Preparator

Position Summary

The Flagler Museum seeks a skilled, proactive, and technically accomplished Preparator to serve as the primary hands-on specialist behind the Museum’s exhibition installations, object handling, and physical environment during a significant period of exhibition growth and gallery transformation.

Reporting to the Chief Curator and Director of Collections, the Preparator is responsible for the hands-on technical execution of the Museum’s exhibition and collections program. The position is designed for a skilled and highly motivated professional who combines deep expertise in fine art handling, installation, and fabrication with a disciplined, safety-conscious approach to working within a nationally significant historic interior.

The Preparator works in close collaboration with the curatorial and collections team to physically realize the Museum’s exhibition program, from initial planning through final installation. The role demands someone who can move fluidly between fine art handling, custom fabrication, and technical problem-solving, always with an eye toward the conservation requirements and preservation sensitivities of the historic Whitehall interior.

This position is ideally suited for a Preparator who is energized by technical problem-solving, fine craftsmanship, and the particular challenges of working within a nationally significant historic house museum undergoing an ambitious phase of exhibition and physical transformation.

About the Museum

Flagler Museum preserves and interprets Whitehall, the historic estate of Henry Morrison Flagler, while advancing educational and cultural understanding through exhibitions, scholarship, public programming, and community engagement focused on Florida and Palm Beach history.

The Museum is entering a dynamic phase of institutional growth centered on:

• expanded exhibitions and programming,
• increased audience engagement,
• strengthened institutional partnerships,
• elevated cultural visibility,
• and a more integrated relationship between scholarship, public engagement, and philanthropy.

Major exhibitions are increasingly positioned as platforms for broader cultural dialogue and audience growth, while smaller exhibitions continue to support focused scholarly interpretation and exploration.

Key Responsibilities

Exhibition Installation & Deinstallation

• Plan, coordinate, and execute the installation and deinstallation of all exhibitions across the Museum’s historic and gallery spaces, including casework, mounts, labels, lighting, and environmental elements.
• Proactively identify and resolve installation challenges in advance, anticipating spatial, technical, and conservation constraints before they become problems.
• Fabricate exhibition components, pedestals, mounts, armatures, and custom hardware solutions, to the highest conservation and curatorial standards.
• Assist with condition reporting, object placement, and layout execution in close collaboration with the Director of Collections and curatorial staff.
• Maintain detailed installation documentation, including mount specifications, object placement records, and technical notes.
• Support the physical execution of exhibition design intent, working from floor plans, elevations, and curatorial briefs to achieve a finished result that meets institutional standards.

Object Handling & Collections Care

• Safely handle, pack, transport, and store art, collections objects, and historic furnishings in accordance with museum best practices and preventive conservation standards.
• Prepare objects for loan, photography, conservation treatment, and special projects, coordinating closely with the Director of Collections and Registrar.
• Assist in preventive conservation efforts, including monitoring and responding to environmental conditions and securing objects appropriately within the historic house environment.
• Work sensitively within the historic interior of Whitehall, ensuring all installations and physical interventions adhere strictly to preservation and conservation guidelines.

Fabrication, Carpentry & Technical Support

• Build or modify gallery infrastructure, temporary walls, display armatures, lighting supports, and custom casework as required by exhibition and institutional needs.
• Assist with AV and technology installation for exhibitions and public programs, troubleshooting as needed.
• Maintain the workshop, tools, equipment, and installation materials in excellent working order; proactively manage inventory and flag supply needs in advance.

Project & Departmental Support

• Collaborate closely with the Chief Curator, Director of Collections, Registrar, and curatorial staff through clear, proactive communication and strong anticipatory problem-solving.
• Participate actively in long-term planning for exhibition schedules, gallery renovations, major restoration projects, and collection rotations.
• Remain adaptable and responsive to shifting institutional priorities, stepping in with initiative wherever technical or physical support is needed.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Demonstrated experience as a preparator, art handler, or exhibition technician within a museum, historic house, or comparable cultural institution; experience in a historic preservation setting strongly preferred.
• Comprehensive knowledge of museum standards for fine art handling, installation, preventive conservation, and object care.Hands-on proficiency in carpentry, fabrication, and mount-making, with an ability to design and execute bespoke solutions for unusual or conservation-sensitive objects
• Electrical, lighting, or AV installation skills are a strong advantage.
• Ability to safely lift and move heavy objects (up to 50 lbs.) and to work comfortably on ladders, scaffolding, and in tight or awkward historic spaces.
• Exceptional attention to detail, precision, and craftsmanship, the kind of professional who takes genuine pride in a well-executed installation.
• A proactive, self-starting disposition: someone who identifies what needs to be done and moves on it without waiting to be asked.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a collaborative and flexible approach to working across departments.
• Genuine appreciation for and sensitivity to working within a nationally significant historic interior environment.
• Experience with rigging, specialty lighting systems, or high-security display casework is a plus.
• A valid driver’s license and comfort with vehicle operation for object transport is preferred.

The Museum seeks a Preparator who brings technical mastery, institutional pride, and genuine initiative to every project, someone who understands that the physical presentation of objects and spaces is inseparable from the Museum’s cultural mission.