A Couple of Things about Being a Gallery Attendant

I find it the most interesting paradox of the museum sect that the gallery attendants and security are often the most seen but the least heard. I mean this in the sense that every patron and donor is fascinated by the dynamic jobs of the curators, the registrars, the directors, or the education programmers, so everyone wants to know more about their duties. Their roles are wonderful (and I do aspire to be a registrar one day); they get to do in-depth research and create exhibitions and programs. It’s true that the gallery attendants and security don’t do as many exclusive behind-the-scenes activities as other staff, but we deal with the most important aspect of the museum’s function; the visitors. Because if no one is visiting a museum, we’re all pretty pointless and gallery attendants regularly see to the needs of the population without whom the museum couldn’t exist in the first place. So I am perfectly content to serve as a gallery attendant until I attain my permanent collections management position.

 So here I am to tell you more about being a gallery attendant and what it is like to care for visitor services and museum security. I have worked as a Gallery Assistant at the Pulitzer on-and-off for the last four years and also serve as a Gallery Attendant at the Kemper (same job, different A-words). Now, not going to lie, the most important part of the job: comfortable shoes. It’s a lot of standing and walking around the galleries so before one can properly attend to the visitors’ needs one should attend to their own podiatric needs. If you are ever wondering why a museum attendant or security officer looks so cranky, check out his/her shoes. If they don’t look comfortable, that’s why.

But in all seriousness, it is important to be conversant in the mission, history, and collections of the museum you work in. I promise that the job is ten times more enjoyable when you are able to actively engage with the audience, and one of the best ways to do this is to be able to talk with them about the artworks/artifacts and the museum. Such exchanges can be equally beneficial and enjoyable for both employee and patron. Talking with people is just fun and makes the work day go faster while the visitor gets additional interesting information that they may have otherwise never known. If you are unable to engage with visitors then all you do is stand there and make sure nobody touches anything, and that’s just boring. So if you see a museum attendant or security officer who looks grumpy but has on comfortable shoes, this is another possible explanation for his/her not-so-sunny demeanor.

However the other side of the coin is this: as much fun as it is to engage with visitors it is also important to be able to read them so you can determine who is up for a conversation and who just wants to browse the gallery uninterrupted. The last thing you want to do is annoy and gab on to a museum guest who just wants to be left alone. This will put a real dampener on their visit and possibly dissuade them from visiting the museum in the future. In my experience though, people are pretty easy to read and it’s not too difficult to distinguish which visitors would like a dialogue from those who would rather keep to themselves. So if you happen to see a cranky museum attendant or security officer who has on comfortable shoes and seems well-versed in the museum’s collection and history, it’s also possible they just got told off by a patron who didn’t wish to be spoken to. 

Another aspect of the job I enjoy is spending so much quality time with the art. People travel hundreds of miles to spend a few hours with artworks I get to see six to eight hours a day, three to four times a week. I am willing to bet you anything that as much as the curators and registrars get to research and handle the art, none of them clock as many hours with the objects as your everyday museum or gallery attendant. That is why every time I get a private moment in the gallery that I am patrolling, I spend it looking at the artwork. I examine them as closely as I can and see if I can find or learn anything from it that perhaps no one has noticed before. I ask myself questions and propose hypotheses and stories in answer. This is when I engage in a dialogue with the art rather than the visitor. So, once again returning to the grouchy-looking guard, if he/she has on comfortable shoes, is well-versed, has not peeved anybody off, and still seems unhappy, well then it’s just possible he/she doesn’t like art and is in the wrong profession. 

There are many more aspects to the job of being a museum gallery attendant, but I must leave something to blog about in the future. Also, these are the aspects that I see as the most prevalent: engaging with an audience, knowing when to not engage, spending time with the art, and shoes. Never underestimate the importance of shoes folks… never. I feel that working on the floor with the public is something that all museum staff should experience. It would give them a better sense of what museum visitors are like and it would help them relate better to those who work on the floor every single day. 

At the Start of an Adventure

Four months ago I found myself at the end of a grant and thus at the end of a job. I returned home and began working part-time while I searched and applied for full-time collections management positions. I managed to get some interviews and I made it tantalizing far in a number of them, but I have yet to hit the bulls-eye on the permanent job target. As the four months elapsed, and the interviews came and went, one part-time job was no longer cutting it. I was bored and I wasn’t even bringing home enough bacon to make a decent BLT much less pay back my student loan. So I went out and found a second part-time paying position as well as a part-time volunteer position. Now I am happily occupied six to seven days a week and performing a career juggling act that rivals any routine ever presented by a Cirque du Soleil entertainer.

So here’s the plan. I intend to work and blog and keep working and keep blogging until I have claimed my prize of the coveted permanent full-time museum job… and then I’ll work and blog some more. My goal with this project is to share my professional museum experiences and ideas and create a forum in which other professionals can share their stories and ideas. Now let me tell you a little bit about my jobs.

Job One: Gallery Assistant at The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. I have worked here on and off since I was in undergrad and I really do enjoy it. I engage with a gallery audience as they explore Tadao Ando’s space and view changing exhibitions meant to engage in a dialogue with the building. A self-proclaimed part-gallery, part-laboratory the Pulitzer has hosted a variety of shows featuring anything from modern and contemporary works to old masters. I safeguard the art and space, trying to ensure a pleasant, unique, and secure visitor experience. I also engage in additional projects and events whenever I can.

Job Two: Gallery Attendant at the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University St. Louis. This is my most recent part-time job and, though the function is technically the same, I find it very different from the Pulitzer. The Kemper is your more traditional art museum and is a university museum with active student engagement. Here I am to provide excellent visitor services while simultaneously providing invisible museum security. I also try to involve myself in other aspects of the museum’s day to day tasks.

Job Three: Exhibition Registrar Intern at the Missouri History Museum, and I must admit my favorite of the three. It is here that I get to participate in collections management activities at a very well established museum institution. Working with the museum’s exhibition registrar I help prepare and implement exhibitions. I also at times assist in the maintenance, such as environmental monitoring, of the exhibition spaces. And most importantly I get to work with the objects, or as I sometimes affectionately call them, the pretty, pretty old things. I get to hold them, write their condition reports, package them, move them, install them, de-install them, enter and explore their storage rooms, meet their loaners and private collectors… basically I’m in heaven.

I’ve acquired the approval of most of these institutions to write on this blog about my experiences. For the Missouri History Museum I’ve been invited to write for their blog instead, in which case a link will be provided the week my post is up on their website. My goal is to post at least once a week on my blog. Topics will generally be work-related, but will also occasionally include accounts of recreational visits to museums, galleries, and historic sites. I could also discuss an interesting museum topic I come across in the media or on other forums.

So here we are at the start of an adventure. I hope you all enjoy it with me!