In our collections based professions we always meet a wide variety of talented people. PACCIN is our community where those can combine ideas, practices, and connect to promote the awareness and importance of cultural preservation. Our members are in the field, as individuals that can share each other’s experiences and foster growth. We are PACCIN and we want to share those stories for the community to honor these professionals.
Interview by Kurt Christian, PACCIN Advisory Chair
K.C. Can you tell us a little bit about your current position (title, responsibilities, what department you work under, etc.) and other relevant work history as it relates to your current position?
I’m a freelance art technician and work with galleries small and large, museums, collectors, interior designers, artists studios, shipping and handling companies, etc. installing, packing, fabricating, building walls, project management, storage, transport - the full gambit. I was full-time time for many years but found the more I moved up the more admin I had to do and so I decided to go back onto the tools at the ripe age of 39 which my body has not always been happy about! I created and run ArtTechSpace a website that connects the art technical world with jobs, information and training. I am one of the founding representatives for the BECTU Art Technician union which also keeps me busy!
K.C. How did you get into this line of work, and what was that trajectory like?
I watched a terrible Robin WIlliams film which had a conservator in it and thought it looked like interesting work. After some research I decided to go back to university to study Art History as a means to one day study abroad (there are no programs in NZ). Whilst studying I started volunteering for the university’s wonderful Adam Art Gallery helping artists to make and install their artworks. That’s when I caught the art handler bug and worked 4 jobs doing art technical work so I could up skill and almost make a living from it - its a very small industry in New Zealand. After volunteering and working in the industry for a year I was able to get one of the few full-time jobs at our National Archives of New Zealand. It was the move to the Uk that solidified this as a career for me when I got a role in the install team at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Then it was a couple of years at a shipping and handling company and then a large commercial gallery. But its been a slog to get where I am - proving yourself, up-skilling, working for free or underpaid jobs to just ‘get a foot in’, learning how to be a professional, helping people learn how to accept me as woman in this industry when there were very few when I started out, learning how to navigate in the art and museum world without going insane and still enjoying art!
K.C. Are there memorable moments, with artists, artworks, or exhibitions that stand out since you have been doing this kind of work? Have these experiences changed the way you had previously viewed things?
There are a lot of memorable moments, good and bad, but mainly its the people who make the moments memorable and something about all having to come together to create something from nothing is the most rewarding and memorable!
K.C. What are some of your favourite aspects of the work you do?
The tools and the people! And travel - I love travelling for work - its such a luxury that we obviously can’t indulge in right now. Thats why I love an art fair - getting to see/buy crazy tools and crazy people from around the world, in the organised chaos of an art fair. Working with artists, mainly before they hit the big time, is really rewarding to help create and inform. Love me a bit of ‘we have a random container of stuff - how are we going to make art from it?’. And working with big, heavy, technically tricky things - so rewarding and satisfying - especially if there is big old machinery needed!!
K.C. On the flip side of that, what are some of the more challenging or least favourite aspects of the work you do, either past or present?
For me it is that we are often undervalued and underpaid for the immense amount of skills and knowledge that we have to have to do the work we do. How often have you seen on an exhibition panel or in an exhibition catalogue art technicians thanked? How often do you think you are appropriately paid for the work you do? Have you ever received credit for every artwork you created/fabricated? Don’t get me wrong - I don’t need my praises sung from on high - it would be appropriate that we are recognised and celebrated by the art world for the part we play in this crazy old world!
K.C. Was this a career path you chose or saw yourself moving into when you were first starting out?
Not at all - I thought it was something fun to do as a means to get into conservation. Little did I know it would become my passion and my career! I did work it out quite early though really….
K.C. Have you had influential or important relationships that have helped mold you in your career?
Definitely - there have been many! Unfortunately there weren’t any women techs that I had interaction with till much later in my career but they have helped me get work, taught me I don’t need to act like a man to get recognised for my skills, but most importantly that a diverse workforce is a healthier, safer, more efficient workforce. I have had very staunch supporters in generally grumpy old men who have supported me and taught me in every place I have worked full-time - there have been many times when my voice was not recognised until a man has been my champion.
K.C. Have you seen changes in your field that have been noticeable since you first started doing this kind of work?
There are so many more women in the field which is so amazing!!! A diverse workplace is so incredibly important as different ways of thinking and working are essential to a healthy, functional and workplace. We still need to do more though - more women, more people from different backgrounds, just more diversity, etc. Also health and safety has definitely improved - I wore flip flops/jandles at work a lot in the old days and no one ever had licenses for any equipment!
K.C. Do you have any advice to someone beginning a career in this field?
Its going to be really hard to get you foot in the door, but when you do listen, watch and never be afraid to put your hand up and ask questions and for help!
K.C. How long have you been aware of PACCIN and what has it meant to you professionally?
Over 10 years I think I’ve known about PACCIN as there was nothing around when I moved to the UK and I wanted to up skill and find work and found PACCIN that way - I was surprised nothing existed in the UK that’s why I started ArtTechSpace. Its so important to have a community and a resource that supports and celebrates the industry. PACCIN is amazing!
K.C. As an addendum to the usual profile questions I’d like to know if you could talk about your experience during the COVOD pandemic and what that has been like for you and your colleagues?
It's been really tough and will continue to be. Initially as all my work for the first half of the year disappeared literally overnight I had a bit of a crisis because I had no income but also a lot of my identity is based around being a technician. Then as things slowly started back it was scary to face a new world and new way of working. Now i feel theres a lot of personal health and safety is being forgotten as work continues. I am one of the very lucky ones who has not struggled for work since May and was able to access the government financial assistance. However there are a lot of people really struggling. There isn’t the amount of work around, people are being made redundant, people are getting sick and some cannot work due to long term COVID complications, some institutions are trying to drop their pay rates and cancelling work without paying cancellation fees, institutions are struggling financially and so trying to do the same amount of work with else people and resources. Its really hard to be in the fortunate position I am in (although don’t get me wrong the work is nowhere near what I would normally be doing and In really miss colleagues) and feeling so helpless to not being able to help my friends and colleagues and the industry as a whole in more concrete ways. All you can do is hope I suppose.
K.C. What has the pandemic showed us about our industry in your opinion, and how do we emerge stronger?
We’re a pretty resilient bunch aren’t we! The fact that a lot of art organisations have continued working even with their doors closed and technical professionals have been called on a lot throughout this time shows that we are necessary to the fabric of the art and artefact world. I’ve worked at galleries recently which still have many of their staff furloughed but the technicians were there making magic happen as per usual. Hopefully that will give us some more of an identity in our workplaces? It has shown the gig economy that exists in the art world only benefits the employers as freelancers have really struggled over this time. So hopefully it will encourage self employed technicians to come together to have greater transparency on pay, contracts with employers, encourage cancellation fees, etc. Definitely unionisation seems to be on the rise in the UK and USA!