded in 1967, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) is a non-profit creative hub that supports the work of contemporary artists through original exhibitions, commissions, residencies, publications, and community programming across visual and performing arts. The only institution in the world that collects artist-built and artist home-based environments, JMKAC is a leading center for the research, preservation, and presentation of artists with wide-ranging practices and backgrounds from academically trained to self-taught and folk traditions, championing long-term relationships with artists and elevating work that has often been overlooked or under-recognized. Spanning two facilities that are free and open to the public, the Arts Center and the Art Preserve, JMKAC’s campus includes eight galleries; 56,000 square feet of curated, visible collections storage; and two performance spaces that support the creation and presentation of new works in dance, theatre, film, and music. JMKAC responds to community needs and fosters the global exchange of ideas as well as lifelong engagement with the arts, with programs including an onsite arts-based preschool; free classes and events; and its flagship Arts/Industry residency program, a partnership with Kohler Co. that provides artists with resources and studio space at the Kohler Factory

JMKAC maintains a long-standing commitment to inclusivity and public access. Programs like Connecting Communities pair artists with local groups to co-create large-scale, collaborative works. Education programs serve schools, families, individuals with disabilities, and more. The Art Center remains free to the public and deeply embedded in its community.

Compensation

This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead a collections department at a unique arts center. The anticipated salary is $80,000 commensurate with experience. A generous benefits package includes healthcare, paid time off including sick and vacation, retirement plan, relocation expenses, and pre-school education cost support. Applicants must be able to relocate to the Sheboygan region, be eligible to work in the United States and successfully pass background checks. Periodic hybrid work schedule is negotiable but this role requires being present and engaged. 

For More Information/How to Apply

To apply, submit a cover letter, résumé, and names of 3 references with their contact information and your professional relationship to them by September 15, 2025 to: Dan Keegan, Senior Search Consultant, Museum Leadership Placement, [email protected]. References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant.

Diversity and Inclusion

JMKAC values diversity in all its forms and actively encourages candidates with diverse backgrounds to apply. It does not discriminate against any candidate or employee based on race, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion or veteran status.

About Sheboygan and the Region

Sheboygan is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, 50 miles north of Milwaukee and 65 miles south of Green Bay. Sheboygan is a freshwater haven with many outdoor recreation opportunities including exceptional freshwater fishing. It is a friendly community of 50,000 and has a warm-summer and cold-winter climate typical of Wisconsin with year-round temperatures moderated by the waters of Lake Michigan.

Sheboygan enjoys 34 beautiful parks and 3 athletic complexes, totaling over 600 acres, offering residents and visitors a variety of outdoor recreation options. The region offers breathtaking views of the Lake and large sandy beaches. It also offers world-class freshwater sailing and premier charter fishing. It is a clean and diversified port town and commercial center, and has grown as a tourist and retirement destination attractive to residents of the larger cities to the south, including Chicago. The Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts resides in the restored historic 1927 Universal Pictures Theater. It is home to several local performing arts groups and presents its own series of live performances and movies.  Housing costs are reasonable, and the Sheboygan area public school system consistently meets Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction standards and significantly exceeds post-secondary readiness measurements.  

The Levitt AMP Sheboygan Music Series, 11 summer concerts organized by JMKAC, takes place in the Sheboygan’s beautiful new City Green. Once a dormant space, City Green is now an expansive urban green space with a permanent stage and connects the Mead Public Library and the JMKAC bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together to further energize downtown Sheboygan’s newly created Arts, Culture and Food District.

The City’s historic district of retail shops, small businesses and restaurants enhances Sheboygan’s charm. The City’s waterfront zone includes piers with a large resort and indoor waterpark complex. The area has two world-class golf courses owned by Kohler Co. Nearby are the Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run courses, located in the more upscale suburb of Kohler, 5 miles to the west. Sheboygan has a notable collection of arts assets for a city this size, some endowed by the Kohler family. Kohler Co.’s philanthropic and community-centered support is evident in unusually strong arts and recreation amenities, including JMKAC. Sheboygan’s small-city lifestyle is bolstered by its large-corporation sophistication and connectivity to the metropolitan communities of Milwaukee and Chicago. There are 17 colleges within 50 miles of Sheboygan. Interstate 43 connects Green Bay to the north and the Milwaukee-Chicago metroplex to the south. Major-league football, baseball and basketball are all within easy access to Green Bay and Milwaukee.