Attendant's View Blog and Cartoons

Ask A Curator - September 13th 2017

12/9/2017

Tomorrow (September 13th) is Ask A Curator Day, and it’s a chance for people inside and outside of collections, museums, galleries and heritage venues to connect and chat - with an impressive 1519 museums taking part!

It can be a good way to educate people on what curators actually do, open minds about what your collection holds and how it can be relevant. It can be a fun way to share and explore. Sometimes, the questions asked can lead to rethinking what visitors are interested in and would like to know more about.

You’ll find #AskACurator being used on Instagram and twitter, so have a look, and see what is being nattered about.

If you want to see who is taking part, or be more involved (last minute!) see the details and sign your venue up here: http://www.mardixon.com/wordpress/askacurator-who-to-ask-sept-14-2016/

Looking on the sunny side

4/9/2017

How come the most commonly damaged things in the museum are the “Please Do Not Touch” signs?

I suppose if they are being broken, it at least means the cabinets and displays aren’t?

YOU HEARD NOTHING!

31/8/2017

The second the manager walked out, the shelf dropped.

It wasn't the heavy object which caused the glass shelf to drop, rather the final, delicate, finishing touch being placed atop it.

Good news is that although the display content and shelf both dropped, both remained wholly intact, providing a sudden but valuable lesson in always double checking how secure your adjustable shelves are before you start work!

Well Educated

22/8/2017

“The Lady Said No”

1/8/2017

“But we’ll be travelling all the way from X to do this? Can’t you squeeze us in for it? How much difference would three people really make?”

Ah, we have reached the “I failed to plan ahead for the summer school holidays, and now my children are about to be disappointed by not getting to do something they want to do, so I’m going to somehow blame you” stage of the summer break.

Here’s my caring face:

Guided Cat

22/7/2017

While on a guided tour of a cemetery, the tour guide was momentarily distracted by a cat. She then explained that they often see cats, due to the amount of wildlife they can catch in an otherwise urban area.

The stray cat they had previously sort of adopted was sadly run over. After I asked, it was admitted that it was was quietly buried in corner of the otherwise very very expensive plots - "staff privilege".

Your call

19/7/2017

I was going to send an email to a visitor query which was a flat out "We don't have an official position on this, but No".

Instead I have sent an email which is "Here are all the reasons why it could negatively impact on your visit, and on other visitors, the ball is however, in your court."

I'm not sure if that was actually the crueler email to send.

Because they now could do the thing they want to do, but will have to admit that they are knowingly potentially having a negative impact of the fun of others.

In other words "How much of a twunt do you want to be?"

Photography widow

14/7/2017

He had all of the kit - which she was carrying. Every five minutes he'd be lying full length on the floor to get the best angle he could for a photo. I'm amazed how long her patience lasted before she started to threaten him.

It’s not impossible, but we’re not gods…

28/6/2017

Us a few years ago: Woo hoo! We have over a 1000 people on our newsletter list

Boss a few years ago: Great! Now, how do we get that to over 10,000? By the end of the year?

Us: Uh, that’s a big ask actually. A list like this is best when you have engaged users, rather than a lot of people who sign up for a competition entry and then unsubscribe. We can make a plan to get 10,000 on the email list, but it may not happen in a year, and may not get the engagement this list is useful for.

Boss: Make that plan and don’t do yourselves down! You can do it!

Museum Freecycle

2/6/2017

I've just found out about the Museum Freecycle, and wow, so many more museum professionals should know about this!

If you're not familiar with freecycle, it's a series of groups where you sign up, get approved, and then can give away, or get, things for free. Get shot of your shed, pick up a second hand sofa, find part used art supplies, vanish your old magazine collection... It's amazing, and you can also make requests. Desperate for a spare bed? Ask, and someone may supply.

And now a group exists for museums!