As a black woman and a dual US/UK citizen, I would appear to fall under the nebulous UK category of “diverse”. But as an individual teaching artist with several decades experience in education, a director of my own organisation, and a freelance cultural learning professional, I often fall between the cracks of a number of groups.
I have just finished an 18-month search for a job that culminated in a temporary full-time position with a heritage learning society. Although I am at the end of my job hunt, at least for now, and am loth to burn bridges, the process betrayed a number of very real systemic hurdles that stand in the way of increasing museum and gallery diversity.
Between June 2017 and December 2018 I submitted 42 applications for learning and engagement roles in the cultural sector. This resulted in 15 first interviews, two second interviews, three freelance positions, three voluntary roles and, finally, one full-time offer. I also took part in four different fee-paying CPD programmes to enhance my skills and knowledge. Almost all the jobs that I applied for were in London, where I live, or in nearby counties.
During this time, I have become painfully aware of how competitive the cultural sector is. I know my story is not unique to so-called “diverse” groups: there are high barriers to entry for nearly everyone in the cultural sector, particularly in and around the capital.
In the summer of 2017, after 20 years of working in art education, I decided to make the leap to the museum and gallery sector. I had ample references from students, administrators and colleagues, and thought I would be able to provide a convincing case for myself.
One of the most consistent elements was a pattern of ageism. In two of the roles I applied for and had an interview, I later met the successful applicant and found that they were recent graduates with no prior experience in teaching and learning.
When I followed up and asked hiring staff where my candidacy came up short, I was offered a range of vague excuses, including “you’re so experienced — we didn’t think we’d be able to keep you interested.” But in most cases, hiring panels stuck to the “no interview feedback will be offered” line.
In addition to ageism, there were other common threads. One was the lack of diversity I saw among museum staff during my 15 interviews. I’d estimate that at least 90% of my interviewers fell within an extremely narrow range of age and ethnicity.
This isn’t headline news — the museum sector knows it has a diversity problem. But if an organisation realises it has a problem, wouldn’t it make sense for more diverse external stakeholders to be included in the hiring process, even if they come from outside the departments or institutions involved?
Another common thread was the assumption that applicants have endless amounts of time to devise presentations, with no promise of even offering feedback to interviewees and no mention of intellectual property.
The worst example was an institution that put me through two interviews, including a 40-minute presentation, then didn’t even bother to tell me that they had decided not to hire anyone.
Finally, from my specific background as a former teacher, I have found that there is a surprising lack of respect among learning staff for the teaching profession. A majority of learning and engagement staff lack teaching experience outside arts and heritage institutions, and many have little understanding of the schools and communities with which they are expected to engage.
It’s a fact that the teaching profession has been a historic entry point to the professional classes for many ethnic minorities. If hiring staff undervalue teaching experience, they are ignoring a prime opportunity for locating working class, non-white groups who’ve worked with diverse communities, forming yet another brick in the wall against diverse individuals wishing to enter the museum and gallery sector.
I have just finished an 18-month search for a job that culminated in a temporary full-time position with a heritage learning society. Although I am at the end of my job hunt, at least for now, and am loth to burn bridges, the process betrayed a number of very real systemic hurdles that stand in the way of increasing museum and gallery diversity.
Between June 2017 and December 2018 I submitted 42 applications for learning and engagement roles in the cultural sector. This resulted in 15 first interviews, two second interviews, three freelance positions, three voluntary roles and, finally, one full-time offer. I also took part in four different fee-paying CPD programmes to enhance my skills and knowledge. Almost all the jobs that I applied for were in London, where I live, or in nearby counties.
During this time, I have become painfully aware of how competitive the cultural sector is. I know my story is not unique to so-called “diverse” groups: there are high barriers to entry for nearly everyone in the cultural sector, particularly in and around the capital.
In the summer of 2017, after 20 years of working in art education, I decided to make the leap to the museum and gallery sector. I had ample references from students, administrators and colleagues, and thought I would be able to provide a convincing case for myself.
One of the most consistent elements was a pattern of ageism. In two of the roles I applied for and had an interview, I later met the successful applicant and found that they were recent graduates with no prior experience in teaching and learning.
When I followed up and asked hiring staff where my candidacy came up short, I was offered a range of vague excuses, including “you’re so experienced — we didn’t think we’d be able to keep you interested.” But in most cases, hiring panels stuck to the “no interview feedback will be offered” line.
In addition to ageism, there were other common threads. One was the lack of diversity I saw among museum staff during my 15 interviews. I’d estimate that at least 90% of my interviewers fell within an extremely narrow range of age and ethnicity.
This isn’t headline news — the museum sector knows it has a diversity problem. But if an organisation realises it has a problem, wouldn’t it make sense for more diverse external stakeholders to be included in the hiring process, even if they come from outside the departments or institutions involved?
Another common thread was the assumption that applicants have endless amounts of time to devise presentations, with no promise of even offering feedback to interviewees and no mention of intellectual property.
The worst example was an institution that put me through two interviews, including a 40-minute presentation, then didn’t even bother to tell me that they had decided not to hire anyone.
Finally, from my specific background as a former teacher, I have found that there is a surprising lack of respect among learning staff for the teaching profession. A majority of learning and engagement staff lack teaching experience outside arts and heritage institutions, and many have little understanding of the schools and communities with which they are expected to engage.
It’s a fact that the teaching profession has been a historic entry point to the professional classes for many ethnic minorities. If hiring staff undervalue teaching experience, they are ignoring a prime opportunity for locating working class, non-white groups who’ve worked with diverse communities, forming yet another brick in the wall against diverse individuals wishing to enter the museum and gallery sector.
