So what am I supposed to do now…? | Art Museum Teaching
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5 thoughts on “So what am I supposed to do now…?”
Susy Watts says:
Know our cultural advocates are working tirelessly (literally with little sleep) to protect the very artistic interests you describe in ongoing and upcoming legislation. Keep watching the inclusion of so many cultural/creatives in further legislation. And we hear and see you! Thank you for all your study! We need the next generation in this field!
Zélie Lewis says:
Thank you for sharing this! It’s always helpful – and reassuring – to know that there are people fighting to protect the arts and culture world. Best wishes as you navigate this strange time.
Zélie Lewis
Thank you, Ms. Lewis for this thoughtful piece. As a mid-career museum professional, I’ve had many of the same “what now?” kind of thoughts myself. Having spent years living with poor job security (along with some of the other pathologies of the museum world), this isn’t the first time I’ve been here, but the scope and scale is like nothing I’ve seen before.
Like many others working in museums at that time, the crash of late 2007 (bringing the Great Recession) was not kind to me. There were waves of layoffs and downsizings that left a lot of us to fend for ourselves. The recovery period was not brief, and many still have a lasting dent in our financial well-being that probably won’t be fixed without subtantial lottery winnings.
Today it feels like we’re doing it all over again, only with even deeper impact and greater uncertainty. I do believe that museums will emerge from this crisis, and that the things we’re learning now have the potential to make us stronger in the future. COVID has exposed and made clear many of the structural vulnerabilities and inequities in our nation and our world, and it’s doing the same for museums. I’m hopeful that there will be many needed conversations going forward, and it will be important to be sure that emerging museum professionals are part of that dialog.
Thank you for sharing your experience as a mid-career professional. I find myself wondering how many people left the field/profession as a result of the 2008 recession and how many will do so now (voluntarily or by necessity). It’s hard not to ask oneself if pursuing a museum career is really the best idea right now, and I can’t say I have an answer to that just yet.
In the meantime, I echo your hope that conversations around vulnerability and inequity in museums (and the US) continue to inspire *real* change in our field.
Best wishes as you navigate these challenging times.
Thanks for your response, Zélie –
The 2008 recession definitely tossed more than a couple of museum professionals out the door. Some of us tried to leverage our experience to continue serving the museum sector as independent contractors, with varying degrees of success. I imagine that others moved on to other fields, at least for a while, and some may not have returned.
What’s really striking to me about the impact of the COVID crisis on museums is that it’s acting somewhat like a great synchronizer. Anyone who has spent much time in the museum sector has experienced that sensation of the rug being pulled out from beneath their feet. Our funding gets cut. Our grants don’t get renewed. That major donor doesn’t come through. In many instances, our jobs are temporary to begin with (there are lots of 1-year or 2-year contracts out there). These individual tragedies play out every day in museums. But with COVID, it’s like those kinds of career interruptions are all happening to nearly everyone all at once. That makes it bigger and deeper, (and scarier), so everyone is paying attention.
I have many hopes for the post-COVID future, but one of my greatest for museums is that their leaders will turn an introspective lens toward their staff and the financial structure that supports them, bringing a renewed vigor and focus to sustainable museum careers.
Leave a Reply to Zélie Lewis Cancel reply
So what am I supposed to do now…? | Art Museum Teaching
Previous PostNew Normals: A photo essayNext PostHow can museums & schools continue their relationship during & after COVID-19?
5 thoughts on “So what am I supposed to do now…?”
Susy Watts says:
Know our cultural advocates are working tirelessly (literally with little sleep) to protect the very artistic interests you describe in ongoing and upcoming legislation. Keep watching the inclusion of so many cultural/creatives in further legislation. And we hear and see you! Thank you for all your study! We need the next generation in this field!
Zélie Lewis says:
Thank you for sharing this! It’s always helpful – and reassuring – to know that there are people fighting to protect the arts and culture world. Best wishes as you navigate this strange time.
Zélie Lewis
Thank you, Ms. Lewis for this thoughtful piece. As a mid-career museum professional, I’ve had many of the same “what now?” kind of thoughts myself. Having spent years living with poor job security (along with some of the other pathologies of the museum world), this isn’t the first time I’ve been here, but the scope and scale is like nothing I’ve seen before.
Like many others working in museums at that time, the crash of late 2007 (bringing the Great Recession) was not kind to me. There were waves of layoffs and downsizings that left a lot of us to fend for ourselves. The recovery period was not brief, and many still have a lasting dent in our financial well-being that probably won’t be fixed without subtantial lottery winnings.
Today it feels like we’re doing it all over again, only with even deeper impact and greater uncertainty. I do believe that museums will emerge from this crisis, and that the things we’re learning now have the potential to make us stronger in the future. COVID has exposed and made clear many of the structural vulnerabilities and inequities in our nation and our world, and it’s doing the same for museums. I’m hopeful that there will be many needed conversations going forward, and it will be importa
nt to be sure that emerging museum professionals are part of that dialog.
Thank you for sharing your experience as a mid-career professional. I find myself wondering how many people left the field/profession as a result of the 2008 recession and how many will do so now (voluntarily or by necessity). It’s hard not to ask oneself if pursuing a museum career is really the best idea right now, and I can’t say I have an answer to that just yet.
In the meantime, I echo your hope that conversations around vulnerability and inequity in museums (and the US) continue to inspire *real* change in our field.
Best wishes as you navigate these challenging times.
Thanks for your response, Zélie –
The 2008 recession definitely tossed more than a couple of museum professionals out the door. Some of us tried to leverage our experience to continue serving the museum sector as independent contractors, with varying degrees of success. I imagine that others moved on to other fields, at least for a while, and some may not have returned.
What’s really striking to me about the impact of the COVID crisis on museums is that it’s acting somewhat like a great synchronizer. Anyone who has spent much time in the museum sector has experienced that sensation of the rug being pulled out from beneath their feet. Our funding gets cut. Our grants don’t get renewed. That major donor doesn’t come through. In many instances, our jobs are temporary to begin with (there are lots of 1-year or 2-year contracts out there). These individual tragedies play out every day in museums. But with COVID, it’s like those kinds of career interruptions are all happening to nearly everyone all at once. That makes it bigger and deeper, (and scarier), so everyone is paying attention.
I have many hopes for the post-COVID future, but one of my greatest for museums is that their leaders will turn an introspective lens toward their staff and the financial structure that supports them, bringing a renewed vigor and focus to sustainable museum careers.
Leave a Reply to Zélie Lewis Cancel reply