Center Resident Collections Fellow
The Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Resident Collections Fellowship is a unique opportunity for an emerging museum or historic house curator with a passion for decorative arts, architecture, and landscape history to play a leading role in the preservation and interpretation of Cranbrook’s diverse historic collections and built and natural environments. This post-graduate fellowship, which provides a professional bridge to long-term curatorial careers, includes a modest apartment on Cranbrook’s campus in a carriage house designed by Albert Kahn.
Reporting to the Center’s Director and working closely with the Center’s Curator, while also working collaboratively with the staff of the Center (notably the registrar and archivists) as well as the staffs of Cranbrook’s Art Museum, Institute of Science, and Schools, and the volunteers of Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary, the Collections Fellow researches collections and assists with the development of their documentation, accessioning, storage, care, conservation, and inventory, as well as their display and interpretation within the context of Cranbrook House, Saarinen House, and Smith House. They develop and organize collections-based educational programs for Cranbrook Schools and develop lectures and tours for regional audiences, including behind-the-scenes programs. They also assist with visiting researchers, develop the representation of the Center’s collections and programs on the Center’s website, write blogs and help edit the Center’s “Cranbrook Kitchen Sink” blog, assist with fundraisers, and provide private tours of the campus, including Cranbrook House, Saarinen House, and Smith House.
Collections Fellows typically hold an M.A. in decorative arts, art history, architecture or landscape history, material culture, or a related field, with an emphasis on late 19th- through mid-20th-century art and architecture and a specialty/interest in decorative arts and design. They have experience in object-based research and interpretation skills, as well as outstanding speaking, writing, and editing skills—including comfort with virtual presentation platforms. They often have previous curatorial experience or internships.
The 2026–2028 Resident Collections Fellow will be the first to focus on researching and sharing with public and internal audiences Cranbrook’s landscapes and natural environments, including the landscapes that were part of the original Booth estate: the terraced gardens that surround Cranbrook House, the Booths’ 1908 Arts and Crafts manor home; the 1915 Greek Theatre; and the 1915 Cranbrook Japanese Garden that is now being rejuvenated by the Center with Sadafumi Uchiyama, Curator Emeritus of the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon.
The work of the 2026–2028 Resident Collections Fellow will not only document these landscapes and their supporting sculptures and decorative arts but also share them with ever expanding audiences. The Fellow’s work may include researching and publishing garden histories for the Center’s “Cranbrook Kitchen Sink” blog, website, eMuseum database, and pamphlets; developing and leading public walking tours; creating a series of maps for self-guided tours; developing related programs such as tree and bird walks; working with Cranbrook Schools students on curriculum-related landscape content; and—critically—helping to educate Cranbrook students and staff members on the importance of Cranbrook’s landscapes and natural environments.
It is essential that the 2026–2028 Resident Collections Fellow not only see themselves as a scholar-curator, but also a person that is comfortable working, when necessary, side by side with and learning from the volunteers and staff members that tend the gardens.
Fellowship Duration and Compensation
The two-year fellowship begins in July 2026 (although a later summer or September start date may be considered) and continues through June 2028. The pay rate is $19.66 per hour, which equates to $40,893 annually based on a full-time, 40 hours/week work schedule (including periodic evening and weekend responsibilities). Cranbrook offers benefits that include a medical plan, paid time off, and eligibility to participate in the retirement programs with the potential to earn employer contributions.
For more information on the 2026–2028 Resident Collections Fellow position, including the application process, please consult the fellowship flyer. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled with priority given to applications received by May 26, 2026.
CURRENT AND PAST COLLECTIONS FELLOWS
Mariam Hale, Ph.D. (2023-present)
(2025-2026 Martha J. Fleischman Collections Fellow)
Nina Blomfield (2021-2023)
Ph.D. Candidate, Art History, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Kevin Adkisson (2016 – 2019)
Curator, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Stefanie Kae Dlugosz-Acton (2014 – 2106)
Director, CVAD Galleries, College of Visual Arts and Design, University of North Texas, Denton
Shoshana Resnikoff (2012 – 2014)
Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design, Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin
Dierdre Hennebury, Ph.D. (2011 – 2012)
Associate Director, Museum Studies Program, University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School, Ann Arbor
PHOTO CREDITSBanner photo showing the Sunken garden at Cranbrook House, Photography by Colton Graub, 2015.
Collections Fellow Mariam Hale in the Reading Room at Cranbrook-Kingswood School, Cranbrook Campus, Photography by Kevin Adkisson, 2025.
Henry Wood Booth in the Japanese Garden, 1920. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
Reflecting pool on the west terrace at Cranbrook House, Photography by Eric Franchy, 2025.
Greek Theater at Cranbrook House, Photography by Colton Graub, 2016.
Executive Producer Vincent Chavez of Elkhorn Entertainment and Media prepares to film Center Collections Fellow Nina Blomfield in Saarinen House for the film Room for a Lady: Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook, April 25, 2022; Photography by Kevin Adkisson.