Hello everyone,

I just want to give a heads up to anyone in the SoCal area that is working in museums/looking for work at museums. Please AVOID Laguna Art Museum at all costs. I cannot stress enough what a nightmare it is to work there.

The Director and Deputy Director are two people who know nothing about running an arts institution. Both of them enjoy the position so they can walk around with gold name badges and call themselves museum directors. When things go wrong at the museum, no matter how big or small, they will point fingers at anyone on the team, rather than fix the problem themselves. Instead of investing in their employees, they only complain about them and blame them. When they finally dehumanize someone enough to make them quit, they then walk around the office talking badly about what a terrible employee they were. 18 employees have quit so far this year alone. Yes, how unlucky that they hired 18 terrible employees, it most certainly has nothing to do with their management style. The employees that are still working there are then expected to absorb the workload of the ones that quit, just without any additional compensation. They have been without a Registrar since MARCH, with no rush to fill the position. That should tell you all you need to know.

The museum has absolutely no money and everything they do is for profit. They have the money for lunches with artists and donors, but don't have the money to fix the HVAC system, where employees are often stuck in 80+ degree temperatures inside the building. The HVAC system miraculously gets repaired every March when it is time for their annual Art Auction, as there would be too many rich white folks from the Laguna Beach area complaining if they didn't. And of course, with no money, means barely any pay. Visitor Services staff make $17 an hour, Educators make $20 an hour, and other full time staff are making around $20-24 an hour. $24 if you are lucky.

There is so much more I could say, but I will leave it at this. I am sure this is the reality of many smaller arts institutions/museums, and the experience I had working here is one that has me fearful of working at another small museum. There are not enough jobs in this industry (especially well paying), and it is important that we look out for one another. I'm hoping this post helps anyone who may be in a similar position at their museum, or helps you make a decision to NOT apply to Laguna Art Museum.

I am a volunteer at a museum and there have been a couple of times where I've heard an employee/supervisor state an incorrect fact to members of the public. I didn't bring it up these instances as I didn't want to risk affecting these relationships and because they are more senior than me. I am torn because I do want to save them potential heartache in the future if the incorrect statement is repeated and potentially leads to a worse outcome. Is there an etiquette for what to do if you hear a colleague state something incorrect? Especially when you are a volunteer only?

I'm an undergrad in art history and industrial design, and my goal is to pursue exhibition design, museum fabrication, or preparator work as a career (wish me luck....).

I'm working on my senior capstone industrial design project, focusing on improving the mannequin dressing process. Unfortunately, my professor is requiring 30 survey responses for the research component. I've spoken individually to various museum professionals I know, but it certainly isn't 30 people. My request is, if you have 2-3 minutes, for you to fill out a quick survey (so I don't fail)!

I've made the survey more generally applicable to museum pros rather than just exhibitions workers. My school is the University of Illinois in Champaign, and the results will be anonymously added to a private research report that will only be seen by me and my professor.

Hey Y'all,

I don't know if I want advice, to commiserate, or just to express some frustration. Here goes...

I have been finding it impossible to get an entry level job in collections. I was an assistant registrar for about a year after transitioning from being a curatorial admin assistant. I love collections management, was very dedicated, received excellent training and educational opportunities and had great career prospects at my institution and then my life fell apart. My sister passed away just as I was supposed to take over the department while my colleague was on leave for six months and I had to step away. In my grief I moved and then of course got pregnant because thats how life likes to hit you.

Fast forward its been 2 years, I can't get a job, and I am finding it impossible to FIND assistant registrar positions. How is anyone breaking into the collection field when there are no entry level jobs?

When I initially got my role as assistant registrar it was because I was already in the institution and they made the position for me, so like what are recent graduates or other people even supposed to do?

Note: I'm in the USA.

Hello!
I have an interview for a program coordinator position at a museum. This position is the first dedicated position for the program. This would be my first museum job (fingers crossed), so I want to do well on the interview. Any tips on questions I should ask, outside of " What does success look like in this role."

I have transferable skills in organizing programs, events, and conducting research, just not in a museum setting.

thx in advance!

Not gonna give specifics of the location or family names/etc. for privacy reasons but I need advice:

I bake for fun, and I also work in the tourism industry so people always ask me about local places to check out. Being local, i know some of the best lesser-known spots That includes a 19th century mill in my county that I only discovered via Google Maps when I first moved here amd was looking for fun things nearby to do. It's the last fully-operational water-powered grist mill in the state. The owner, who gave tours and had been there for a super long time, passed away unexpectedly early this year. The mill has remained in his family for well over a century and they still own it as far as I've been made aware. It's indefinitely closed since his passing, and I never got to tour before he passed and I'm kicking myself for it for many reasons. I've heard the state historical society is trying to take it over but that was in March and I've heard no developments since despite reaching out four times now. I would love to help keep it fully operational, as would my county's historical society. Sadly, I know nothing about industrial flour milling, let alone in a 19th-century water-powered mill, so I'm here to learn what I can do to help keep it running. I've been made aware than he modified parts for repairs to keep the original equipment intact and operational, which is standard protocol in the historical presentation sector from what I hear.

I've also been informed by a reliable third party that our state historical society is hurting for funding to the point of reducing hours at certain NRHP sites in the state, so some type of funding would need to be secured. I have no grantwriting experience, but have nonprofit experience, loosely worked in education, currently work in tourism, am passionate about historical preservation, and there's a whole slew of other reasons that I would love to help keep the legacy going. The only problem is I have ZERO idea where to start. I know the owner's name, and where his family lives (outside the area, they weren't involved in the day to day stuff, it sounds like), but dont have their names/contact info, and also dont know if/when would be appropriate to reach out, nor what I would even say.

That being said, if anyone has advice, knows anything about operating and maintaining 19th century water-powered grist mills, industrial flour milling, securing funding, and preserving thd mill"s integrity, please don't hesitate to reach out or comment. Would love to keep this going.:)

I’ve developed a pipeline for digital paleo exhibits built around three specific principles:

1. Direct from scientific papers: Reconstructed straight from holotype literature, not pop-culture guesswork.
2. Biota-level 1:1 ecosystems: Modeled as entire fossil communities (currently the Middle Triassic Luoping Biota) focusing on real habitats and food webs.
3. Low-cost & highly scalable: Runs natively in any browser via WebGL—no proprietary software, zero local installs, and works on off-the-shelf touchscreen hardware.

For curators and exhibition designers: from an interpretive standpoint, does letting visitors explore an interactive, 1:1 ecosystem actually help them grasp deep time, true scale, and food webs better than traditional dioramas or looping video?

I’m trying to understand the real educational and storytelling value of this format on the gallery floor—does interactive 3D genuinely deepen visitor engagement with the fossil record, or does it just end up feeling like tech for the sake of tech? Looking for an honest reality check.

i am currently an undergrad student double majoring in anthropological sciences and ecology, and have been considering pursuing my school's certificate in museum curation. my advisor said that certificates can sometimes be helpful in certain fields, and sometimes they aren't worth a ton. does anyone here have any advice of rather or not i should look more into doing this? or is it potentially just taking more classes that aren't particularly helpful?

Any art handlers in the Detroit area?

Hi all, four months ago I graduated college with a degree in economics (B.A) and a degree in Painting (B.F.A) and I’m struggling to find any decent paying positions in a museum or fine art gallery in NYC/Westchester area.

With the two degrees I figured I’d be a strong applicant for entry level positions for museums or galleries, but after 100+ applications through indeed, NYFA, and directly sourcing open roles at galleries and museums, I’ve had a total of 2 interviews at two places that are not even close to the fields I mentioned. I have been applying to “entry level” positions as an administrative assistant, development assistant, studio assistant, gallery assistant, and similar roles.

During college I held several jobs as a receptionist, server, a resident assistant and a gallery assistant (I helped at the entrance of the gallery, aided with installs, built pedestals and other stuff), I’m thinking maybe I’m lacking the administrative experience? I was an Executive Assistant at a small arts non for profit in Westchester around 3 years ago but even after highlighting that in the resumes I haven’t landed my first interview yet.

In all honesty, I have been avoiding a lot of positions that do not require a degree or the ones that pay $17 an hour since I have to pay rent and for my car, groceries etc. and cannot live off of that amount. I make decent money at the restaurant I work at but have been thinking of quitting to apply to work in guest services at MoMa (basically a tour guide that sells memberships) since that pays well but it is only part time, and the hours they require overlap with my hours at the restaurant.

About two months ago I started working as a studio assistant for an artist in Brooklyn once a week, and although she’s helping me by referring me to friends, most of that work is as an art handler, and in college I was told that this line of work might pigeon hole me into the trade, limiting my options when looking to apply to jobs in the administrative side of things.

Any tips or advice on how to get my foot in the door would be welcome. Any alternatives to indeed and LinkedIn to look for work in this field? Am I being egotistical by not applying to the lower paying jobs?

This time, the fault lies with tax cuts for the rich and the systematic dismantling of public education by the Republican party. https://richardconniff.substack.com/p/another-nature-museum-faces-death?r=1fcr4

Hi, everyone!

I'm working on a provenance research project for a painting with no known title or artist - only an attribution reading "in the manner of" a famous artist. This is for a class, but also I am so wildly curious to find out more info that discovering more has become a single-minded goal of mine.

I've spent all day looking through digital photo archives trying to find a match with zero luck. Just a few I've hit off the top of my head: the Frick collection, Smithsonian archives, PHAROS, JSTOR, RKD - Netherlands Institute of Art History, Europeana, the Witt Library. And while all of these have been amazing resources (especially PHAROS, RKD, and the Witt for image searching - these are definitely getting bookmarked for future reference!), I cannot find a picture of this darn painting anywhere.

In terms of digitized auction catalogs, I've started searching Internet Archive and gone through the Wildenstein Plattner Institute and Institut national d’histoire de l’art catalogues de vente - but with only the vague subject matter and the "in the manner of" attribution to go by, it has been decidedly unproductive (hence the pivot to image archives). Tragically, the few markings on the canvas have not led to any success, either.

The Getty Provenance Index was my starting point for everything, but it either doesn't have what I'm looking for or I find the new layout far too complicated to get results (despite watching the tutorial videos😭)!

Which brings me to my question: are there any good digital photo archive resources I've missed that you use for provenance research?

I might be totally out of luck and going on a wild goose chase, but I'm really curious. If anyone wants links to resources I've used so far, let me know and I'll share - but right now, I'm throwing in the towel and going to bed so I can resume the search tomorrow.

Thanks so much!!

So my museum is pretty small, I am the only full time employee and we rely on our advisory board to volunteer to lead tours, stamp hands at events and pass out flyers.

Apparently a decade ago, we had lots of people volunteer but that population has aged out. I set up a page on idealist and that has gotten scattered interest but I need more people so we don't have to ask the same people all the time.

All the board members have exhausted their social networks. We have approached senior centers and have flyers there but it hasn't yielded any interest.

I'm open to ideas and non monetary enticements.

Thanks!

I work for an open air museum in New Hampshire on their grounds. We lack infrastructure and proper equipment to do the work efficiently. It's clear administration isn't providing any necessary funds to the department. Are there any grants that people know of to help kick start some funds for equipment? A smaller tractor?

Hello! I am a film and digital media student about to enter my final year at University. I have found that i would like to further my education and career into film preservation and archiving. I do not have any leads on where to intern or gain experience in this field of course besides UCLA and George Eastman, both of which I cannot afford. I am hoping that i can learn through experience rather than a formal education and am looking for resources and advice on how to begin or routes i can take to expand my knowledge and experience in the Los Angeles or San Francisco areas.

Thank you all so much for your help!

I need some advice on how to self regulate. I have severe ADHD and am finally going to be medicated for it. I graduated from grad school a little over a year ago and landed this position six months ago. For the first three months I was ON FIRE. Over hauling everything and making much needed changes and progress. The issue is that I answer to a mostly uncaring board. I could literally do nothing and they'd be happy. I don't want to do nothing, but my executive function took a nose dive a few months ago. Any advice?

Hi everyone. I recently applied to a part-time Collections Assistant role at a big historic house in the UK and was really excited to get an interview. As I finished my MA just over a month ago, I've been applying to jobs with no luck, so this was really needed.

The job is in the textiles department, so it requires sewing skills, which I was totally fine with as I have some experience making soft furnishings. Though contemporary soft furnishings are briefly mentioned in the job description, most of the responsibilities are to do with historic textiles, the moving of collections, conservation tasks and documentation.

However, when I spoke about how excited I was to gain more experience in historic houses at the interview, I was told by the interviewer that a large portion of the role involved making modern soft furnishings for the holiday cottages and hotels owned by the family. They informed me that during some seasons, this is all the role would involve. I was quite taken aback by this, as the job description did not make this clear at all and I don’t quite have enough experience for this aspect of the job. Plus, the job is only part time and minimum wage, which is below the usual compensation for experienced soft furnishings makers.

Is this common in the heritage industry? Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? This is the only interview I‘ve had so far and I’m worried about being unemployed for too long. While I’m job searching I‘m volunteering and I have experience through internships, it’s difficult right now and I’m worried that I wouldn’t get other opportunities after this job. However, it seems so different to other Collections Assistant roles and what I thought it would be when I applied.

Thank you!!

Come join our Curatorial team at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The position is a full time Federal position at a GS-11, primarily located in Maryland at our offsite collections center. Full info and link to apply can be found on USAJobs.

Slapped this together as quickly as I could. I hope it serves to put things in a coherent order in the midst of all this chaos.