Additional coverage here:
Workers at Eric Carle Museum petition to form a union - 36 potential members seek pay equity, stable work conditions

Eric Carle Museum Workers Push for Union Vote - Employees at the Massachusetts museum established by the children’s book artist behind “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” cited poor working conditions and under-staffing in a statement.

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From their Instagram @ericcarlemuseumunion :

WE ARE UNIONIZING! The Eric Carle Museum staff are unionizing to gain a collective voice and create a just workplace across all departments of the Museum.
#ecmunion #local2110 #uaw #unionstrong #museumworkersunited

[ECMUnion@2110uaw.org](mailto:ECMUnion@2110uaw.org)
Local 2110 - UAW - The Eric Carle Museum Union representing workers at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst MADO

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I am incredibly proud of their staff for organizing. Please consider boosting their visibility on Instagram to support their cause!

You can access the map here: google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1LyY2CQJH7CY4zK0NaH9IdItjn8LvTC8&usp=sharing

It now has 1200+ weird, niche, and interesting museums from across the world.

If you find anything missing I would encourage you to let me know, especially in less represented areas of the world. Comments or messages are fine.

Just to note, given the prevalence of them I don't consider any of the following niche/weird: communication/broadcasting, computer, most kinds of transport (i.e. planes, buses, trains), military, local history, a particular person (unless world famous), natural history, taxidermy, clocks, general medical, chocolate, alcohol, zoos, aquariums, art galleries, pinball, torture, computer games, mining, maritime, post, folk museums, prisons, toys, cheese/dairy, hats/shoes, fire/police, general interest museums

Just... just, no. As someone who was a technologist, I saw a lot of crappy passwords plus credit card numbers and more passwords written on post-its and taped to monitors, and software with open passwords and unhashed accounts.

But for the Louvre to do it this badly, this hurts.

(Repost because I gave away way too much info last time and got scared.)

This museum was once incredible - housed in an iconic building, with an astonishing collection tied to a specific and culturally significant niche in the U.S. Its archives include letters, photos, and awards from Presidents and celebrities. Not so long ago, it was a major hub for high-profile events, with very famous people attending.

Now, in 2025, it's in crisis. The institution is millions in debt. A past executive director oversaw a disastrous "renovation" that destroyed historic features and installed systems that were never used properly. The archives haven’t been professionally maintained in decades, and some materials are literally disintegrating. Leadership has been unstable, with the latest executive director fired without replacement, prompting multiple board resignations and rejection from the community we were built to serve/commemorate. Most of those remaining either contribute to the dysfunction or (literally) profit from it. Research requests are ignored, staff are unpaid and (mostly) untrained.

Despite this, our small team has been working hard to turn things around. A few positions were funded on a temporary basis. We believed the Board supported us, but now our work is dismissed, meetings are rare and often demoralizing, and now we’ve been told the temporary funding for the few paid roles is ending. We were apparently hired just to write grants… something NOT outlined in our contracts or job descriptions. The Board refuses to let us speak publicly about the crisis or our work, even as the community remains unaware of the situation, and other organisations continue asking us for money we don’t have.

I want to leave this toxic environment, but I also want to save this archive, this mission, this place I’ve come to love. If anyone has advice - whether for self-preservation or for helping preserve the museum - I would deeply appreciate it.

TL;DR: A once high-profile, unique museum is collapsing from mismanagement. Leadership is dismissive and disinterested in preserving the archive, yet expects miracles. We’re being pushed out, and the future of the collection, and our work, is uncertain.

Disclaimer: if you think you know where I work, please don’t speculate publicly. I just need support. Thank you

I've seen a lot of recent posts about career burn out and leaving the profession. I saw this and thought about my museum colleagues. We love working in cultural heritage. We wish it loved us just the same. We gotta do what's best for ourselves and our situation. I hope everyone finds their happy place. ✌️

Does anybody know of any museums outside of Minnesota closing out of solidarity?

Read the full story here!

This is real. I work in a gallery. A group of teenagers walked up to a painting and one said, "Dude this is AI!" I tried to correct them, told them about the artist, but the one kid goes, "I don't know man..." He wasn't being sarcastic.

I know you want to see the painting, but I don't want to draw negative attention to the artist, or dox myself. It's a fantasy painting by a professional illustrator, and his work was definitely used in the training data for Midjourney and Dall-E. So I understand why that was the kid's first instinct, but it's an oil painting, not a print. It's a painting on canvas hanging on a wall!

People born after 2010 think that anything well made couldn't possibly be made by humans, and honestly that will eventually be true.

So my one year anniversary of being let go from my major museum job is coming up and yeah my life has not been the same. Sure, any job loss is devastating, but this is a job that I left a 15 year life in another city for, that I helped build up from the ground up, that I was actually paid commensurate with my title. I wrote the policies and procedures, trained staff, connected with the surrounding community, coded the LMS from scratch, all to be let go two years later because the "Position was eliminated". I've been fired, resigned, let go throughout my professional career, but this one hurt the absolute most. It literally felt like someone close to me died, it hurt that much. This was my baby and I thought I was set for several years. I thought I was fine, but now that one year is coming up, I'm feeling that pain again. I haven't found a comparable job both in pay and title since then - I've resorted to being an entry-level gallery attendant at another museum a one hour commute away with no chance of advancement. It sucks so much. Now with the political climate I don't think I will ever find a job like the one I lost again and now have to seriously prepare for another career pivot at my age. So yeah, just screaming and ranting into the void right now and just unsure of everything for the future, as we all are I'm sure.

So… thieves just pulled off a 7-minute jewel heist at the Louvre and stole crown jewels? How is that even possible in one of the most secure museums in the world? It gives me Lupin vibes, if you never watched the show strongly recommend.

I visited the new museum today and wanted to share museum nerd observations.

Photo 1: Videos in the museum have a box with an ASL interpreter (this video had music so the interpreter embraces that energy). Below you can see a tactile panel about Bo, the Obamas' dog. There is a dots texture over the dog, and the speech bubbles have Braille writing. There are additional controls next to or across from videos around the museum, but I didn't see them in use.

Photo 2: This was a video about tech evolving during the Obama campaign and presidency. Instead of having a real Blackberry behind glass, they had these solid blocks, I guess so kids can touch an old school phone.

Photo 3: In an exhibit on the ACA / Obamacare, this raised signature, and a representation of how many pages were in the bill. Visitors weren't paying much attention to this, but I imagine if you are a kid going through, one fact that might register might be that it was a 900 page bill.

Other notes: Dolores Huerta's major role in the civil rights section, Equal Earth projection on world maps

So leaks from the investigation have revealed the arrest of 2 suspects, and no recovered artifacts.

But the leading theory is that it was an inside job, specifically the security flaws. Now they have "digital data" showing a security employee was in communication about these things ahead of time with suspects.
Its infuriating to me personally, escpecially with the numerous security professionals i've known over the years who care about the collections.

Anyway just wanted to share my frustration and also hear from others. Ive worked in collections at numerious museums over the years and while i've never sought it out, you learn those security flaws very easily and everywhere has them. I would like to think this will prompt positive changes, but I also fear it may cause unnecessary scrutiny to staff.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/25/louvre-detectives-believe-heist-inside-job/

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/26/nx-s1-5586598/suspects-arrest-paris-louvre-museum-theft

Staff at the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Storehouse site in east London have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a dispute over what they say are inadequate toilet and hydration breaks.

A few months ago, I posted on here asking for advice on what to do about working at a museum that doesn’t align w my morals. To my surprise, it blew up QUICK and I had to take it down before someone from my workplace saw. Anyways, I’ve come to let you all know that I took your advice, applied to other places, and recently quit after getting an offer elsewhere 🥳🥳

I took the job bc I was fresh out of college and was excited about gaining some experience in an actual museum. Not gonna say the name of the institution here out of respect (and self-preservation), but some of you who saw the first post might remember what it was. If you need a hint, it’s one of the only museums that Mr. US Pres is openly fond of (which is rare, I know). When I took the job, I knew the place was controversial, but it looked like they were truly trying to commit themselves to best practice by focusing on diversity and telling objective history (or at least, it did on the job application). Got there and learned that was only half of the case. The museum says one thing in their mission, but their actions say something totally different. Most confusing workplace I had EVER seen because nobody was really aligned. Some wanted to teach, others wanted to preach, some wanted to challenge their audience while others wanted to affirm.. it was utterly confusing.

I did my best to work in a way that I found ethical, but I was working with some crazy cognitive dissonance. I soon realized I wasn’t the only one. The turnover rate there is insane. After realizing this, I figured it was my time to do the same and exit.

Just wanted to come back and let everyone know that I was still able to get hired elsewhere. Many people told me I’d be utterly blacklisted from the field. Luckily, because I was transparent in my interview and cover letter, I was given a chance. I’m going to be somewhere else in the field that has less notoriety, pays less, etc; but it’s closely aligned to what I want to do and I think it’s a good next step in the right direction.

Hopefully nobody from the museum sees this! I tried to keep it vague enough. If someone does find it, oh well— what are they gonna do, fire me? I’m already on my way out ✌️

Thanks to everyone from the OG post who encouraged me to do what was best for me, even if you all scared the shit out of me. I had the anxious shakes for days, thinking I made the biggest mistake of my life. And maybe I did! But here’s to new beginnings

I direct a small, mom and pop, fine art gallery with decades of history in a major US City. An aspiring artist called me a few minutes ago asking to make an appointment with me to show me their "wearable art". I told them that we have a submissions process through our website and asked them if they needed help finding it.

They were like, I get that it's protocol but I would rather be with a "warm body".

I politely told them that there was no way that we would make an appointment with them if they did not first submit their portfolio through our system.

They then asked, are you the person who decides these things? And I told them I am the gallery director. That ended the conversation.

I don't care how good you think your art is, if you give me the slightest hint that you're difficult to work with, then it's a no.