Tate Waddell, Senior Coordinator, Trustee Affairs at Whitney Museum

So you work at the Whitney. Is that your favorite museum would you say?

I mean, the Whitney is definitely a dream institution for me to work at. I studied art history as an undergrad and graduate student and I focused on American art. The Whitney really is the ultimate institution.

As an artist, how do you get into a museum?

I would say there’s no one real path. I think artists sort of come into the public eye and into collections in a lot of different ways and a lot of different points in their careers. Some people don’t enter the Whitney’s collection until they’re super late in life. Some people are super young and get in the collection after just getting out of an MFA program. Some people don’t get in until years later.

In this industry how do you think artists can promote themselves?

I think if you live in New York you’ve done a lot of the work already. New York is really an amazing creative community. LA as well. It’s a good place to become a better artist because you’re in a community of creative people who can inspire you.

And are you an artist?

No, I’m not.

So how did you get into art?

I think growing up going to museums, being exposed to a creative environment.

Where did you grow up?

North Carolina.

What’s your biggest aspiration for your future?

I think I will stay at museums. That’s what I’m most passionate about. And I like dealing with big institutional initiatives and priorities. Museums operate on really variable time tables. You have what’s next month, you have shows that are on a three month cycle and then you have projects that take decades to see through. So I like the variability.

@tatemuseum