What do you do as a freelancer?
I am primarily an exhibition designer and developer. I also consult with museum teams on inclusive practice and interpreting queer content. I am currently based in Belfast and in the process of planning a move to Manchester in September.
Why did you decide to become a freelancer?
I did not originally intend to become a freelancer. I spent the first 10 years of my career in children’s museums, until I was pressured out of an exhibit designer position. Looking back, I can see that leadership felt threatened by my advocacy work but at the time it was a crushing rejection.
I would come to realise I was in good company: many other minoritised, socially engaged museum professionals are routinely pushed out of workplaces, dismissed for not being a good “cultural fit”.
Then I bid on a project that I thought was a long shot and to my surprise, I won the contract. I was entrusted with delivering five exhibits for a children’s museum undergoing a complete renovation. I managed the project from start to finish: co-developing the exhibits with the internal team, designing all the custom elements, hiring the fabricators, overseeing installation, and even personally painting murals on the walls.
By the end of that project I was confident I was in the right place and could see so many possibilities for myself as a freelancer.
What would you say are the benefits of working in a museum consultancy rather than in a museum?
I love the variety and the faster pace of consultancy. I also value flexibility. I am a curious person and I like to learn and write about museum practice. In the past, my managers had discouraged me from pursuing professional development, but as a freelancer I get to decide how to spend my time.
Working out of my own studio meant I was able to move from the United States with my partner when she was offered a lecturer position at Queen’s University Belfast, and again now that she has a new lecturer position at the University of Manchester.
I also deal with chronic pain from endometriosis, and flexibility means having the freedom to make my own schedule, which allows me to tend to my symptoms privately. When I was employed full-time, I routinely missed workdays or struggled silently through pain at the office. Now I can choose to do my work laying down with a heating pad and take time off when I need it, and I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission.
Luckily for me, freelancing suits me and my skill set very well, but it shouldn’t be the only option to find independence and dignity in this field. All workplaces should support professional development and remote work, and be disability friendly.
What skills do you think are most important for freelance or consultancy work?
I thrive as a freelancer due to my strong leadership and networking skills. But I can’t take credit for all aspects of my success. I may face discrimination as a genderqueer person, but I am white and middle class and the way my whiteness is perceived by clients affects their trust in my capabilities. I strive to lend the power of my positionality to further inclusive practice and decolonial efforts in museums.
What do you wish someone had told you about being a freelancer?
When I went freelance all my consultant friends were generous with their knowledge and advice. They told me about the joys and the frustrations, they shared sample contracts, hourly rates and planning templates. I try to embody that spirit of generosity myself. When new freelancers contact me I always tell them they’re doing the right thing by reaching out. We need each other! Cultivate relationships in the field, value and maintain them.
What should museums be doing to support the wellbeing of freelancers in the sector?
Please respect our time and don’t ask for free labour as part of the tendering process.
You can find Margaret on their website, as @magmidd on most social media platforms and on LinkedIn