Sam

As of writing, my time working behind the scenes in the art industry stands at approximately 7 years. During that time, I've had the privilege to explore a few distinct faces of the industry. The bulk of my experience lies in the private sector, having spent several years at art shipping / logistics companies. This experience saw me installing exhibitions at commercial galleries / art fairs, fabricating crates for shipping, and installing in private residences to name a few.

Working in the private sector can be incredibly fast paced, exciting and stressful. Often your own ingenuity and that of your colleagues is all you can rely on, as equipment and materials are often limited or lacking. As stimulating as that can be, it often left me feeling dissatisfied with the motivations of the individuals and companies I worked for.

The opportunity to work for a publicly funded institution like The National Gallery was something I couldn’t pass up.

Adapting to the processes and methods of the art handling department at The National Gallery required some un-learning and adjustment on my part. The department is well established and as a result has its own well-established idiosyncrasies. The department's equipment has been designed in-house and is unique to the Gallery. Equally so, the hardware art handling uses, has also been designed in-house by the various stalwarts of the department. Each new piece of equipment is designed or adapted out of necessity to solve a problem and is in a constant state of evolution and review to ensure it better fits its required use.

My colleagues and I are invited to engage in this conversation constantly which is flattering and refreshing. Before now I hadn’t worked in such a collegiate and collaborative environment.

Working at The National Gallery is almost the antithesis of my experience as a technician. The National Gallery is custodian to some 2,300 works and has been building its collection for nearly 200 years. Being a part of that, however small is incredibly humbling and I’m incredibly happy that I’ve found myself here