Job Description — Archive Fellow
Part time, temporary, in-person position
24 hours/week, September 2026–September 2027
Compensation: $25/hour
Duties include:
Liaise with interview subjects
- Conduct research to find contact information for interview subjects or estates
- Contact artists represented in the collection to determine the level of access and permission they would like to provide to their interview, while upholding our values as a community-based archive
- Gather biographical information from interview subjects to better contextualize materials in the collection and use this to write comprehensive biographies for subsequent finding aid
Quality control and edit transcripts and audiovisual access files
- Review and correct computer-generated transcripts for accuracy
- Draw on knowledge of downtown and queer art history to correct spellings of proper names
- Edit audiovisual access files as requested by interview subjects
Assist with the description of the collection and creation of a finding aid
- Synthesize biographical information to create notes for finding aid
- Write descriptions of tape contents for finding aid
- Assist in inputting information into finding aid on ArchivesSpace
The Archive Fellow should:
- Be a people person who is comfortable communicating directly and empathetically with our broad and diverse constituency across age, race, sexuality, gender, and ability.
- Have 1-2 years of professional experience that demonstrate high attention to detail and ability to self-manage multiple tasks on a timeline
- Have a strong interest in learning about the intersections of AIDS activism, related cultural production, and contemporary and historic artistic communities. Previous work in the field of HIV and AIDS is not required. Interest and familiarity with queer art histories of the 1980s and 90s is a plus.
- Be able to work in-person at the Visual AIDS office in Chelsea for the majority of their hours.
- Hold or be pursuing a degree in Library and Information Science, Art History, or related fields, or the equivalent experience and expertise.
- Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud (specifically audio and video editing) is preferred.
- Experience with processing archival collections, archival management, and using ArchivesSpace a plus, but not required
Commitment and Compensation: This is a part-time (3 days a week, 24 hours per week) temporary position, primarily working in-person at the Visual AIDS office in Chelsea, New York. Compensation is $25/hr. Part-time employees receive paid time off and paid sick leave, but are not eligible for health or dental insurance.
To apply: Send a cover letter, résumé, writing sample (1 page maximum), and references as a single PDF file to jobs@visualaids.org by June 21st, 2026.
This project is made possible with support from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
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