Archive for December, 2010



Interview with Queta Watson

As the editor at the Dallas Museum of Art, Queta Watson is a busy lady! She recently took time out of her schedule to answer questions related to her job at the Museum.

Amy Wolf
Coordinator of Gallery Teaching

 

Queta Watson, Editor

Name and Title: Queta Moore Watson, Editor

Years Employed at the Dallas Museum of Art: It will be twenty years in March!

Describe your job here at the Museum: Most people are surprised to hear that a museum needs an editor, but museums produce an astonishing amount of written material! I edit exhibition labels and text panels, brochures, invitations, the members’ magazine, the annual report, flyers, ads, press releases, signage, the web site, blog posts, e-blasts, and, when time permits, books on the collection. Basically, if the public sees it, I see it first! The text comes to me from all different departments of the Museum (curatorial, development, membership, education, etc.) and I edit for content, consistency of tone and style, and, of course, good ol’ grammar and punctuation.

What is your favorite part of your job? I get to read all day long! And the subject matter is interesting and enjoyable. My first job out of college was editing Lasers & Optronics magazine, so now I can really appreciate working on material that isn’t boring.

What is a challenge you face in your job? The most challenging aspect is balancing quality and quantity. As an editor, my job is to produce an error-free product, but the heavy workload and tight deadlines make this difficult.

How did you decide you wanted to work in a museum? All those people who are dying to work in a museum will hate me for this, but it wasn’t a conscious decision. I moved here from Los Angeles, where I had been working as a book editor. I sent my résumé to any place in Dallas that might publish books. I am so thankful that the Dallas Museum of Art called!

If you weren’t working in a museum, what is something else you would be doing? I would go back to school to get a degree in library science or I would work in a bookstore. I’m the ultimate “word nerd”!

Insourced: Works by Dallas Museum of Art Staff

The much-anticipated Dallas Museum of Art staff art exhibition is fast approaching. Opening this weekend, the exhibition occurs every two years and is an opportunity for DMA employees to present their work to coworkers and general public. This year’s exhibition, Insourced: Works by Dallas Museum of Art Staff, features sixty-eight works by forty-three artists ranging from our new interns to a preparator who has been with the DMA for over thirty years. Staff members whose “day jobs” range from curators to gallery attendants are included.

The exhibition is unique because anyone who wants to participate can; even the title was selected by a staff vote. Insourced also has an acting curator–conceived and organized collaboratively by Collections and Exhibitions department staffers, the exhibition placement was decided by Erin Murphy, Contemporary Art Curatorial Administrative Assistant and Uncrated contributor. We posted a few “sneak peek” photos here, but please come by and see the works by our talented staff.

The exhibition is on view from December 5, 2010 through March 13, 2011 on Mezzanine 2 next to the Mildred R. and Frederick M. Mayer Library.

 

 

Joni Wilson is the Exhibitions Assistant at the Dallas Museum of Art


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