Overview

About Weeksville Heritage Center

Weeksville Heritage Center (WHC) is a historic site and cultural center in Central Brooklyn that uses education, arts, and a social justice lens to preserve, document and inspire engagement with the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America, and the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses. Founded in 1838, Weeksville was the second largest of approximately 100 independent African-American communities established before the Civil War.

When a group of community activists rediscovered three remaining original homes 1968, they purchased, rehabilitated, and restored the Hunterfly Road Houses, re-opening their doors as the Weeksville Heritage Center in 1973. In 2014, WHC opened its new Cultural Arts and Education Center and campus, including a visual arts gallery, performance space, resource center, and administrative offices. WHC is now poised for a bright new era, with the resources and vision in place to fully activate our history and expand our education, preservation, and public programming.

Recently announced as New York City’s newest Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) member, the first since 1998, WHC is one of New York City’s cultural treasures, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the story of the 19th century African-American community of Weeksville, a nationally significant, exceptionally well-documented and rare extant example of an independent African-American community organized by Black entrepreneurs and land investors to promote economic, social, and political rights. 

The Opportunity

The Interns for the Collections Team at Weeksville Heritage Center will work closely with various members of the Operations Department to document, inventory, categorize, and pack up various sections of the organization’s collection. This project will review various pieces of the collection included in main building storage and pieces within some of the historic houses. The incumbents will collaborate with Operations and Collections team members to ensure pieces within the collection are ready to move to off-site storage locations.

 

Primary Responsibilities

  • Collaborates with, and takes direction from, the Director of Operations in itemizing, documenting, cataloging, (re)packing and boxing collection items in preparation for relocation to off site storage; providing weekly written reports on progress.
  • Acts as the liaison between the Director of Operations and the storage company for the movement of the collection.
  • Presents updates on the progress of the ongoing preparation and documentation of the collection to senior staff and in All Staff Meetings.
  • Works with the Operations Manager to order all equipment necessary to complete the project.
  • Assists with cataloging and completing inventory of other aspects of the collection including digital and online items as well as artifacts not included in the historic houses.
  • Perform other duties related to the cataloging, itemizing, and storage of the collection, as needed.

 

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Qualifications

  • Preference will be given toward candidates that have or are working towards a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in any of the following areas of study: Historic Preservation, African American History/Studies, Africana Studies, Fine Art or Art History, Museum, Heritage or Archival studies, Archaeology, Cultural Studies and/or Anthropology; will also consider coursework in these areas or decorative arts or material culture.
  • Strong office, administrative, and organizational skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.
  • Organized and detail oriented along with being a self-motivated worker.
  • Knowledge of Brooklyn and Crown Heights specifically, preferred.

 

Weeksville Heritage Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All candidates for employment are considered without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical disability, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.