On hugs, good manners, and the serious business of being appreciated.
When Hug A Museum Worker was conceived in 2014 and launched for its first celebration on Monday, June 29, 2015, the proposition was simple: museums have plenty of admirers. What about the people who make them possible?
Museum professionals promptly supplied two eminently sensible amendments.
First, Ask Permission
Enthusiasm is no substitute for consent. A curator, conservator, registrar, educator, or gallery attendant is not an unsuspecting participant in a spontaneous group embrace.
Warmth is welcome. Ambush is not.
Second, not everyone works Mondays. Surely the celebration could extend into the preceding weekend, allowing more colleagues to participate?
Even goodwill occasionally requires a scheduling adjustment.
Beyond the Hug
Beneath the humor lay a serious conviction.
We admire museums for their collections, exhibitions, and magnificent buildings, yet too often overlook the people who research, preserve, interpret, protect, and present our cultural heritage.
Their work ranges from the scholarly to the decidedly unglamorous, with a great deal of imagination, diplomacy, and hard labor in between.
Objects, after all, do not levitate into vitrines of their own accord.
Over time, Hug A Museum Worker evolved into International Museum Workers Day and, eventually, International Museum Professionals Day (IMPD).
The names changed. The invitation did not.
Visit museums. Attend their programs. Support their professional communities. Share a colleague’s achievements. Recognize the expertise behind the exhibitions and the people whose dedication keeps our cultural heritage alive.
Above all, remember that meaningful appreciation extends beyond a symbolic gesture. It includes professional recognition, fair working conditions, and sustained institutional support.
Museum professionals aren’t asking for sainthood. Merely to stop being treated like invisible upholstery.
A hug is optional. Recognition isn’t.
Originally published June 9, 2015. Revised October 2026.