The New Curatorial Generation: What Do We Need to Know?

Exhibition case from the 2010 Graduate exhibition, "Scandal Sandals and Lady Slippers: A History of Delman Shoes"

At FIT, upper level graduate students get the chance to develop and execute an actual exhibition, staged in the graduate galleries at MFIT. This has always been a challenging but rewarding experience, mainly because it is the first time (for many) that students get to put their studies into practice. Students act as curators, conservators, registrars, public relations people, and many other positions that are meant to emulate those available in any given museum setting.

I'm excited to see who will serve in each position, because I know our class is strong. I have a few inklings as to who will get what, and I think that those people are very appropriate choices. There are certain jobs which I know I'd be good at because I've done them before, but I'm compelled to apply for a position that would broaden my skill set and make me a more well-rounded job candidate upon graduation.

Museums were particularly hit hard by the recession, but employment progress is slowly starting to regain strength. Still, many over qualified people have to fight for small positions that require more responsibility, experience and skill requirements than probably are needed. For example, I've worked in museums before where several jobs were crunched down into one because of budgetary reasons. Having a lot of experience in one field is, of course, beneficial, but anyone who's worked in a museum before can tell you that unless you're at the Met or a Smithsonian institution, a curator is never just a curator.

I've interned at the Charleston Museum and the New York City Police Museum and can tell you first hand how many hats a curator can wear. The curator of textiles at the Charleston Museum was also the registrar, and was responsible for designing and installing her own exhibition layouts, ordering supplies, handling and conserving the objects. The collections manager at the NYCPM also worked on the museum's development, archival materials and collections database entries. Most museums don't even have area-specific curators. With this ever shrinking field, we need to be prepared for any task that comes our way.

For those of you who currently work or have worked in museums before, what has been your most valuable work-related experience? Are there any positions you particularly enjoyed? And what kinds of new and interesting positions do you foresee developing in the near future? Post your thoughts and advice!