r/MuseumPros

I need to buy some more T-shirts and casual clothes. I like supporting the museums/galleries and the quality is usually better than buying from stores.

What are some museum gift shops that sell good things? I already have a bunch from the Smithsonian and Library of Congress. The Met items are fine, but I think I'd look like a try-hard wearing some of those pieces out and about.

Feel free to share a beloved museum's gift shop link (but don't dox yourself!)

Hi, I'm just entering the workforce and want to work in GLAM. I have an interview for a museum educator role on Monday that I really want. How do I prepare? What questions might they ask?

I am currently a BA student going into a Masters this coming fall in History of Art. I noticed that this year India will have a Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. I have been to the Biennale, taken a class on it, where for this class I wrote an essay about the presence of Indian artists at the Biennale. So when I saw that India will have a pavilion this year I was very excited. I have been looking online to see if there are any internship opportunities with the pavilion but have yet to see anything thus far. I was thinking about reaching out to the curator directly but his email isn’t readily available online. I have been keeping track of all the websites and associations tied to India’s presence at Venice but none have listed anything about any job opportunities or internships. I think the most direct way to see if they offer internship would be to dm the curator on instagram since he is very active on there. I can also reach out the Serendipity foundation but I suspect I won’t hear back from them. I can also reach out to the curator on LinkedIn but he doesn’t seem like he’s very active on that platform. He is apparently Campaign Board Member at the school I will be starting my masters in, but I don’t want to wait until I begin my program to reach out to him. Would it be unprofessional and annoying to reach out to him directly on instagram? Should I try to reach out instead through one of the foundations associated with the Indian Pavillion? Or should I just give up on this.

Hey everyone, there's a new museum opening up in my city in a couple of months! It's a relatively big one that supposedly will have a lot of money to play aroud with, and I really want to work there. I've been wanting to get into this industry since I finished uni, but there's not been any job openings. Or I didn't have enough experience to get the jobs that were available. Now I've got a few years working in an adjacent field with transferable skills.

So this museum is supposed to open soon, but there's no job listings anywhere online. I was wondering if it's worth it to try a speculative application, and if that would ultimately end up looking bad if I get rejected/ignored and apply again when they post something official. I would be applying to work in areas like mediation, cultural activities/tours, events, etc. I get there's obviously no people visiting the museum, but I imagine there's a lot of preparatory work to get all of those programs up and running.

Patience is a virtue, sure. But I'm also feeling bored at my current job and want to give it a shot. To wait or not to wait?

I’m trying to learn how common it is for museums to offer sabbaticals as a benefit to staff. If you’ve ever worked at an institution that offers this, would you mind answering the following questions?

Are all staff eligible for sabbaticals, or only certain positions? If the latter, which job titles?

How long are the sabbaticals? Are they paid or unpaid?

Is there an application or approval process?

How many years of tenure must staff have to be eligible?

And any other information you’re comfortable sharing!

Thanks!