The Preservation Society of Newport County invites applications for the Curatorial Fellowship, a position designed to support the PSNC’s upcoming 2027 exhibition Ship of Dreams: The RMS Titanic and Newport and other curatorial initiatives across its historic properties. This fellowship offers an emerging museum professional the opportunity to contribute to exhibition development, collections research, and interpretive planning within one of the nation’s most distinguished historic preservation organizations. Preference will be given to candidates who are able to demonstrate successful object-based research utilizing primary and secondary source materials, or who have specific experience contributing to museum or gallery exhibitions.
Opening summer 2027, Ship of Dreams: The RMS Titanic and Newport will present the remarkable stories of Newporters who sailed aboard the fateful voyage alongside more than 50 artifacts recovered from the shipwreck by RMS Titanic Inc.
The Titanic’s maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York attracted men and women of many different backgrounds who lived, worked, and played in Newport, Rhode Island. They included a trailblazing woman suffragist, a hardworking Irish waitress, a passionate young bibliophile, two champion lawn tennis players, and the eccentric heir of one of America’s richest families. Despite leading markedly different lives, some of these individuals met face-to-face in Newport and would do so again on the night of the sinking. They represented a cross-section of the diverse society of Gilded Age Newport, which was America’s most vibrant summer resort.
The exhibition will bring together Newport passengers’ belongings, including fashion, art, and photographs, with firsthand accounts of the sinking and descendant interviews to illuminate their remarkable lives before, during, and after the voyage. Their stories will be augmented by a range of artifacts salvaged from the wreck site by RMS Titanic Inc. that shed light on the ultimate luxury of sailing first class and present a starkly different view of life on and off the vessel for everyday passengers.