news.artnet.com: Current and aspiring art museum workers may want to sign on with smaller institutions, according to one conclusion from a new report by Museums Moving Forward (MMF). Today, the organization releases its 2025 Report on Workplace Equity and Organizational Culture in U.S. Art Museums, a biannual, nationwide study launched in 2023.
4 comments:
I am interested in maybe working in museums in the future so this article is of interest to me. Its very interesting that despite having lower pay and less advancement opportunities, smaller museum workers feel more satisfied with their jobs. I think this might be because people who choose to work in museums generally set out on that career path out of genuine passion for what they do. I feel that not a lot of people know you can work in museums or really consider museum jobs as an industry, and although the industry is small, it is definitely a valid career path. I thought it was interesting that the article mentioned younger people are moving into the museum field. I think this is good. Museums shape so much of the accepted historical narrative, and its important that their curation be mindful and current. I wonder about the rate of unionization for museum workers, and I wonder if perhaps this could help them get better pay.
Having worked at a historic house museum and seeing the insides of a smaller type of museum, I can see where the point of this survey is trying to reach. I understand that house museums are different from art museums in concept, however they often have similar structures. I would be interested in knowing the geographical information based around these responses as well. There seems to be a lack of reporting because a lot of what they are looking at would be strongly informed and reinforced by the location of these things. Lack of promotional availability is likely due to working at a small museum that is in a smaller city or suburb and the person there is already the head of their department, i.e. curatorial staff may only have 1 or 2 people. I wonder what other effects unionization has on positions outside of pay and I wonder if the lower wages, but more satisfied people are non-union. This information contingent on geographical information sheds a lot of light on the whole subject.
At a smaller organization or group you are able to find people you enjoy working with easier than larger ones because you can go up to different people and it is easier than finding an already established clique. Academic social culture is, sadly, often just an extension of high school drama. Instead of being sports and grades it's more about the barrier to entry in your knowledge and the power structure that is there is often held over the younger or less important workers. I feel like this is even more so exaggerated as you grow into bigger organizations. The relationships are harder to form as each department gets bigger and has more people so inter-department socialization becomes harder. Managing different departments becomes more important and if something goes wrong more people are affected greatly which also leads to clashing personalities. It is interesting that career satisfaction is higher in lower budget institutions. Maybe it's the lower stakes
This is actually hilarious because I’ve considered working in a tiny art museum and I didn’t because of the pay. Granted, I am but a wee 18 year old so I could afford to work somewhere that doesn’t pay great and still lean on my family, but that’s not the case for a lot of people. It’s amazing the rates at which people stay in this work knowing it’s not sustainable financially, but then again I’m getting a theater degree so who am I to judge. In general, the arts do not have money. If you have passion for art you either have to really really refine your craft and network like crazy, or have a second job. It’s the sad truth in a society that doesn’t care much for artists. I do find all of these demographics interesting though, the primary groups of people who work these museum jobs are young white queer people who probably, (like myself,) have someone else to lean on financially while they try to stablise in persuing their passions. They know it’s not sustainable but they care, and to care just enough and have the right amount of privilege to make their passions possible. I wish this was a more accessible career to different groups of people as well, to my understanding the larger museums do tend to pay their employees more but the larger it is, the more commercialised. I understand the desire for work in smaller communities, I just wish this was a more affordable position to work in because I could guess that the primary demographic of people in this job are the ones who have the external support systems to afford it.
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