In article <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] (Claudia
Nicholson) writes:
>Since I beat life into the dying embers of the "Internships - paid or
>unpaid?" thread, and also am partly responsible for the "The museum field
>sure pays lousy, doesn't it?" thread, I am going to end them (at least
for
>now).
>
>I have been reading *A Cabinet of Curiosities* by Stephen Weil. Weil
>is, IMHO, one of the most astute observers of the museum world, as well
>as one of the most articulate writers on the subject. In this collection
>of essays, he saves the best for last--his speech in acceptance of the
>Katherine Coffey Award given to him by the Mid-Atlantic Association of
>Museums in 1990.
>
>With apologies for probably violating his copyright, and surety that he
>would approve, I present his reasons why museum people are different from
>other people who work.
>
> "For one thing, as I have written elsewhere, nobody does this kind
> of work for the money. It is just not there. The only people who
> work in museums are people who really want to, people who are
> enthusiastic about their occupation even to the point of making a
> substantial economic sacrifice to pursue it. A working world
> made up of such people feels very different from one that is
> populated by the sometimes bitter, trapped, and alienated person-
> alities who assure you in the law, advertising, and elsewhere that
> they would leave in a minute if it weren't for the money.
>
> "Although museums may occasionally compete for donors or for
> particular objects, they rarely compete for market share. That
> permits museum people a degree of candor and supportiveness in
their
> dealings with one another that might not be possible in a more
> basically competitive situation . . . It is just this atmosphere
> that has made possible such training programs as the Museum
> Management Institute and other mid-career efforts that rely
> heavily on the willingness of participants to be forthcoming
> about their day-to-day working experiences in museums.
>
> "That the museum field contains an interlacing of so many
different
> skills and backgrounds gives it a tremendously cosmopolitan
> aspect. I am by no means alone in having arrived in museum work
> by such a wholly unexpected and accident-filled route. Hundreds
> of our colleagues, and certainly many of you here today, came to
> museums in just that same almost-random way. All of us, I think,
> have been greatly enriched by this diversity of background and by
> the myriad interactions that it regularly fosters.
>
> "Finally, the very museum enterprise itself is to a degree
> bottomed on notions of respect, caring, and decency. Museum work
> necessarily assumes that the natural world and the accomplishments
> of its inhabitants are worthy of preservation and transmission.
> It also assumes that there will be future generations with the
> responsiveness and interest to benefit from the work that
> museum people do in preserving and transmitting their heritage.
> Such assumptions are acts of faith. Institutions infused with
> faith and built on such qualities as respect, caring, and decency
> must inevitably strengthen and bring to the fore those very same
> qualities in the people who work with and for them."
>
>He winds up by saying: "Proud as I am that you have chosen to recognize
>me in this way, I am prouder still to be able to count myself as one of
>you."
>
>'Nuff said?
>
>Claudia Nicholson
>Curator of Collections
>South Dakota State Historical Society
>Pierre
>
>
Excellent passage. I couldn't have said it better myself. I only hope to
become a museum professional some day. My job search continues, along
with my enthusiasm.
Arthur Fleischmann
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