I was in fine arts, working as a registrar at a small art conservation business for an insane Russian woman committing tax fraud. While I did get to touch picassoās signature, I also could not pay my bills and spent many days in tears in my bossās sonās bedroom (I worked in her dining room). Now I am unemployed & looking for grant writing/administrative jobs that pay a normal amount of money and have an HR department
Feb 9, 2024
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iāve worked in the arts for my entire career, mainly in art museums. iām also an independent curator and ran a gallery out of my storefront apartment for a year and a half. iāve archived photographs, led museum tours, curated exhibitions, couriered art across the country in an 18-wheeler, written wall texts, edited books, interviewed artists, fundraised, done countless studio visits, written exhibition essays, provided accessibility for disabled visitors, built a curatorial practice around working with disabled artists, project managed performances, and participated as a performer in a couple of pieces (including a Tino Sehgal).
i am immensely proud of my work and have done and seen some incredible things. iāve also worked with incredible passionate people who have the privilege and honor of making culture. but Iām also very burnt out and currently in the midst of plotting a departure from the art world, in search of a job that provides more balance. my whole job as a āmuseum workerā has been my identity for 14 years and Iām curious to see what my life looks like next. iām mediating on and grappling with the idea that we werenāt put on this planet to labor, which compounded with the effects of lockdown and the pandemic, has changed my relationship to work and having a linear career. life is too short and too precious to give all of ourselves to a job (hope that doesnāt make me sound far out or too radical).
right now Iām working with a career coach, doing informational interviews, playing with my resume and cover letter formats, and applying for a wild array of non-art / non-museum jobs. Iād love to hear if you have any insights or suggestions! itās scary making the leap but Iām trusting my gut here.
Feb 15, 2025
last year i watched the 1995 classique that is daisy von scherler mayerās party girl starring thee one and only parker posey. now this was a seismic moment for me, very āself recognition through the otherā. it hit home with me at the time as i was fresh out of my undergrad, funemployed but without the fun (sustaining myself on depop sales, handmade tote bags, and making shitty posters for local bands), and routinely siphoning booze and weed from my boyfriend. i too like our protagonist faced some major housing instability and then had to sell off a lot of my hottest vintage finds literally just so i could cover minor expenses like my phone bill and my medication each month. i was in the trenches before i got my PPPGJ.
for those unfamiliar with the film a parker posey party girl job is literally just a hot job in the culture/heritage/arts sector. one that comes into your life in the midst of crisis to rescue you from the woes of economic strife and jobless induced hedonism (and also preferably lets you dress up really chic whilst youāre on the clock).
i bagged it like two weeks after id watched the movie, call it a divine sign. i got hired as a screen intern for this major museum, and got to work on putting together their film programme for 2025. it was totally pinch-me as far as arts jobs go. im based in england but up north.. anyone living outside of london will know that cool heritage gigs like this are few and far between when yr outside the capital and applying for them is like competing in the hunger games. anyways, above minimum wage, hybrid and super flexible, free film tickets, lax dress code, found my hodgepodge experience in event planning to be a thing of value, lots of field trips to other museums, free reign to do more or less whatever i wanted during the day as long as my work got done. surreal <3
i have now finished my tenure at the museum bar some one-off freelance projects im doing with them but just wanted to reflect upon how right place right time it was. for any unemployed grads looking for their thing i know its tough but dont give up! what u seek may just be around the corner ā¦ sending everyone on their job hunting journey rn strength and good luck <33
Oct 21, 2024
āØļø
In June of 2023 I quit my job as a news producer after two years. I had a āmini retirementā or whatever name it has now before it was trendy. I didnāt quietly quiet. I literally quit. Iāve written poems, won awards for poems, worked on my novel, abandoned my novel, come back to my novel, solo traveled, slept in, got into block printing, planted a garden, gone to concerts, tried to untangle the knot of anxiety inside of me, helped take care of my grandparents, done yoga, read books, watched movies. Now I need a job again. I want to do something Iām proud of. I want to keep this life Iāve cultivated outside of the traditional career. Iām terrified I will never be hired, that Iāve tarnished after these two years of living. Somehow doing the very things weāre on earth to do ā create, try, experience ā has hindered me. This fear is only being validated with every rejection letter in my inbox. It seems that Iām asking for too much. I donāt care that Iām young. The scope Iām looking through may be narrow but itās all that I have.
Apr 18, 2025
Top Recs from @efertig
š
Chelsea Hotel - Leonard Cohen
Feb 8, 2024
š
Her most recent āOn Freedomā is particularly good
Feb 20, 2024
Feb 18, 2024