7+ Months in the Art World
Oct 2021- Sept 2024
I started working in the art world, hoping it would make me stop feeling like an outsider. But 3 years later, I still feel like an outsider. The only difference is that I’m no longer sure if I even want to be an insider, even if I could.
Don’t get me wrong—unless someone miraculously cures my social anxiety and natural awkwardness, I doubt I’d ever have a real chance of making it. What really sucks is seeing friends who are making it feel more and more distant. It’s reached a point where I don’t think we can even talk anymore.
To Start:
USA, NYC, Bubble Tea
I came to the United States in August 2007,for more than 12 years, I was a resident taxes payer, even though I did not have legal rights to work. Which means, while I couldn’t make any income outside of school work study, I had to pay for what I made overseas. That’s right, I love the USA so much, I agreed to a crazy deal like this. No legal rights, but pay all the overseas taxes again in the US.
As a result, when I could finally work legally in the States in 2021, I immediately applied to jobs at famous bubble tea shops in New York City. Working as a bubble tea shop barista was my dream job since 9th grade.
Soon, as the oldest but also only Taiwanese part-time worker at a Midtown Manhattan bubble tea + fried chicken restaurant, I was exhausted everyday, but also instantly became the star employee (I rarely feel so confident about one thing, but I really was an exceptional service worker, let along boba tea was originated from my motherland). When I finally had enough fun of it, and was ready to quit, managers from the HQ came in suit to ask me to stay. I agreed to stay for another week and helped train their franchisee who flew in from Florida for training.
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All great artwork aside, the amount of insults and humiliation from the museum visitors daily truly came as a surprise. I’ve never been so belittled straight in my face by total strangers in my life.
Internally, the fight between the museum and the union formation was also a fascinating learning lesson to me. Honestly speaking, I don’t know if I can ever learn to trust again after going through all that toxic drama inside the institution.
However, I am grateful to all the learning opportunities provided by this job, whether those came intensionally or not. I learned so much about the BS in the art world, straight from the core, especially through working all those VIP events and encountering al the big names in the art world. I am also grateful for all the amazing artists slash colleagues I met at the job.
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Staff drawings on the board behind the coat check area, managers came to erase all the drawings regularly.
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Staff are not allowed to take tips at the museum, but sometimes a visitor would insist on dropping something. While most days I was overwhilmed by the rudeness and insults from vistors, angel-like visitors occasionally appear. The most polite, and the most eager to learn about art (and then maybe casually dropped a $50 at coat check, winked, and left).
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While I worked most days of a week at the Whitney, I picked up another gallery assistant job at the Christie’s during my museum off days. (*Christie’s,the very auction house that sold Beeple’s NFT at $69 millions during the pandemic.) Due to the NDA I signed, not much will be spoken here (yet).
As a result, when I could finally work legally in the States in 2021, I immediately applied to jobs at famous bubble tea shops in New York City. Working as a bubble tea shop barista was my dream job since 9th grade.
Soon, as the oldest but also only Taiwanese part-time worker at a Midtown Manhattan bubble tea + fried chicken restaurant, I was exhausted everyday, but also instantly became the star employee (I rarely feel so confident about one thing, but I really was an exceptional service worker, let along boba tea was originated from my motherland). When I finally had enough fun of it, and was ready to quit, managers from the HQ came in suit to ask me to stay. I agreed to stay for another week and helped train their franchisee who flew in from Florida for training.
The Museum Job
While it was fun making drinks and food all-day none-stop, I quickly found myself drifting far away from the Art World. So, when there was a gallery assistant opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art, I applied. After two rounds of interview and 3 phone calls to my references, I got the job. I worked through the Jasper Johns Retrospective, the Making Knowing: Craft in Art, the Jennifer Packer Solo Exhibition, the My Barbarian’s Survey Exhibition, the 2022 Whitney Biennial, and it was finally time to quit.
All great artwork aside, the amount of insults and humiliation from the museum visitors daily truly came as a surprise. I’ve never been so belittled straight in my face by total strangers in my life.
Internally, the fight between the museum and the union formation was also a fascinating learning lesson to me. Honestly speaking, I don’t know if I can ever learn to trust again after going through all that toxic drama inside the institution.
However, I am grateful to all the learning opportunities provided by this job, whether those came intensionally or not. I learned so much about the BS in the art world, straight from the core, especially through working all those VIP events and encountering al the big names in the art world. I am also grateful for all the amazing artists slash colleagues I met at the job.
Staff drawings on the board behind the coat check area, managers came to erase all the drawings regularly.
Staff are not allowed to take tips at the museum, but sometimes a visitor would insist on dropping something. While most days I was overwhilmed by the rudeness and insults from vistors, angel-like visitors occasionally appear. The most polite, and the most eager to learn about art (and then maybe casually dropped a $50 at coat check, winked, and left).
The Auction House Job
While I worked most days of a week at the Whitney, I picked up another gallery assistant job at the Christie’s during my museum off days. (*Christie’s,the very auction house that sold Beeple’s NFT at $69 millions during the pandemic.) Due to the NDA I signed, not much will be spoken here (yet).
Might come back and type more later.