The Next Generation of Mountmakers
Lately in conversations with colleagues as well as new mountmakers a familiar subject comes up. As older master mountmakers are beginning to retire and step away from institutions and independent businesses, who is replacing them? Does this new generation have access to real and meaningful training to become master mountmakers?
This was also a problem for me coming up 20 years ago. Seeking out classes or books in a relative void. Benchmark would have a class every 4-5 years it seemed. Literature was laughably sparce, or 30 years outdated. I've even experienced my fair share of gatekeeping. Gross.
When talking to beginners the last few weeks, I hear the same complaints that I had 20 years ago. Recent searches for a master mountmaker that can do independent traveling gigs has bore such little fruit I'm officially being proactive about this gulf.
Before I begin to solidify fixes, I REALLY want to hear from the young mountmakers. Lets get a discussion going here about how I can help and what your needs are as well what roadblocks have you been hitting? But let's REALLY discuss it. Candidly and openly.
Would you be willing to come down to San Diego, for example, for some small group training? Do you want there to be some formal classes with targeted lesson plans? Are you willing to apprentice for contract gigs where you can shadow me?
I'm no spring chicken myself and if my 20+ years of craft dies with me, that would be a disservice to the industry. From what I've heard directly from the younger generation is that they are hungry for experience and tired of gatekeeping and lack access to advancement opportunities.
So how can I help? Let me hear your voices! Let's build a god damn army of master mountmakers so people can stop referring to us as "unicorns"! Who's with me?
Thanks so much for reaching out to us new folks, James!
I’m based in LA and would love to join any class you offer, and/or a contract shadowing situation.
I’ve been a museum/gallery prep for 5 years, and I’ve struggled to get my foot in the door with mountmaking. I even went and took welding and jewelry classes at night school to get more experience, but there is still not a good way to bridge that gap to getting my own clients. Most of the mountmakers at the big institutions are, in many cases, not allowed to do training, especially not for freelance preps like me. The freelance mountmakers I’ve met in LA have been encouraging, but no one has had the time/interest in doing an apprenticeship situation.
One huge hurdle that’s come up is that Im starting to get a few gigs doing acrylic mounts for book cradles, but Hartford wouldn’t insure me, since I don’t make enough at this stage to justify a policy!
If anyone knows of a way I can get coverage for individual gigs that’s not super expensive, I’d love to know!
Thanks again James, I’d love to be on that email list!
Anna