We are currently looking into Veeart for our small org. Not really getting good vibes from the experience so far. At least in the sense of here take our money. Presentation is a mix of reading what is on screen and scripted call center feeling interactions. Detailed questions they do seem to respond more in depth. Can't even seem to google any reviews as it always comes up as veterinarian services. Found them mentioned on the subreddit, but for the life of me can't find it now.

We are looking to integrate as much as we reasonably can into one system.

Fundraising - sweepstakes and donations

Contact management

Marketing - email/text

Volunteer management

Shop- on site and online (which we can integrate with our website and hopefully narrow down to one payment processor.

Front desk and ticketing

Space rentals, private tours/parties etc.

Collection management would be nice but that could be done separately

Accounting can be done outside of the software

Any other recommendations?

Just applied to one of their roles, how do they take to get back to you? Weeks, maybe months?

I would like to review some exhibition essays and exhibition themes that are contextualized by a book or a quote from a book. Can any of you point me to some examples?

I know this is a little vague, but hopefully you have something in mind! THANK YOU!

Hello all :)

Was wondering if anyone here heard anything back regarding their application for thee Whitney Studio Program.

I received nothing so far, was wondering if they already made the selection.

Thanks a bunch,

I got offered a position with the NPS as a Museum Technician. My only hesitation in accepting it is that it is only a year long position. I would be moving across the country, uprooting my family, for a year long position with no guarantee of follow up job opportunities. Has anyone ever worked these term positions before? Is it easier to get another position with the NPS after that?

I also just accepted a position as an imaging specialist at an archive. It is also a term position, but it's in the city I currently live in, so it's less of a risk, I guess? It also potentially opens up other archival jobs, which I didn't have any experience in.

I've been job hunting for over 2 years and it's just my luck that I get 2 job offers back to back. I don't know what to do and I'm looking for any insight from people with a similar experience. Thanks!

Hey y'all! Little bit of a fib in the title, I actually graduate on the 17th but same difference lol

I was wondering if there were any recommendations for graduate schools that would be best for someone who is trying to into a more collections / archiving role in natural history museums? Some places I've been looking at were universities like the University of Chicago, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of North Carolina- Greensboro, and Tufts University since they all either have dedicated museum studies programs or something extremely similar. I've got time to get admissions information situated since I decided to take a gap semester before going for my Master's, but I just thought I'd post here since I kind of feel like I'm at a point where doors keep closing for me.

hey what’s up.

tomorrow, I graduate with my degree in history/poli sci.

the day after, I’m getting a job offer from the historical society that I did an internship through year ago.

all this in my hometown, too.

I’m over the moon, lol.

Masters in art history

Hi all, i’m looking at going back to do my masters in september. i received an offer from the courtauld but without scholarship and i feel as though with the cost of living, being in london is going to really make a dent in my current and future bank account.

i did also get accepted in an Erasmus scheme but again without scholarship.

my question is: is a masters worth it? i’m currently in publishing and want to make the switch to the arts, whether this is curating or research, and most positions require a masters. i am just concerned i am adding more debt to my head.

leading to my second question: are there cheaper alternatives to those listed above but equally as good? i am open to study anywhere worldwide if it means i can do so without an insane amount of debt for a one year course with little contact hours. since ive been out of academics i’m not quite sure where my interests lie, but generally speaking 1700-contemporary and an interest in theory and criticism.

just feel a bit directionless but i know art history is something i massively love. thanks!

My advice to burgeoning museum pros/college students is the following (tell me if you agree or disagree! What am I getting right or wrong?):

1. Art museums are the hardest type of museum work to break into. Always a ton of applicants for every position. Science and history museums are easier to get a job at but they’re also less prestigious amongst other museum pros.

2. Curator positions are the hardest to get for the same reason as #1. Tons of applicants for every position because young museum people tend to want to get into curatorial/archivist positions. It’s much easier to get into education and development departments at museums.

3. The field is becoming evermore dominated by white women. If you’re not a white woman then you’ll have an easier time finding a job because employers will see you as “something different”. It’s definitely behooved me to be a relatively conventionally attractive young man in this field. Most of my bosses have been women.

4. Prepare to move somewhere random and away from your hometown or work at a museum you’re not particularly interested in at first if you want to break into the field. Very rarely will your first museum job be a curator at the MET or Guggenheim fresh out of college/grad school. Drop that mentality unless you’re really well connected or wealthy already. Job markets like NYC, LA, etc. are the hardest to break into for museum pros. You might have to spend a few years working in Cleveland before getting that awesome Manhattan job. Prepare to work at a podunk or random museum at first while you build experience. If you confine yourself to a regional area you want to work in fresh out of college you’ll be at a disadvantage in building your career.

5. Similarly, during an interview, when they inevitably ask you “what’s your favorite museum?” Or “describe a positive or transformative experience you had at a museum,” always tailor your answer to the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a job at a small 3 employee museum, do NOT say your favorite museum is the MET, the Louvre, the Tate, MOMA, the Smithsonian, etc. In fact, id steer clear of ever answering with a huge well-known museum when asked this sort of question during an interview. Everyone gives those museums as answers and it won’t help you stand out from the crowd. Answer with a museum that’s not widely known and for the love of God if you’re applying for a job at a history museum or science museum and they ask you this sort of question, do not answer with an art museum lol.

6. Degree inflation is rampant in the museum industry so prepare for that.

7. It’s a very incestuous and tight-knit field so beware of what bridges you burn and what reputation you get.

8. Extroverts with people skills will have an advantage in the museum industry. The industry usually attracts introverts who want to work as curators and archivists (I.e. more behind the scenes librarian types). If you have a gregarious extroverted personality this will help out greatly when applying for jobs.

9. Ask questions. So many young pros are afraid to ask questions because they’re afraid they’ll seem dumb. I understand this is a field filled with pseudo-intellectuals and actual intellectuals but being afraid to ask questions as a young museum pro will just hold you back.

10. Most museums lack financial and logistical resources to do everything perfectly. You’re going to learn the proper industry way of doing everything in a museum studies program. When you get your first job at most museums you’ll realize that due to staffing, time, and financial constraints, most museums cannot do everything the certified AAM pro museum studies certificate way. It’s often better to just accept this and move on rather than raising a stink about it.

11. Be leery of consultants. Many museum pros run or try to run consulting gigs on the side to earn extra cash. These people are often snake oil salesmen or will try to squeeze every dollar out of you they can.

12. Be careful what you put on LinkedIn and Twitter (this is just advice for any career). Too many young museum pros pop off aggressively on LinkedIn/Twitter and it just makes you look unstable and annoying to employers. Most managers don’t actually want rabble rousers coming to work for them.

13. Museum politics is very real. Every museum is negotiating between the public, the board, the exec director/CEO, the staff, the volunteers, etc. - because of this museum “politics” are very real. You’ll often have to do things that you don’t want to do or do things that aren’t 100% AAM museum studies certificate certified in order to appease one of these constituents. Pick your battles and be very conscious of the politicking of any museum you work for. Think about how your actions, desires, or career goals will reverberate throughout the larger institution.

I’m currently halfway Through my fine arts and humanities degree and Ive been looking into museum studies.

If there is anyone here who has worked as a museum curator or has had firsthand experience, I want to know the working conditions, the stability and the amount of work life balance I’ll get if I were to become one.

Hello! So I just need some direction because I do feel like I’ve hit a wall. I’m a tour guide at a historical home & I work at a military museum on the side. I help with the major curation, research, cataloging etc. To be completely honest I’m doing some of the work someone with a Masters Degree does. Since we’re underfunded, I’m not being paid salary but eventually I’d like to progress in my career. I’m also somewhat in the dark on this because I only have a few college credits. I have dyspraxia & dyscalculia which makes it incredibly difficult for me to process mathematics. I know I’ll eventually need some form of a degree to my name, but I was wondering if anyone has taken different routes. I was given information from a curator about a conservation institute doing online courses. I just don’t have a clue on what to do to progress in my career. School was always so difficult for me & I already have loan debt so I’m trying to avoid taking out a lot more. I’m learning so much doing stuff hands on but I know that doesn’t hold really water on a resume.

Hello fellow museum pros! This is a throwaway account, just in case my current employer is on here too.

I have a second-round interview this coming week for a Membership Coordinator position at a very new (3+ years old) cultural museum in my home state. I feel really confident I can do the job, especially after discussing the main functions and long term goals of the museum in my first-round interview. What I am not as sure about are what questions I should prepare for in the second-round.

For some context: I have worked in the museum field for 10 years now, but never in a Development role. I've worked in Education, Events, and Executive-Level Administration. Despite this, based on what I know of this position I'm applying for, I have a significant amount of experience doing the level of work they are asking for, and I know the CRM and POS systems they use. I just haven't ever held the title "Membership Coordinator" before.

During the first interview, we just discussed the specifics of the job, my qualifications, and why I was interested in working for the museum. It was more of a resume truth-check and job description rundown than anything else.

TL;DR - Do any of you have ideas on questions I should be prepared to answer in a Membership Coordinator interview, and what questions I should ask that would be both positive and impressive?

Thanks in advance!

tldr; How is the job market in the Netherlands and/or in the rest of Europe about cultural heritage?

Hello people, I'm graduating this year in Management of Cultural Heritage in Italy and meanwhile taking an eqf5 diploma in 3D Technician for Cultural and Enviromental Heritage Survey (gis, drone survey, 3D softwares like Zephyr).
I'll go straight to the point: job market in Italy is pitiful and I want to run away as soon as I get my degree, and I was thinking to escape in the Netherlands (but other places in Northern Europe are fine as well).

Job goal is anything related to museum, gis/3D about survey of cultural heritage and writing critic about culture and artists.

I have experience in museum reception and galleries guidance, ticket office, softwares like Photoshop and Illustrator (high school diploma in advertising graphic, worked as a photographer and graphic designer and learning as I wrote up qgis, Zephyr and using drones for surveys), and currently I'm writing for an online magazine about contemporary artists and also taking photos and writing the critic for an artist's catalogue who is going to show at an art exhibition in Amsterdam.

I know this may be poor experience and education, I'm also considering the idea to take a master degree related to anything else is most requirred in the job market (was thinking of management or digital humanities).

I'm also open to any kind of advice!!

Hi y'all! My small museum just got 5 Mimo monitors and we are starting to play around with them. If anyone has these monitors, what have been the best uses for y'all?

Im working on update a county website that uses past perfect online to catalog their books and photos. The search term section of each entry only works for some of the items but not others. Does anybody have experience using search items?

I work at a national museum located in the Midwest. We want to find exhibit design firms or vendors for an upcoming exhibit entering planning stages. This is a temporary exhibit that we’ll have up for 2 years. Any solid recommendations in Kansas City / Midwest region?

We use vinyl lettering for our didactics but the removal process is brutal for our install team. Does anyone have experience with machines like this? They're made in China but the printer heads are mostly Epson. I have many doubts, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi folks. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this at their institution. English is not my first language so sorry for any errors.

I work FoH at a large museum. Recently we have opened a big exhibition.

Foh staff are having a hard time with this show. A section of the exhibition is a VR room. This is in a small room. It gets hot in there, and it is also very dark with red lights covering the walls. Two Foh staff have to be in there at all times, sometimes for hours at a time with no break. It is a popular exhibit so sometimes you will be running VR constantly for hours.

While this isn't great, it is not exactly what I am worrying about. Each guest gets 5 minutes on the headset. There are 3 headsets in use at one time. After a guest finishes, the Foh staff member need to manually reset the headset. To manually reset, the FOH worker has to put it on their heads and toggle the screen for 2-3 minutes before giving it to the next visitor.

So this means that a staff member is taking a VR headset on and off constantly for hours. Cause of this we have had many staff members vomiting on-shift or immediately after their shift. Foh staff members have also reported having migraines and panic attacks. One coworker told me they were unable to drive home after shift because their depth perception was bad after working in VR for hours.

Management know but haven't done anything. Our immediate supervisers are sympathetic but there is little they can do about. The managers above them are not motivated to change things because the show is a big deal for them and I guess they have spent lot of money on this VR.

I am writing to ask if anyone has experienced anything similar in their museums and if so. Do you have advice? Thank you.

Hey public historians! I have a problem. I am trying to create accessible, reasonably priced events at my museum, but when pricing craft events, the museum wants to hike up the cost to include admission. Making pricing for the event between $40-50. For a small craft event, I feel this is far too much. In my previous experience, events have been separate, allowing visitors flexibility to attend the event for a lower cost, and choose to attend the museum for additional cost if they want. Part of me gets including admission, but I want these events to be lower in price to draw a more diverse crowd.

So I am a really awesome historical interpreter/tour guide. I am a Certified Interpreter. I talk to strangers all day about Connecticut history and I am absolutely beyond fortunate and blessed to have a job I love.

And I am starving. Of course. Pay is garbage, benefits non-existent, I’m not even officially full time even though I am present at the museum for 8 hours a day (all paid).

My question is - are there skills inherent to being a tour guide that I can generalize into other fields that maybe I have not thought about?

The bad news: I am shit at working in an office, I have served my retail/food service sentence (lol), I don’t drive and I didn’t finish college. I’m old (56).

The good news: I am punctual, friendly, ridiculously nice, super knowledgeable about history and have no issues with public speaking. I can handle large groups of people. I have experience working with children. I am not at all shy.

What are other things a tour guide might be good at?

I appreciate anyone’s thoughts or advice! I graduated college in Dec 2019 with a Communications major and History minor. I’ve been doing commercial construction in plumbing/mechanical since then because I couldn’t land a job that wasn’t entry level sales once the pandemic hit shortly after my graduation, and I enjoy working with my hands getting dirty/sweaty etc. However its already starting to take its toll on my body. My back and knees hurt most of the time, some days Im basically useless at work because the pain is so bad. Whenever I tell any of my superiors they tell me to shut up basically because Im 27 so my body shouldn’t be hurting yet. But it is, I played baseball (catcher) most of my life until college so I attribute some of it to that too. I also recently made foreman which Im proud of so Ive been running my first big project basically all of 2024. This part is just an issue with my company but they basically just threw this project on me and have hung me out to dry. I appreciate the opportunity, but with little to no guidance and communication from superiors while Im figuring out how to run a job as I go and making frustrating mistakes. In my experience this isn’t uncommon in construction/the trades but I care about putting out the best results possible in a physical results focused industry and this has been too stressful and exhausting and physically painful to keep doing for much longer. Basically I was enjoying my job, and now that Ive been dumped with a lot more work and responsibility but without any help or guidance (I literally have 1 helper who can’t lift anything heavy and my office is useless). Im afraid of getting stuck and would like a change.

Ok so thats my situation. Theres not much Im passionate about that I think could translate to a quality career, with history and museums being an exception. I think its safe to say that it would be recommended to get some further education or certs in more history/museum studies to bolster my resume and experience. Any suggestions in terms of education/training to acquire or paths to entry to pursue? How can I add value to myself to become more likely to find my way into a museum or history related career? How can I build off what I have (4 year bachelors in communications, history minor, unrelated: 4 years of trade school with license)?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks again to anyone who responds!

Hello! I am looking for some examples of online collections, educational tools, virtual tours, etc. that are particularly well designed or innovative. I have already done my own research of the major institutions in the US/UK (+ large international databases such as Europeana, Google Arts & Culture, etc.), but I was wondering if there are any smaller institutions or institutions in non-English speaking countries that you recommend checking out. Thanks!

Edit: Also, what features do you look for in an online collection?

Hey all! You may have seen my post before about EMu. It's been such a struggle with everything about it so far. Mostly people just asking me about the dang thing when I have not once used it lol.

Anyways, for my project in the meantime before we get Version 9 rolled out, I was hoping to get the column headers for the Archives module (tab?) for the correlating fields. Would anyone have a template with those headers or a list perchance? Thank you!

Hello fellow museum folx (specifically collections managers and the like)! Got a big/small dilemma that I'm looking for crowdsourced thoughts + opinions on.

My institution has a copy of an Agnes Martin book from a retrospective she had in the Netherlands. Historically we have kept the book in our archive -- BUT -- it also contains ten lithographs on vellum that we had framed and put on view for a show.

We're deinstalling said exhibition now, and the question of whether to transfer the prints to the collection has come up. This would require a voting process + standard paperwork for formal accession.

SO -- we've got a few options to consider:

1. Transfer the lithos to collections, keeping the lithos in their frames. The book stays in archives in the rare book cabinet.
2. Transfer both the lithos and the book to collections, keeping the lithos in their frames and housing the book elsewhere in collections.
3. Transfer the book and lithos into collections, taking lithos out of their frames and housing all items together in an archival box.
4. Unframe the lithos and return to the archives with the book, all stored in the rare book cabinet.

Some need-to-knows:

• Our archive is not temp or humidity controlled. We are in a basement, in a location with a relatively mild climate year round and little to no humidity. Obvi this is no consolation but our building is old AF and we're working on a grant to get proper HVAC for archives soon 😑
• We had the lithos custom framed for this show, so we're kinda reluctant to unframe.
• It's possible we may be missing two lithos from the suite? This is something our framer brought up when we dropped the work off. He's framed four sets of these prints previously. I'm getting started on research to confirm.
• There is already some cockling on the vellum. This could be from the litho process, and it's not bad with a capital B, but I am suspicious :(

Based on all this, we already know that putting things back into archives is NOT the way to go, but if we were to accession the book and the lithos, how would YOU do it or want to see it done? Curious for thoughts, feedback, HVAC grant links, as well as any knowledge or experience you may have in your pocket! We've just never done this before and want to make sure we're exhausting all options and possibilities before making a hard call.

Help me, hive mind! Big thanks in advance ❤️🙏✨

Hello all,

First, I'm new here, so if this topic has been covered ad nauseum please go easy on me. :)

I'm working for a small, low-budget new museum. We're building a kind of survey where people can rate their opinion of the attractiveness (rated on a scale) of certain buildings. At the end of the survey, we want to be able to show how their response compares to the average, and the standard deviation. The display will be a touchscreen, but otherwise I'm not sure what device would be best (tablet? pc with a monitor?)

I'm looking around at various platforms for surveys/quizzes, and there are a lot.

Do any of you have suggestions for what the best, low-cost, low/no-code solutions could be? Of course hiring a programmer to build it from scratch is an option but we were thinking we could save money (and perhaps make ongoing maintenance easier) by building it on such a platform.

Thanks kindly for your help.

Hi everyone! I’m a painter and writer who is currently developing a work of fiction that involves the installation of a show at a major gallery, with works on loan from a museum. I was wondering if anyone would mind providing some insight into a couple questions I have about logistics, as I have a lot of experience with making art but none whatsoever on the professional side and don't want to inadvertently include details that are highly unlikely. I also posted in the Contemporary Art sub. Any insight into the below would be hugely appreciated!!

• Shipping artwork: When shipping works domestically from a museum to a gallery (on loan, for a show), what are some reasons a piece might be delayed in getting to its final destination, or at least that there would be some uncertainty around the time it would arrive? I was thinking like, vehicle breaking down, or losing tracking information, but I’m wondering if those with experience might be able to provide other examples that feel more true to life.

​

• Artists’ assistants: is it feasible that an artist’s assistant would be very hands on in setting up their boss’s solo show at a major gallery? I know that large galleries have robust installation and planning teams of their own, but ideally for this story the artist’s assistant would also be pretty involved in the logistics such as borrowing works from museums/collections and show installation. I’m sure this situation varies but basically just curious if I can get away with having this be the case or whether this would seem highly unlikely.

Thank you so much!

L’oeuvre De Rembrandt Planches

I understand this is a catalog produced by Charles Blanc around 1830 that included a text volume and a volume with boards / prints. How many of these were released by the L’oeuvre and are they still available for collectors? Are the prints included in the volume actual etches or posthumous prints?

I'm going to MuseumNext Live in London, and will combine it with some extra days for museum visits. We're currently planning a new permanent exhibit in a smaller art museum and the plan is to do some benchmarking for ideas.

Any recommendations of London museums that do something differently or are especially innovative? Looking at for example storytelling, audience experience, engagement, displaying things, getting people to participate, tech and so on. I'm planning to go to Tate Modern, V&A and possibly The Imperial War Museum, but may have room for at least one more.

So I currently work for an arts non-profit doing their social media marketing. I want to apply for this other job as an exhibitions coordinator, I don’t have much qualifications or experience but the job description wasn’t super strict on requirements other than basic skills. I have 2 great connections to list as well, what is a good way to say, take a chance on me? Do you think I even stand a chance?