study guide

The Role of the Art Museum

Museums are buildings or institutions dedicated to the acquisition, conservation, study, exhibition, and educational interpretation of objects having scientific, historical, cultural or artistic value (wiktionary.org)

Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artifacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.

An art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings, illustrations, and sculpture. There may be collections of applied art, including ceramics, metalwork, furniture, artist's books and other types of objects.

Who works in an art museum?
The Museum Director is in charge of the museum and all of its workings. The Director represents the museum in its contacts with the public and works with the entire staff to make sure the museum runs smoothly. Often times the Director is responsible for raising money for the museum from donors, grants and other sources. Graduate degrees in art history, business and marketing are typical of museum directors.

Curators are the experts in charge of the collections of a museum and are responsible for choosing and acquiring the pieces of art to be shown in a museum. They oversee the care, display and information about the objects in the museum. Some Curators specialize in a particular art form such as sculpture, painting, antique furniture, film, or photography; others concentrate on artwork from a particular historical period. Curators write publicity material and explanatory catalogs for exhibits and arrange for loans of art objects to and from other museums. Curators typically have graduate degrees in Art  or Art History, with skills in written and verbal communications, and fluency in at least one foreign language, depending on their area of expertise.

Museum Registrars maintain the records of ownership and borrowing, condition, and location of objects in museum collection, and oversee the movement, packing, and shipping of objects. The Registrar composes concise descriptions of objects, and records the descriptions in collection catalogs. A Bachelor’s Degree in Museum Studies, Art, or Art History is required, and a Master’s Degree is preferred for this position.

Museum Educators plan and organize educational and public outreach programs such as tours, workshops, and lectures to publicize the museum’s exhibits and collections. They work with the Curators to develop the exhibits, and oversee the Docents. The Museum Educator is responsible for interpreting the art to the public so that people of all ages can enjoy the collection and exhibits in the museum. This position typically requires a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Art Education or Art History, and the ability to work well with people of all ages, make public presentations and teach art classes.

Docents welcome visitors to the museum and guide people in tours of the museum’s exhibits and collections. They tell the stories of the objects and answer questions for visitors. Docents are usually volunteers who love art and enjoy talking about art with people. Many docents have an background in Art or Art Education.

The Exhibit Designer works with the Curator to plan the layout and display of objects in the museum’s galleries, designing special cases for particular objects, deciding on wall colors and placement, and designing areas for learning stations and other ways to interact with the objects on display. Exhibition Designers may come from many different backgrounds such as Industrial Design, Architecture, Interior Design or Graphic Design. As with any reasonably specialized role there is a lot of on the job training required.

The Preparator works with the Exhibits Designer to hang and install the artwork in the museum galleries, helps to construct and arrange the displays and is responsible for the careful handling of the objects. Principal and Senior Preparators are required to have graduated from High School or have a General Education Diploma with a minimum or one to two years of preparatory experience in a museum field and a Bachelor’s Degree in a field related to the museum’s specialty.

Security Guards and Museum Security Staff are responsible for the safety of the objects, staff and visitors in the museum. They ensure that museum safety and etiquette rules are followed at all times. Security Guards stand in the museum galleries to guard the objects and often answer questions about the objects on display. Training or experience with the military or police services is preferred for this type of position.

Source: www.mag.rochester.edu/plugins/acrobat/teachers/MuseumCareers.pdf

Additional resource for Contemporary Art:

www.pbs.org/art21
This website is the on-line corollary and resource for the PBS television series “Art:21–Art in the Twenty-First Century,” the only series on television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists in the United States. It uses the medium of television to provide an experience of the visual arts that goes far beyond a gallery visit. The website includes biographies of many of the most important contemporary artists working today, and educational resources, including an online lesson library, student art projects, and online forums and blogs about art, artists and ideas.

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