>
> Hello List and Lori --
> I think Indigo Nights has a point -- where is the money going to come from?
> BUT
> what Lori so eloquently pointed out is something that I believe is a real
> issue
> facing museums today. If we continue to take Indigo's point of view, and the
> salaries in museums dosen't increase to a living wage, museums will be doomed
> to be the kind of archaic, stuffy old tombs that is the stereotype. Many
> museums today are fetching large grants to rectify this situation -- to bring
> in diverse audiences AND diverse staff, to change the view that museums are
> dead places. How can we hope to bring in a diverse staff when it is a
> profession that only retirees, student interns, and those with other sources
> of
> a living income can afford to work in? We need to convince our boards and our
> communities that having quality cultural institutions costs money and is a
> valuable asset to the community worth spending that money on.
>
> Susan Edwards
> Seattle Art Museum
>
> --- Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Lori, I understand your frustrations and I can
> > empathize with them.  You're not the first to come
> > here with these grumbles; probably you won't be the
> > last.
> >
> > My question to you would be how well did you do your
> > homework before choosing this as a career?  How many
> > of your instructors who may have encouraged you to
> > look to this as a line of work apprised you of the
> > realities of Museums work?
> >
> > There are professions you go into to make lots of
> > money and buy lots of things.
> >
> > Then there are professions you go into where you just
> > do it because you love what you do.
> >
> > Regrettably, for most of the listers here, museum work
> > is the latter and not a combination of the two.
> >
> > Now you can lament til times get better about what the
> > Museum field is and isn't doing and what tightwads
> > (implied) they are.
> >
> > Time for a sanity check in an insane world.
> >
> > Who is going to PAY for that salary?  The patrons?
> > The grant makers?  The government?
> >
> > If you chose any of those three as the source of your
> > revenue, you just flunked.
> >
> > We're on the precipice, like it as not, of a
> > recession.  The stock market has been fritzy, and the
> > Fed has been making repeated adjustments to the
> > interest rates trying to stabilize the economy.
> > Energy rates have skyrocketed, and bankruptcy rules
> > have been reregulated to make it harder to escape
> > debt.
> >
> > The patrons who make up your client base don't have
> > the disposable income they had some time back (if they
> > had it), and it's rather hard to get rates raised to
> > justify salaries.
> >
> > Grant makers?  Hmmm.  Well, let's see.  If the estate
> > tax takes a dive, there go the contributions upon
> > which the grant makers are dependent.  No charitable
> > contributions, no money, and grant makers are reticent
> > to fund salaries anyway.
> >
> > The federal, state, or city governments?  Guess again.
> >  Heard about that tax cut we're all supposed to get?
> > What do you suppose that did or will do to funding?
> >
> > It is truly lamentable that Museum work isn't
> > rewarding AND profitable in most instances, but them's
> > the brakes.  One can argue that life isn't fair, it
> > just is.
> >
> > Maybe--and just maybe is all I can offer you--you WILL
> > have to look to another line of work until such time
> > as you're through family raising.  If you are cash
> > dependent and don't have another source of income, you
> > may have to make some hard decisions.
> >
> > I personally am 48.  I had to sell my soul to
> > Corporate America to get the children raised.
> > However, they're now grown, and I'm in a position
> > where I can afford to make less in favor of something
> > I love.  It's all about balance and choices.
> >
> > Now, if you happen to hit the lottery . . .
> >
> > Til then, you may wish to check out my employment web
> > site to see if there are any rocks you haven't
> > unturned on your quest for employment.
> >
> > I wish you the best, and I understand and share your
> > frustrations about reality in the Musuems field.
> >
> > http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Lori Allen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > When is the museum community going to realize they
> > > can't continue to depend
> > > on people who don't really need to support
> > > themselves (independently wealthy
> > > / bored housewives / retirees) for their employee
> > > base.
> >
> > SNIP
> >
> > The internet
> > > companies offer that AND  high wages and you don't
> > > need a masters or PhD.  I
> > > love art and history and want to spend the rest of
> > > my life working in the
> > > museum field, but if things don't change soon,
> > > you'll find me in a green
> > > apron relishing my free coffee, health benefits and
> > > stock options (all
> > > offered to those working at lease 20 hours a wk).
> > > My family does come first
> > > and I will not sacrifice my daughter's needs because
> > > my job doesn't pay the
> > > bills.
> > >
> > > Lori Allen
> > > Graduate Student,
> > > University of Missouri - St. Louis
> >
> >
> > =====
> > Indigo Nights
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
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