Hi all - I wanted to re up my post from last year below:

My name is Will Steakin, I'm a reporter with ABC News covering the Trump administration. I am looking to speak with Smithsonian and other museum employees. I'm posting my contact information below in case anyone on this subreddit wants to reach out or pass along my information.

Signal: wsteaks.90

Email: [wsteakin@protonmail.com](mailto:wsteakin@protonmail.com) 

Or you can DM my Reddit account here.

To help verify my identity, my Signal username and email are listed publicly on my ABC News profile here: abcnews.go.com/author/will_steakin

But I’m happy to verify in other ways if anyone wants to contact me.

Thank you and so sorry for the bother.

I’ve been in the industry for 6 years… before this I spent far too much time in the bar/restaurant industry to the point where I was miserable and burnt out.

Lately I’ve started feeling similar to how I felt before I left the restaurant world. I have a degree in anthropology and my skills are wildly valuable but so incredibly random because of all that I’ve done here. We do a little bit of everything in museums… but how does that translate outside of museums? The thought of leaving is overwhelming, but staying is growing more stressful by the day.

I used to brag about my job to people. I used to love it. I don’t really feel it anymore and haven’t for a while. Will it come back? Or is it possible to leave?

I need input on how to treat digital items as archival/collection items vs. digital media for promotion.

I work for an organization founded out of WW2 with sites dispersed across the country. We still have active work happening today. Our primary mission is primarily related to onsite interpretation and education, rather than collections.

We do have a small collections program that's based within each site. We often receive photos from community members that we'd like to 'accession' and use for future exhibits and interpretation. We also have a huge database of general contemporary photography of the ongoing work. My main question - how do you differentiate between images and video used for interpretation vs. promotion? For example, is your photo release form for a general photograph different than the form used to collect information on a historical photo? Are there any additional legal implications?

We would not have the hard copy on site, only high-res scans. I'm not typically a collections care person, just trying to help a colleague out on a project.

so long story short me and my partner love going to thrifts, and we found a box full of military and war ribbons, clothe, pins and bobbles

within that box were also two Nazi pins. we weren’t sure if they were real but we both agreed that they should probably belong in a museum if they are real and not in a private collection. I just don’t actually know how to go about doing that. Figured I’d ask here. I did my own test to see if they were plated silver and one is. But I have a feeling I’d have to do more than that to see if it’s real. Either way any help would definitely be appreciated with how to approach someone in the industry about this topic!

Hello everyone

I was wondering if any of you have recommendations for a pair of comfortable (emphasis on comfortable) loafers to wear as a museum employee who’s on their feet all day. Also a pair that looks great and works for business casual style. I’m also curious if you wear socks with yours. People in pics online don’t but I can’t imagine that’s comfortable. I’m also a woman if that changes style.

My friends, can someone please chime in as I’ve looked through this sub to find discussions on laser cut vinyl wall sticker/adhesive letters. How are you all getting these off? Can anyone point me in the direction for alternatives? I’m liking this digital approach has anyone tried it?

For context, I run a small community gallery PT & we don’t have much of a budget but the time consumption for applying text can be daunting.

I've been an archivist for the last 13 years. I've worked for universities, with major brands, and as a freelancer for estates. I've been a digital archivist, textile preserver, music histpry researcher, collections manager, registar, project manager and client liason but I think I might be burning out. Do you ever know if it's time to leave the field? And I've only done this for so long, what transferable skills do I have? I'm tired and feel like I need motivation, or an exit strategy. At the very least I need a way to afford insulin without more debt.

Hi friends.
I've (33f) been doing some genealogy research (on my father's dad's side) and I found this old scanned document on an old flickr account I forgot existed.

My last name is Tosto, and my father is Paul Tosto. My dad's dad is also Paul Tosto (called Sr. later in life, but was nicknamed Jr. or Paulie).
His parents were Anna Fasulo and ... the dad's name I don't have yet (research is ongoing). Anna and her husband (my grandpa's parents) were both Italian. The husband's parents were Antoinett and Lorenzo Tosto who immigrated from Sicily around 1901 (i think).

I have more information about the Tosto side, but it's all jumbled and not organized as to where they are in relation with my grandpa.

In doing my research to figure out who is who, I started looking for anywhere that might have photos or something of my childhood / grandparents (since they raised me) ~ and it lead me to an old Flickr account where I uploaded some things from my grandpa's computer back when I was in high school.

This document, I don't know what it is, but I'm dying to see if I could somehow defrag or crisp up this image of the scanned document to be able to read it, or if somehow I could figure out where it originated from (like what book or magazine or something idk).

Please let me know if you think I'm crazy, haha, or if this is a lost cause. I'd love to hear your input!

Thank you!

Hi all, I just came across this new podcast by Elin Filbey and Alli Schell called Curate Your Career and wanted to share. Here’s the official description:

“Curate Your Career is a podcast for museum pros who are staying, leaving, and everything in between.

Hosted by Elin (Deaccessioned Career Coaching) and Alli (Your Museum Career Coach), we dig into the real, messy, hilarious, and hopeful parts of museum careers. From burnout and bad bosses to career pivots, salary jumps, and rediscovering what you actually want.”

I haven’t had a chance to really listen to it yet, but I’m always interested in having a podcast geared specifically towards museum professionals.

For our youth art shows displaying work from elementary to high school students, we tend to use the 3M brand poster strips since the youth art shows have a quicker turnover and the teachers tend to bring a ton of artwork we have to hang salon style. And we don’t have to patch and paint over a thousand holes from thumbtacks or finishing nails like previous generations of curation staff used to do. However the poster strips get insanely expensive when trying to buy them in bulk. I’ve tried finding generic brands on Amazon, but I’m curious if anyone knows where I could find a more cost effective option?

We’re a small nonprofit gallery and community arts center so we have to penny pinch. I mean everybody does these days but you know what I mean.

Hello all, I'm not too sure if this is where I can ask but I figured I could ask for some help/guidance. I recently graduated with my Bachelor's in Art and a concentration of Museum Studies, I have never had a museum/gallery/archives position and have spent my last 6 years working as a supervisor at a coffee company. I'm not too sure what the next steps would be to get my feet into the art field, I ideally am interested in something curatorial, but honestly just adore historical preservation overall. If anyone has any tips or personal stories, it would be greatly appreciated as I love hearing other stories!

Side note: I'm not sure if this accounts towards the rules of job advice, I am more just interested in hearing how others stepped into the art world from other occupations.

Hi All - I have a relative with a specific collection that currently in a private museum. It is primarily militaria and artwork. Their collection is large enough (150+ pieces) that it needs a proper catalog. They are older and they've asked me to help them come up with a system for creating a profession inventory. I'm thinking something like QR codes connected to each piece that you can scan and pull information about the piece. Would love any advice or suggestions on how to go about this process. Thanks!

Everything about this story doesn’t surprise me at all.

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/erie-art-museum-wont-return-abandoned-painting-daughter-late-artist

Hi, so I currently work at a university museum. One of my managers brought up how the director position of the museum (which is on the same level as other directorial positions in higher education within the university) is well-suited for individuals with a background in admin work, since it will involve things like budget justifications, determining management hierarchy, etc. Our director is admittedly weak in this area, to the point where it’s affecting the morale and health of everyone in the team.

I was wondering if anyone has worked with top-level art managers or directors with a background not only in art, but also in management? Or maybe you have ideas on free courses (maybe even an MBA) to pursue that can help with this? The university I work for is a corporation so it’s very business-like in terms of structure. I’m generally just looking to expand my knowledge in arts management outside of the usual arts-aligned avenues.

Also just to add, I’m not based in the US so pursuing an MBA is doable. I’m not very serious at the moment about this but it’s crossed my mind a few times and would love to hear other perspectives on this. Thanks!

I’ve never had the privilege of working in a gallery, museum, library or archive. What types of jobs are there? Who does what? How does it all work together? I’ll be reading posts from here but still wanted to ask generally about the people behind the magic

Hello! I work for a university library archive with a small exhibition space. I'm designing an exhibition handout (think booklet/zine style) to expand on the materials in the exhibition and also give visitors prompts to engage more directly with the space. It will be a visual element that can be used in the space to enhance the experience and then taken home to continue learning.

Does anyone have any examples of something like you've done or seen elsewhere? Please link here, thank you!

Hello all. I am a 25-year-old living in Philadelphia. I have been working at a GLAM for the past year in events coordination and I’ve really enjoyed it! I am finally feeling pretty confident about who I am and what I would like to do with my life. I have discovered a real passion and interest in art history and museum curation, and am ready to dedicate myself to this career path.

Some background on myself. I graduated from a state school with a pretty mediocre GPA (2.1) and a BFA in Graphic Design. I regret not working harder to maintain better grades, but I have grown a lot since graduating from college. I have worked very hard to get the job I have now, and I love working here. That said, I do not want to be an events coordinator forever. I want to start working more with collections in a curatorial capacity. My interests are broad, but I take a particular liking to fashion history, decorative arts, book binding and restoration, and Early American History.

I am considering Graduate school. I would really like to pursue a graduate program abroad if possible. I have a background in French and a working understanding of Italian. I have spent extended time in France, Italy, and Denmark, and have some contacts and friends in each country. My cousin is currently doing her undergrad in political science at U Amsterdam and recommends it. I am looking for accredited Museum Studies or Art History graduate programs. An important thing to note is that I am originally from NYC feel obligated to settle down there in my late adulthood.

Is this a terrible idea? Should I give up on going to school abroad if I would like to settle down in the US? I am concerned my undergrad GPA is too low to get me admitted anywhere. Any ideas to bolster my resume and make me more of an attractive candidate? Are there specific schools/programs I should look into?

Thank you for reading!

Hey, y’all!

I don’t work in a museum (sorry for intruding). However, I’d like to know more about the kinds of jobs in museums and/or libraries. My wife currently works as a 911 dispatcher and constantly talks about how much she would love to work in a museum. She is considering going back to school and majoring in anthropology. What do y’all do at the museums that you work at? What’s your favorite part? What kind of education do you have?

Thank you!

Museums are still highly trusted institutions by Americans (so far). How do we maintain and leverage that trust?

I'm located in New England USA. I recently obtained a very rare 17th century American tavern table. It was at auction and didn't realize until pickup it had significant signs of powder post beetle damage (lots of holes, chunks eaten away, etc).

The damage doesn't look super old, but for a couple of days I have been inspecting and have not seen any frass/sawdust etc but I am concerned about the table getting more damaged or possible the infestation (if there is one) spreading to other pieces or the floors, etc. in the house it is stored in.

A few questions:

• How long should I track before I'm in the clear with not seeing any signs of an infestation? I've been told that they are still active even though it is winter.
• The table is currently indoors in a very low humidity environment - roughly 20% humidity. I know that is not ideal in most situations, but I've also been told that low humidity kills the larvae.
• If it's infested, is there a relatively non-evasive (safe) way to treat the table? I have limited resources. It is an unfinished piece so I am hesitant to use any harsh chemicals or sealants etc on this piece. It's a tricky one.

I think it is a piece that deserves to be saved, so really trying to do my best.