Gallery Attendant Job Description; Duties and Responsibilities

Updated on: October 4, 2022
Position Overview

A gallery attendant usually works in a museum or a gallery dedicated to a variety of artwork.

There are many different aspects to the work of a gallery attendant, including handling the security of exhibits, managing visitors, providing tours, and ensuring the upkeep and maintenance of the gallery.

One museum or gallery may hire more than one individual to work as a gallery attendant, depending on the size of the facility. In small museums or galleries, one or two attendants are sufficient to provide services.

Educational Requirements

Working as a gallery attendant requires you to possess a high school diploma or a GED at the very least.

Some community colleges do offer courses in museum management, which can be acquired to improve your eligibility to work in this role.

Required Skills and Competencies

You will have to be a great communicator and an excellent authority figure to be able to qualify to work in this capacity.

Since you will need to stand for long periods of time, it is important that you are physically strong. 

While working as a gallery attendant can be a full-time job, many students and retirees also take up this work.

Here is a list of duties that you will be performing when working as a gallery attendant:

Gallery Attendant Duties and Responsibilities

• Greet visitors as they arrive at the gallery and verify their tickets and passes.

• Provide visitors with information about the artwork and exhibits that the gallery/museum is displaying.

• Provide guidance to visitors regarding the location of their exhibits of interest or provide them with directions.

• Educate visitors about the artists behind each exhibit of interest and answer any questions asked of them.

• Work with administrative staff members on a variety of activities such as memberships, filing, recordkeeping, and registration for special information classes.

• Receive new exhibits and record them in the museum’s record books or databases.

• Ensure that all exhibits are properly displayed and maintained according to the instructions provided by curators.

• Monitor exhibition areas through surveillance videos and ensure that any causes for concern are immediately communicated to the management or security staff.

• Patrol all publically accessible areas, record findings, and maintain a log of events and messages pertaining to visitors and staff activity.

• Perform extended measures to safeguard art and exhibits against theft, vandalism, and damage by enforcing established rules and protocols.