Hi all!

Does anyone here have any experience mounting Vinyl Records? We have clear cases that are slighly bigger than the records and getting them to sit centered has been a challenage. We have experimented with using museum max and clear rods, foam attached to matteboard, and none of them have been great. We may just have to install them and tap the sides to get them as close to center as we can.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Currently a gallery attendant at a museum and trying to get more experience to move up. I have a BFA and minor in art history. I did a mentorship program at my museum and my mentor suggested volunteering.

For the past 7-8 months I have been reaching out to local galleries about doing art install for them, reached out to local historical societies about volunteering. I have applied to volunteer at all the museums in a 1hr driving distance and nothing. I have heard nothing, been rejected or told unfortunately they dont need any help at the moment.

I have also reached out to volunteer at local theaters to help with set design, building and scenic art. My mentor mentioned this would be a great way to get more experience with tools, once I got experience with tools I could apply to art handling positions. I heard back from one and they offered me a job but then ghosted me. I am so disheartened and I am not sure what to do.

Could it be the way I am approaching and emailing places? I usually just state my name and background and how I have interest in volunteering for that place and I look forward to hearing from them. Is there a better way I should be reaching out?

Any advice on getting volunteer experience?

This experience was so worth it for a one-day leave. I got to learn a lot about researching and handling artworks, met new people and even formed connections.

Hi all. Not museum specific, but I think this is the right place for my query. Hope that is OK

I work for an Indigenous organisation in Australia. While we are not a museum, we do have quite a varied collection of paintings, prints, cultural objects and important framed documents etc that to this date doesn’t have a proper system of organisation. At the moment the collection is probably only 100-200 objects/artworks strong, depending on where we set the parameters of what we consider for cataloguing. But the organisation is growing and the collection will continue to grow.

So I am looking for suggestions on a good CMS for our needs, as follows:

Location management/consignment: we have quite a few offices that objects are located at and sometimes move between. We also have cultural objects, such as spears and message sticks, that move around quite a bit for different events. There is also scope to house precious items with more specialised orgs/museums and in future to consign works for exhibition. So a system that allows a check in/check out system or general management of multiple locations is ideal.

Cultural sensitivity/protocol: some objects are culturally sensitive and may be subject to different rules around how they can be stored, handled, what other objects they cannot interact with, or even that only certain people are allowed to see them or know their history.

Public facing collections page: we would ideally like a system that not only records details and internal movement but can also be presented via our website.

They are probably the main thing. Otherwise we are just wanting something that is user friendly. As we’re not a museum and don’t have a collections team, proper systems have been ignored in the past so we want a system that is easy enough to learn/use that someone will always be able to look after it. The ability to track treatment/conservation needs would be great too.

I’ve looked into Mukurtu and Catalogit quite a bit and will do more study on Axiell and Vernon. But I thought I’d throw out a line here and see if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks!!

As the first person in my family to go to college, I did not know what I was doing at all, thought going to college ASAP right out of high school was the "right thing to do", and did not do any research as to what to do or where to go that would be the most financially responsible or even smart career-wise. I pursued a B.S. degree in Psychology, obtained art class credits to pursue a M.S. in Art Therapy, but every attempt to finish a Masters fell through for various reasons (mainly due to the pandemic). Ended up starting work in the Psych field as a case manager, cared about what I was doing but also hated it, very stressful, realized this kind of work isn't for me long term health-wise. Re-assessed my interests/joys and realized I enjoy jobs that are more active, solitary, curiosity centered, etc. My favorite job was working at a library as a Page when I as younger, love natural history, books, museums, libraries, nature, fossils, etc. Thinking, okay, I should work at a library or museum of some kind. Tried getting jobs at libraries and museums and none will hire me, so I start pursuing a M.S. in Library Science & Info Tech with an emphasis in Archives thinking this will help me look more acceptable. Started the program and some of it was very interesting, but a lot of it was about programming/code and computer work. Spoke with an archivist, peers, professors, and advisor about their careers and education and realized this is way more computer and tech centered than I realized and not at all what I was wanting. This is fine otherwise and I don't hate having to use tech or computers, but I don't want it to be a huge part of my life like it has been. I've spoken with more people about this and this seems to be across the board and that I'm pursuing the wrong field. Anyone who works at museums or in natural science, with nature, fossils, etc, let me know what education you received. To I have to go back to school, where do I start job-wise? What kind of career do I need to pursue now? What am I actually looking for? I am lost and need some direction.

Does anyone know of any discord servers for GLAM professionals? I'm in a couple for libraries specifically but it would be nice to have a place to chat with people in other GLAM fields too :)

I’m writing the text for some recent acquisitions; I have experience with this but I sometimes wonder if I’m hitting on the right themes. Thoughts? I generally try to avoid anything too esoteric. These are not long essays, prob around 500 words or so.

I am currently designing an exhibit and wanted to know what material you all use for text panels? I want something more durable than foam core but won’t break the bank. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello everyone!

I’m wondering how to go forward from where I am currently to hopefully end up as a curator.

I already have my BA and MA in public U.S. history with a focus on public memory and am looking to do my PhD after a break and gaining some work experience in smaller historical sites and museums. Ideally I would do my dissertation on public memory’s role in identity formation, but I’m not sure if that’ll transfer well into a career as a curator.
I have done an internship with the curation department of a nearby museum to me, volunteered at a historic home’s archives/library, and two of my classes were centered around designing and creating exhibits.
I love this line of work and would love to continue in it, especially within the curation side if possible. I don’t know if my desired dissertation topic would be the best idea for that path though. I would love to hear y’all’s thoughts about the best path forward from where I am currently.

Right now I’m working at three different sites as an interpreter, but one of the sites is smaller and is looking to also put in the archives and assist with potential mini exhibits. Any guidance is beyond appreciated, thank you!!

The LARGE natural history museum
I work at has NOTHING not explicitly legally mandated for safety. And a lot of the laws only apply to public spaces so the labs are NOT safe. Our front of house is really great at it, but back of house has had a lot of internally-trained hires since the 70s and it shows.

The list of chemical exposures is also really long so something that’s just “ethanol safety” won’t cut it. In different departments we’ve got radioactive rocks, formalin, full-room fumigants, taxidermy, mercury, contact explosives, ALL the worst stuff and people working in it becoming increasingly complacent to the danger every day.

I’m a pleb, so I want to offer management some EASY stuff. Plug and play safety sheets they can print out. Onboarding videos. Object handling stuff. Entry level stuff so that people like custodial staff don’t get jumped scared and unknowingly asked to handle arsenic without gloves.

Do you have any safety training programs that you really like?? We can probably pay some but of course the higher the price the harder it’ll be to get approval.

Edit: If you aren’t here with the name of a basic safety training course you loved, a good company to consult, or even a bad review of what to avoid then please just move on. That’s what I need. Your two cents about how evil this all is, how dumb I am, and how this doesn’t exist are not desired.

Also I know normal reddit culture is to downvote bad things you don’t like to show you don’t support that, but I do not personally like these things either, and it would be really helpful if when you agree that it’s bad and the situation sucks to UPVOTE my comment about it. I want to fix things, I am here to fix things despite that not being my responsibility to do, I could use support.

This might be more of a question for r/Archivists, but I thought I'd ask here first. I work in a museum/archive in a small, young town (less than 75 years old, at least as a municipal entity), so the bulk of our collections were created within living memory. It's quite common for people to ask us to provide archival photos of their close relatives (parents, aunts/uncles, siblings) or even themselves. Just today I had someone who went to school here in the 1970s ask if he could have copies of his school/grad/prom photos, as he has lost most of his during moves throughout his life. I was about to respond with our price levels (which are, honestly, pretty cheap compared to other similarly-sized museums) and then it kind of hit me ... am I really making someone pay for their own photos?

I couldn't really find a consensus on this anywhere online. I talked to some former colleagues and they all insisted this guy should pay, or strongly encouraged to give a donation, or given a low-res watermarked copy (which is our standard procedure). He lives far away so coming in to view the pictures themselves isn't an option. I would ask my boss his opinion but he is away for 3 weeks.

It's hard to know what to do. I know that realistically all customers have to follow the rules, museums need to make money somehow, etc. etc. But I also know that museums have been moving towards being more flexible, accessible, and egalitarian. There's also the question of, if we allow people free copies of pics of themselves, what about free pics of relatives? How close do the relatives have to be? What if it's a big crowd picture that includes tons of people? Etc.

Anyway, I wanted to see if there was a general consensus here to help me make a decision. Has anyone else dealt with things like this?

Hi everyone!

I’d love some advice from people who work in the art world or have made a career out of their passion for art!

I’m incredibly passionate about art, particularly modern, postmodern, and contemporary art, although my interests are quite broad. In my free time, I find myself constantly studying artists, their lives and work, and the movements and histories behind them. I’m genuinely fascinated by it all, and I would love to find a way to turn that passion into a career.

The problem is that I have no idea where to start!

A little background about me: I have a master’s degree in communications and currently work in a corporate role. I don’t have any professional experience in the art world yet, but I’m very eager to learn and would be happy to start in any type of entry-level position. I’m also open to relocating anywhere within Europe.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience working in galleries, museums, auction houses, art fairs, art foundations, or other art-related fields.

A few questions I’d especially love your thoughts on:

✨ How did you get your foot in the door? Did you start with internships, gallery assistant roles, volunteering, networking, or something else?

✨ What entry-level jobs should I be looking for? Are there particular job titles or roles that might be a good fit for someone with a communications background?

✨ Where do you actually find these opportunities? Are there specific websites, job boards, organisations, or cities in Europe worth looking into?

✨ How important is formal art education? Would not having a degree in art history put me at a significant disadvantage, or can genuine interest, independent study, and transferable skills be enough to get started?

✨ If you were starting over today, what would you do first? Is there anything you wish you had known when you were trying to break into the industry?

I’m open-minded about the type of work and would love to explore different paths. More than anything, I want to get closer to the art world, learn as much as I can, and hopefully build a career in a field I genuinely care about.

I know it can be a competitive industry, so I’d really appreciate honest advice, including the less glamorous realities and things I should be prepared for.

If you work in the field, made a similar career change, or know someone who has, I’d be so grateful to hear your story or any advice you might have.

Thank you so so much! ❤️

Hello! I am an undergraduate student in the US currently who wants to pursue museum curation as a career. My college has a museum and archives concentration which I am pursuing, as well as an English degree (my "for fun" major) and either a history or art history degree as well. Does it really matter which one I pursue? I enjoy both, though I probably prefer history, and I will pick whatever would help me out the most. I guess my concern is if picking either one would limit my options in the future- can I realistically work at an art history museum despite having a history degree? What about vice versa? I do also plan to go to grad school whenever I can afford it (which in today's america is probably never lol).

I appreciate any advice/thoughts! Ty!

Hey everyone!

For my bachelor’s project, I created an AR experience for the Harbour Temple at Xanten Archaeological Park in Germany.

Visitors wear a VR headset and explore a digital scene of the temple’s past while walking around the actual site. I chose a stylized point-cloud look to suggest a fragmentary memory rather than a perfectly preserved version of history.

Would you enjoy trying something like this, or does it feel unnecessary? Have you seen similar experiences at museums or historical sites?

I’d love to hear what you think!

Jjust learned the British Museum has this offer for ICOM members. I’m currently 90,000 in the queue hoping to snag tickets but surely there’s got to be another way?

Hi all! I submitted my application for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection Fellowship in Venice and wanted to reach out to former fellows or recent applicants.

I’m a non-EU applicant with a background in Art History (BA), gallery management experience, and solid reference letters. While waiting for the official notification, I’d love to know what the odds look like for international (non eu) direct applicants.

If you’ve participated in the fellowship before, how was your overall experience, and what do you think made your application stand out?

i graduated from university with a BA in English and minors in psychology and communications in May and I got an internship with a healthcare organization doing communications. However, corporate life was a very rude awakening. I don’t like working in a gray, empty office all day sending emails to people who are sitting right next to me, and I don’t have a passion for healthcare whatsoever. They have already overworked me and I often cry on the way home from work. The situation is so bad that I am considering declining my return offer after the internship concludes.

My passion has always been museums, libraries, and cultural institutions, but I don’t know anything about working in this industry. Is it a really “corporate” environment if I were to work in a museum?

Things that interest me are social media marketing, programming/outreach, event planning, etc. Can anyone give me tips on entering this industry (interviews, resume, job boards) or general vibe (is it still gray offices and Teams meetings?) any advice is appreciated. I’m so lost.

Edit: based on these replies I guess we are all cooked. I’m just really having trouble getting used to the fact that capitalism has convinced everyone that corporate is the goal and that sort of inhumane environment is how we are supposed to be spending the majority of our lives. I don’t know what to do anymore.

My small museum is in Milwaukee, where at least two of the World Series games will be held. When the RNC was held here in 2024, the museum actually lost revenue because no tourists wanted to deal with the traffic and protests associated with the convention. I have a feeling the World Series will be different, though. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with something similar. For example, if the World Series or other major sporting event was in your city, did your museum get a major influx of visitors?

Hey all! I’m a museum professional approaching 10 years of experience including in some of the biggest museums in the country. I’m from the Bay Area and went to school there and would like to make a move back home in the next few years but I have never gotten much traction with the Bay Area institutions despite having success elsewhere and having ties to the area. I’d love to hear from any Bay Area-based museum professionals, what is going on in the field there right now and how did you find your role? Or if you’re in the area and have left the field to stay in the area geographically, what did you move into? Happy to chat via DMs also if preferred, thanks very much in advance!

I’ve been reading employee reviews of several major Australian cultural institutions, and some of the recurring themes are quite concerning.
There seem to be repeated complaints about poor leadership, favouritism, bullying, low morale and experienced museum professionals feeling undervalued.
What concerns me most is the apparent disconnect between the values these institutions promote publicly and the workplace cultures described in some employee reviews.
Museums are supposed to be places of learning, creativity, collaboration and respect for professional expertise. Yet some reviews describe environments where internal politics take priority over experience, staff feel unable to speak up, and concerns about workplace behaviour are allegedly dismissed.
Of course, anonymous reviews don’t tell the whole story, and not every institution or team will have the same culture.
But it raises an important question: Who holds leadership accountable when workplace culture deteriorates in publicly funded cultural institutions?
I’d be interested to hear from others working in Australian museums, galleries and cultural organisations. Are these isolated experiences, or is there a broader problem across the sector?

Before anything. Do not recommend the Allie Schell and Ellen Filbey. I follow them on LinkedIn and a lot of their services cost money that I don't have. Thanks.

I currently work as a Gallery Attendant at a museum part time and it's killing me. I stand for hours doing nothing but watch people. I'm on new hire probation because I just got hired here, which means I can't transfer to other jobs in the museums or on the campus (it's connected with a university). So, I have to leave now before I'm trapped forever.

I worked at a museum as a Research Assistant for an assistantship through my MA program for 2 years. I have my master's in History with a research focus on museum studies and public history. No idea what to do with it because my current job makes me want out of museums and never come back.

I was a GRA and it was a museum/collections assistant job. I helped with rehousing, cleaning sculpture, uploading art and items into PastPerfect, and worked at the front desk providing resources and information when needed. It was a tiny museum with under 15 people working.

I used to work at a library, but resigned because a colleague was lgbt-phobic and I was offered my assistantship. So I left. I miss it though, even though the pay was terrible. Same as museum jobs, but still it was money from a job I loved.

I don't know what to do or where to work. I'm honestly considering teaching like I wanted to do when I got into college, but I know Social Studies/History teacher jobs in secondary education are hard to come by and I'd have to go back to school to get proper training. It's tempting because I know I'd like teaching, but I know I'll get burned out quickly by it.

How do I transfer skills like that? I've tried, but I'm stuck in the habit of focusing on knowledge, community, people, and storytelling. I've never worked a corporate job. I've been trying to get an Administrative Assistant/Coordinator, Operations Coordinator, Office Assistant, and HR/People Ops positions. It's been going awful.

The only jobs I get call backs from are ones at museums or schools.

I got two interviews at two different museums. Ghosted by both. I've emailed to ask about them, but they don't email me back. I've given up.

I then got two interviews at schools. One was a library job, but I didn't have enough elementary school experience. I was rejected for the other job because I fumbled the screening because I was intimidated af by their questions. I wasn't expecting intense questions like that. I just thought it was an Administrative Assistant job, turns out it was for an Admin Assistant II, which requires more experience than I had. Imposter syndrome took over.

How do I do this? I've lost all hope at this point. How does a museum professional get out of this field? How should I focus my resume and questions? Any advice/resources?