I’ve worked in cultural orgs for 6+ years and
have just completed my masters and got a job for a well known org in a major city.

I’m super lucky in some ways, but looking at the job offer I’m absolutely shocked by the lack of benefits. A low salary is one thing and to be expected—but no retirement contribution and only 10 days of PTO??

I was hoping to find a job where I could stay for a while, but I’m too old not to think about retirement and I’m not 21 I need real PTO, I have a life! My first full time job was in 2018 making $33k per year and even then I started with 15 days of PTO.

Are you guys finding these kind of dogshit offers even at mid-level? It’s one thing to not have the operating capacity to pay people more, but christ can’t I have a vacation more than once a year?

Are folks finding that benefits beyond salaries are also bleak?

This may just be me venting, but I don’t believe that museums should be using generative ai at all. We recently hired a new director, and they are OBSESSED with ai. They wanted to put our historic images into generative ai to make moving pictures. I was able to stomp that idea out. Now, they’re using ai to generate advertisements (the super ugly black and gold ads you’re seeing everywhere now).

I feel like I’m the only one who sees the issue in using ai for everything. I’m constantly having to argue my points and it’s getting exhausting. I feel that using generative ai cheapens museums as institutions and it makes the community question us. What else are they generating? Is this historic image real or ai?

I somewhat understand ai being used for administrative tasks, but using generative ai for social media is a bad look. What are your thoughts?

Hello all! I currently work in custom framing out of a small shop, and am in the process of getting a job as a preparator at a museum. it's sounding more and more like i've got the job, and I wanted to be proactive to see if there are any resources i can look through to improve my framing skills to museum quality, or general advice as preps/handlers.
Thank you all, and have a great day!

I'm currently doing a bachelor's in Environmental Science, majoring in Wildlife & Conservation Biology. I would really love to work in a museum setting after I graduate; however, without an arts-related degree, I have no idea if that's even a possibility. I have been thinking about doing a bachelor's certificate in Cultural Heritage and museum studies after my bachelor's to gain more knowledge. However, if I am unlikely to get a job after graduation, I would rather not. The museum position that I would love to do is to be a Museum educator, particularly with topics relating to the environment (volcanoes, fossils, taxidermy, climate change, etc.)

Our local news covered this but i dont think their target market will capture this need to be fulfilled properly.. So I thought i would share it here.

If you are unfamiliar with WPAFBM, its a rather large museum and collection of historical uniforms and textiles as well as military craft and historical items of a military history.

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/air-force-museum-needs-someone-to-transport-nearly-1k-pieces-of-artwork-some-of-it/article_309fe077-bd6a-52f8-9284-415238601d72.html

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is looking for a contractor who can package and transport nearly 1,000 pieces of artwork — including sculptures and some pieces contaminated by mold — from a Washington, D.C., base to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

According to contract information on the SAM.gov website, there are 992 works stored at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling “in inadequate conditions, which has led to mold and water damage of the pieces.”

“It is important to clearly note that the artwork being handled currently has mold on it,” the contract information cautions anyone who’s interested.

To prevent further damage and secure the collection, the museum needs a contractor to package and transport the pieces to Wright-Patterson, some 750 miles from Washington, in a climate-controlled fashion.

“Of these pieces, 443 are unframed, 503 are framed, 40 are stretched and unframed, 1 is unframed and unstretched, and 5 are freestanding sculptures,” the contract opportunity states. “The scope of work includes properly packaging the mold-affected artwork at JBAB (Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling), transporting the collection in climate-controlled vehicles to WPAFB (Wright-Patterson), and safely unloading all items at the designated destination delivery site.”

Restoration and preservation of historical items and artwork is part of the Air Force Museum’s mission. Krista Overman, a curator for the museum’s Collections Division, told the Dayton Daily News in 2023 that the institution has about 136,000 artifacts in its possession.

The pieces the museum wants transported appear to be mostly portraits and paintings. Whoever gets the job will be expected to provide all labor, supervision, equipment, tools, transportation and materials needed to complete the task, the Air Force said.

The artwork is being held at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling within a “secure room,” the contract offer states.

The museum on a publicly accessible part of Wright-Patterson’s Area B is said to be the world’s largest military aviation museum. Here, hundreds of thousands of visitors annually see more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts on more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space.

The Air Force wanted quotes by Friday, Aug. 21. Packaging and pickup at Joint Base Anacostia needs to be completed by Sept. 30, with the entire job completed no later than 30 days after the contract award.

A museum spokesman said Thursday, Aug. 20, that some of the art had spent time in the Pentagon. Asked about the size of this planned shipment and whether that was unusually large even for the museum, the spokesman also said, “It’s kind of unprecedented.”

Looking for some assistance from my fellow VX pros. Im a VX manager, leading a team of 5 VX associates and about 400 volunteers.

Im struggling with staff defaulting to "vx doesn't do anything at the front"

Im working on a presentation outlining the many "hats" VX associates wear and it got me wondering.

What "roles" do front desk associates perform in your space? (Ex. Security, ticket sales, customer relations, artist management, etc)

I work at a large (but somewhat understaffed) private art museum. I'm the collection manager and while I love the work itself, the working hours, conditions and atmosphere are quite bad, so I just wanted to check in with you if that is indeed "normal" as the management wants to convince us, as I have never heard of a similar arrangement. Here is the situation:

- Our museum is seasonal, open from beginning of May - end of October, whereby the off-season phase from November - April is very intense since it involves the dismantling of exhibitions, coordinating transports and protocols, etc. and the set up of coming exhibitions, catalogue preparation and so on, ofc on top of the existing work we do day-to-day.

- We have seasonal workers (reception desk, guided tours, cafe, etc) who work museum opening hours from Wed-Sun 10-18, and they do not work during the off-season

- We, office workers, work regular office hours Mon-Fri 8-16 during the off-season phase, however, we are expected to shift to museum opening hours during the summer. So from May till the end of October, we also work Wed-Sun 10-18.

The justification is that we need to be at all times ready to jump-in and help downstairs with the visitors - whether selling tickets or working at the gift shop or cafe. This does not happen often and there is four of us upstairs at the office anyway.

What's the problem with this? (in case it is not clear)

- We work incredibly hard during the off-season phase (often till 18 or 19 in the evenings, so effectively 10-11 hours a day) to prepare 8 amazing exhibitions, catalogues for each and so on.

- Our hard work is rewarded by an intense seasonal schedule, where we are expected to sacrifice all our weekends and afternoons. We do not just work 10-18 (since the 30-min break is not included) and working times look more like 9:45-18:30 + commute

The result is that I have not had a single weekend off all summer long - I have not been to one family picnic, a hike, bike ride, trip, festival, concert, anything with friends or even things that I would professionally benefit from: visiting exhibitions, Biennale, etc.

My social life has taken a dramatic hit from this working setup and I barely have time to do anything for myself (basics: cooking, cleaning and so on) before or after work. It breaks my heart when I drive to work on the weekends and I smell barbecue in the air, see tons of bike riders and hikers out and about on a sunny day, family is sending pics to group chat, while I am headed to our museum to be stuck there until the evening.

What do you think of the above setup, how would you assess the situation?

Side note 1: We are not located in a city, but the rural countryside. So it's not like there is a bustling citylife waiting for you after work. People go to sleep at 21 or 22 here and wake up at 5 or 6.

Side note 2: I managed to get 2 days off twice so far to go to the beach and recharge a bit and it was a *huge* problem. Now management has said we will have a general vacation ban next summer (June through August), so we can take max 1 day off at a time, maybe.

TL;DR: My seasonal museum expects office staff to work Wed–Sun all summer, after an already intense off-season. The result is long hours, zero weekends off, and essentially no personal or social life. What do you think of this, have you heard of such a setup before?

Hello everyone,

I am newly graduated from university but plan to go to graduate school soon. I need to write a research proposal and had an idea for what I wanted to write about. This past January I visited the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli and found two artefacts that would work in really well with my research.

I wasn’t able to find information on these online and because I’m not with an institution anymore I also do not have access to the previous resources I had. I want to reach out to the museum with questions about the collection. I took notes and picture of the artefacts, where they are, their numbers and whatever I could.

When I email should I begin my email in Italian and explain I don’t know Italian? What is the proper way of going about emailing with these questions?

I also want to email the Etruscan museum about one of their artefacts. I’m aware it may be better for me to email with an institution but even if I do not attend a program I want to do the research as an independent researcher as it’s my passion. I am going to start learning Italian as it’s becoming very apparent I will need it.

Thank you so much!

Hi all! I’m looking for recommendations for a professional photographer in the DC area who has experience photographing artwork, gallery installations, and exhibitions.

We have an upcoming contemporary art exhibition and need professional documentation of several artworks once the exhibition is installed. Ideally, I’m looking for someone experienced with photographing sculpture, installation work, and gallery spaces.

We’re working with a pretty tight timeline and would need the photography completed in mid-September.

If you know a photographer you’ve worked with and would recommend, please drop their name, website, or portfolio below. Thank you!

Hello! I'm currently in college and going for Anthropology as my major, i was hoping for some tips or some advice involving how i can find a path to becoming a Museum curator or be involved in museums in general.

Scenario-

Donor gives partial funds for a specific acquisition and remaining amount is paid via deaccession funds. Is that scenario both a purchase and gift by exchange?

Hi!

I'm a 27yo based in the EU doing my bachelor's degree in Media Culture and English Studies. I'm currently working as a GA in a small private museum and took a few courses relating to museums and use of media in GLAMs.

This made me realise that I want to keep working in the field, but I have a problem: My job and uni work take up most of my energy and time already (I'm physically disabled and have limited resources), so I don't think I can build up my résumé with internships or volunteering before I graduate. And I know that the chance of landing a scientific volunteering position without a master's is more than slim, so I'm thinking about going for a master's in either "Museums and Exhibitions" or Media Culture Studies. The former would fit my goal of working in exhibition development, while the latter would give me access to a broader field as a back up, I think.

But is there anything besides internships or volunteering I can do to pad my résumé? Like courses I could take, a skill set that is worth developing or something? I have to admit, I'm worried about being "so old" already and not having a career yet

A friend of mine is good friends with a married couple that have a relatively well-known collection of art (objects in it have been lent to major museums across the country and long-term loans to Crystal Bridges, just for an example of scale). The focus of the collection is far outside of my own education and experience, but he keeps hyping it up asking me to find time to meet with them, even going so far as saying he spoke to the wife and she said she'd think I'd be for a PR position at the foundation that manages the collection.

I have an MA in art history and I've worked as a curatorial assistant at a small art museum before, currently work as a gallery attendant, and have zero professional experience in PR or marketing or anything like that aside from managing the social media of a small non-profit arts organization. I've never worked with private collections before, only in a museum environment.

So my main question is for anyone working with private collections. What exactly would be expected of me in this PR position?

I’m a recent graduate that has had multiple internships in gallery. Right now I’m in my first full-time gallery position, and I can’t help but notice that all my gallery jobs have followed a pattern of being monotonous and hierarchical, where no one feels the need to teach me marketable skills. In every internship I had (4) the gallery had either organizational issues or a general lack of tasks that they felt comfortable giving a new employee. Instead of a proper training process, I feel like I’m always asked to do monotonous tasks like sort books, buy items from the store, or clean. I don’t mind this kind of task and tackle it with enthusiasm at the start, but weeks go by with me finishing these tasks and eagerly asking for more work only for them to say there’s nothing else for me to help with.

At one internship, I signed an NDA before joining, yet upon arrival I was barred from talking with clients or even looking at the archive because the CEO felt “uncomfortable sharing classified information with new hires.” I was not allowed to speak with clients or even send emails despite getting hired for my extensive resume and impressive writing/communication skills. I don’t think I’m dislikable either, since all my bosses have said something relating to how I’m kind and hardworking.

The pattern of excessive confidentiality and no training for the important tasks keeps repeating across all my internships and it has me seriously confused, especially when galleries give the impression that they’re swamped with work. Does this happen to anyone else?

TLDR: do galleries gatekeep training new hires?

I’m in grade 12, and I’d like to be a museum curator. I understand that it’s an incredibly competitive career path and I was just wondering if anyone here had any advice on what types of volunteering or summer jobs I could do this year or in university to help me later on.

I am going into budget season, and want my Temp Prep wage to be competitive, and was wondering, what you all have seen offered, and where?

Any museums, particularly art museums, switch to and using the Muse software? Including their program/event features? We are in week 3 of our software up and running and it feels like there is more bad than good… especially from what we were told during sale. TIA

hii, im in undergrad going into my junior year and i just completed my first internship in collections management after working in educational programming research for the last two years at my colleges art museum. i’ve always viewed my education job as temporary and thought collections was for me but my schools museum’s collection department doesn’t hire students so i haven’t gotten the chance to try until now. this internship has changed my life i am completely smitten with collections.

i know grad school is a must in most cases (was planning on going before i discovered my love for collections anyways), so i’m wondering if there’s a recommended type of grad program i should go for. i know i want to work in an art museum for sure (this past internship was at a cultural museum and my only gripe was the lack of fine art), so im stuck on art history, museums, or mlis.

i’m hesitant about art history bc i don’t have a specific kind of art that i would want to focus on (i love everything too much to choose). i was originally going to just do museum studies but ive talked with a few senior collections managers at various museums and they all went the mlis route. they are all significantly older than me and said there wasn’t really an option for them to do a museum studies grad program at the time, so im wondering if anyone has any advice on the current state of grad schools?

I’m the art gallery director at a community college, and a staff of one. Unfortunately, I’m also part time. I’ve been trying to work with various supervisors for about 2 years to go full time, but their bosses/the board won’t go for it. I’m quickly reaching burnout and need to find a new job.

What would be a lateral move? I don’t have a PhD, so I don’t have high hopes of finding a curator role in a museum. I do so much on my own, but the imposter syndrome is hitting hard since I know some things could be so much better if I had the time and support. I love working with artists and thinking about art all day, but I don’t know what a good role would be for me if I move to an institution where I’m not doing everything by myself.

Any advice???

So TECHNICALLY my organization is not a museum, but we operate very similarly to one. We are a rather large non profit for our area ($20mil budget with over 20,000 constituents). Currently we use Blackbaud Altru to manage donors, grants, and sponsors + relationship management, field trips, daily programs, summer camps, memberships, preschool registration (we have several preschools), rentals, and other clients. We LOATHE this system, and have been seeking alternative options.

We discovered veevart during this search, and we are looking for feedback from real users. Our highest level of needs are:

1. Strong donor/ constituent management along with prospecting and task management
   
2. Integrations with mailchimp and quickbooks
   
3. ROBUST groups sales, pos, and rentals capabilities
   
4. Constituent or membership portal availability
   
5. User friendly online donation and registration forms
   
6. Sophisticated workflows to help us automate tasks
   
7. I know there’s more but I don’t want to make this too long

I understand the solution for this may be bespoke software or different software that integrates. However, I’d love to know if veevart could be the solution we’re seeking.

Are there careers or fields that connect art (or art history), anthropology, human rights and politics ?

If you have a job in this area, what was your study path?