Alison Baverstock - How to Get a Job in a Museum or Art Gallery

Part I:
The world of
museums and
galleries

Chapter 1
Why work in a museum or art
gallery?

Working in a museum or gallery is an appealing career prospect for many; it often attracts those who visited them during their childhood, found them places of solace in their teenage years or rather liked the look of what Ross in Friends did for a living. Visits as part of a university course may strengthen that desire and students of history or history of art may find themselves particularly drawn to such a career (although experts are needed in many fields of speciality, as broad as a museums range of content, from palaeontology to machine tools).

But while its easy to dream of working in such an institution, the practical details of whats involved are less easily come by. This book provides guidance on how to discover if the world of museums and galleries is really for you, and how to find a job if you decide this is indeed your chosen path.

A word of warning before we start. Entry is highly competitive and there are many more people seeking jobs than there are positions available. But then if you dont try, you stand no chance at all.

What working in a museum or gallery is really like

I did work experience in The Courtauld Gallery during the summer before my final year at university, and found the real privilege was in seeing the pictures in different lights each day from the harsh light of the early morning to the balmier light of the afternoons. I really felt I got to know the pictures and this was hugely satisfying.

ALISON BAVERSTOCK

If you cherish the notion that working in an art gallery or museum is a peaceful escape from the hurly-burly of modern life, or that it offers a haven away from more commercial choices, then think again. These days, galleries and museums not only have to compete for funds but also raise a substantial portion of their own revenue. Loving the items under your care is not enough, and your employers will want more from you than simply the knowledge that you are enjoying your surroundings.

Whats so satisfying about working in this world?

Close proximity to things of significance

Working in a museum or gallery offers you the chance to get close to items that have witnessed, or played a part in history, over both the long and short term.

People who work in galleries and museums feel that what they do matters; that they are looking after the cultural capital of the world and preserving it for future generations, and that by explaining the significance of items to a wider audience they are enhancing life.

Many of the skills needed by those working in museums and galleries are needed in other working environments too, such as website development, accurate record keeping and an appreciation of wider access. What museums give you is the added interest of applying these skills to something that matters, and the opportunity to engage other people in an area that is so fascinating and one perhaps they had not thought about before.

I would say that the one thing that unites all who work in this world is a respect for the original object; the frisson gained from holding the actual item that has played a part in history. And this is true whether the object is frequently found and of little or no commercial value or a unique and highly valuable specific item, with a charted pedigree; it is the connection to the past that matters. For example, it can be just as fascinating to look at an early example of the sticks used in the millennia-old method of creating fire by rubbing one stick in the hollowed-out centre of another, as a single example of a particular item with a particularly well-documented provenance. When cataloguing the horology collection in the British Museum, I was inspecting the working mechanism of a particular timepiece and was told by the curator that it once belonged to Oliver Cromwell. Those who want to work in museums need to be the kind of people who are excited by this; the tenable connection to the past that they then want to communicate and share with others.

MALCOLM CHAPMAN, HEAD OF COLLECTIONS, MANCHESTER MUSEUM

Similarly, selling items of historical pedigree or works of art can be a commercial venture, but those handling the sale must feel that what they are offering has a long-term validity and will reflect well on their role as seller in the future. Commercial galleries and specialist retailers want to build long-term relationships with their customers, who view their purchases as ongoing sources of pleasure and investment.