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C.V.

Amy L. Raffel

My career has been dedicated to making art and ideas more accessible to more people in digital spaces, in museums, and in classrooms through a variety of educational and content strategies. With over 14 years of experience in the art world, as well as multiple advanced degrees in art history, I strive to use art and culture to engage audiences and give them agency, a sense of community, and new insights.

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EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center in contemporary art, 2010 August - 2017 January

    • ​Dissertation on Keith Haring’s Pop Shop (1986) and the East Village scene

    • Major: contemporary art

    • Minors: History of Photography and Italian Renaissance

    • Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellow 2010-15 - highest honor to an incoming student

  • Masters of Philosophy (Ab.D.), CUNY Graduate Center in contemporary art, 2014 October

    • Passed oral exams on contemporary art (major), history of photography (minor), and focus area (Keith Haring and the New York eighties downtown scene). Completed all courses and language requirements (German/French).

  • Masters of Arts - Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 2010 May

    • Major in Contemporary art history, minors in Italian Renaissance art and Curatorial Studies.

  • Pennsylvania State University: BA in Art History, BA in Advertising, and minor in Business, honors, 2007 May

    • GPA 3.99 / 4.0 scale, summa cum laude

    • Penn State’s Schreyer’s Honors College- top 2%, honors thesis on artist group General Idea

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WORK EXPERIENCE: MUSEUMS, RESEARCH, AND CONTENT CREATION

  • Public Programs Manager, New York Transit Museum, 2022 September – present

    • Create and manage programs including walking tours, ticketed train rides, virtual programs, annual community events and festivals, and programs at the Museum's downtown Brooklyn location. You can learn more about the programs I manage here.

  • Head of Content, College Art Association, 2021 March – 2022 August

    • Oversaw CAA’s content team of four full time individuals, as well as programs and events, four journals (online and print), grants and awards, new Content initiatives. This included managing any content-related plans for promotion, digitization, operations, and development. 

    • Oversaw CAA's marketing and advertising campaigns, public-facing communications, and communications staff. Wrote, edited, and scheduled all promotional copy through eblasts, a weekly newletter, social media posts, and the website, collegeart.org.

  • Queens Museum, interpretation consultant, 2021 August – present. While full time at the Queens Museum, I wrote a National Endowment for the Humanities Planning Grant, awarded to the Museum in 2021. The grant develops the interpretation plan for the Panorama of the City of New York. I now serve as a consultant.

  • Queens Museum, Andrew W. Mellon Interpretation Research Fellow, 2018 June – 2021 February – Full time.

    • Manager, liaison, collaborator, and researcher:

      • Work across education, curatorial, visitor services, design, and communication departments on interpretative and educational projects for kids, adults, teens, and persons with disabilities (according to ADA guidelines).

      • Manage and collaborate with freelancers and partners on a variety of projects.

      • Develop and write grants for interpretation initiatives.

      • Represent interpretation at conferences, academia, and networking events.

      • Complete and present audience research through visitor surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observations. 

    • Content:

      • ​Conceive, research, write, edit, produce, and manage accessible and multilingual exhibition didactics and communications for all audiences, including wall labels and text, visitor guides, kids guides, marketing materials, digital content (audio guides, worksheets, videos of art tutorials, online lectures), and signage (way-finding, promotional, and programming).

      • Determine and manage overall cohesion and hierarchy of interpretation.

      • Conceive, research, write, edit, produce, and manage gallery interactives including audience response stations and Art Labs.

      • Design, lead, and organize tours, talks, events, education exhibitions, and art workshops for K-12 groups, families, teens, adults, and community partners.

  • Artifact, Consultant, 2019 June – 2020 March – Freelance.

    • Constructed controlled vocabulary. Consulted on user experience, registration process, and art historical categorization of the website; as well as its staff growth, direction, and training in these areas.

    • Wrote hundreds of definitions for art terms.

    • Managed team of art writers.

  • Artsy, Senior Genome Contributor, 2014 May – 2018 November - Freelance.

    • Researched, wrote, and cataloged for The Artsy Genome Project, www.artsy.net

    • Applied nuanced data and tags to over 61,000 artists and artworks.

    • Wrote and edited accessible art historical content and bios, maintained database quality, and trained and assessed team members.

  • Artsy, Research Fellow for the Curator at Large, 2015 May - 2016 July - Part time.

    • Research assistance for Dr. Mathew Israel on articles on art, and development research for OnSite, Artsy’s global series of artist and curator talks.

  • Research Assistant, 2015 October – 2017 October - Freelance.

    • Research and consultation for Dr. Matthew Israel’s book The Big Picture: Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists and Dr. Doug Dreishpoon’s book, What is Sculpture?

  • James Gallery Attendant, 2014 February - 2016 December - Part time.

    • Public liaison.

    • Assisted in exhibition production and maintenance, audience development, and programming.

  • Collections Assistant, 2013 March - August - Full time.

    • Managed collection tasks regarding artists, galleries, storage facilities, and conservation for contemporary art collector William Palmer. Created and maintained collection database.

  • New York University, Department of Fine Arts, Image Cataloger, 2010 May – August - Full time.

    • Research and data input for Luna Database on multiple art historical subjects.

  • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York - Photography Department, Curatorial Intern, 2009 August - 2010 April - Part time.

    • Exhibition prep and research for Haunted and Tino Sehgal, TMS data entry, gallery and artist liaison.

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WORK EXPERIENCE: ACADEMICS

  • StrongMind, Research Subject Matter Curriculum Expert, 2017 March – July 2019 – Freelance.

    • Designed, researched, wrote, and edited curriculum and online courses for high school students.

    • Courses: art history, digital photography, post-photography production, fashion design, and career building.

  • Art History Teaching Resources, Lecture Editor and Content Manager, 2014 April – 2016 April – Freelance.

  • Lehman College, Graduate Teaching Fellow, 2011 August - 2015 May - Full time.

    • Taught two classes of Introduction to Modern Art (19th and 20th centuries) per semester to undergraduates.

  • IFA-Frick Museum Symposium & IFA In-house Symposium Coordinator, 2009 September - 2010 April– Part time.

    • Coordinated and managed the annual symposium featuring graduate student speakers from fifteen schools.

  • CUNY Graduate Center, Teaching Assistantships for CUNY Professors, 2010-2011 – Research & course preparation.

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SKILLS

  • Computer:

    • Microsoft Teams and Suite, Yammer, Outlook, Typeform, Eventbrite, Trint, Audacity, iMovie, Wordpress, Wix, Adobe Photoshop, Zoom, Splashtop, Adobe InDesign, Art Systems, Googlesuite and applications, Luna Database, Slack, Looker, Voyager, GitHub, Trello, meta-data, MIP Fund Accounting, MailChimp, Readable.com, The Museum System (TMS), data entry, and database management.

  • Installation and Art Handling:

    • Project-managed the installation of the Queens Museum’s Art Labs, including construction materials and art handlers. Designed, printed, and installed vinyl text.

  • Publishing:

    • Copy-editing, indexing, and securing image permissions. Use of Chicago Style.

  • Public speaking and presentation

  • Strategic planning

 

PHILANTHROPY AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • CultureSwap Planning Committee, 2019 September – present.

  • ArtTable member, 2019 August – 2020 August.

  • Street Project, Urban Adventures Leader and Board Member, 2010 - present.

    • Organize and lead monthly volunteer field trips for inner-city youth ages 10-14 to museums, fun activities, and cultural events.

    • Coordinate with institutions and schools, recruit volunteers, and plan events.

  • Penn State’s Thon, 2003 - 2007

    • Various volunteer committees, student run philanthropy.

 

AWARDS

  • 2021 - National Endowment for the Humanities Planning Grant for the Queens Museum - To develop the interpretation for the Panorama of the City of New York. 

  • Phi Beta Kappa member, 2007-present.

  • The Creative Achievement Award, 2006 & 2007 - Nominated and awarded by Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture for outstanding work.

  • Evan Pugh Scholar Award, 2006 & 2007 - Awarded to top .05 percent of juniors & seniors.

  • Kappa Tau Alpha, 2006 - present - National honor society for top 10% of Communication majors.

    • Top Scholar Award, 2007- awarded to member with the highest GPA.

  • President’s Sparks Award, 2005 - Maintaining a 4.0 into my sophomore year.

  • President’s Freshman Award, 2004 -Maintaining a 4.0 first semester of freshman year.

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©2020 by Amy L. Raffel. Proudly created with Wix.com

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