Why We at Munchies Art Club Love The Office (And Why It’s Basically the Art World in Nutshell)
The Munchies Art Club crew LOVES The Office—but what if we told you that the chaotic, awkward, and surprisingly heartwarming world of Dunder Mifflin isn’t that far off from running an art gallery?
Dunder Mifflin Is the Dysfunctional Gallery You’ve Definitely Worked At
Let’s get something straight: if you work in the arts, you’ve definitely met these people before. The clueless but confident boss who thinks they’re the next big thing.
The intense artist who lives for their own vision.
The jaded but secretly hopeful creative duo. The snobby critic who thrives on negativity.
If The Office had been set in a gallery instead of a paper company, these characters wouldn’t have changed much—just swap out sales calls for grant proposals, paper stacks for exhibition catalogs, and you’ve got the same absurd, chaotic, and strangely endearing world.
If The Office had been about a gallery instead of a paper company, the cast would have found themselves tangled in the same absurd dynamics—just with overpriced wine at openings and last-minute installation disasters instead of paper sales. Here’s who they’d be in our art world version of The Office:
1. Michael Scott: The Well-Meaning but Clueless Gallery Director
If Michael Scott were an art gallery director, he’d be convinced he was running the next Gagosian—but in reality, it would feel more like a chaotic community center fueled by misplaced confidence. That’s Michael Scott. His leadership style?
“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy—both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”)
A legendary blend of overconfidence and well-meaning disaster. Replace paper sales with conceptual art, and you’ve got half the art fairs we cover.
He’d be hiring interns to help organize exhibitions with minimal resources, mispronouncing every artist’s name, and yet somehow, surprisingly, managing to keep things going.
2. Dwight Schrute: The Overzealous Emerging Artist
Dwight doesn’t just make art. He is art. He embodies it. This is the kind of energy you find in every artist who's dead serious about their vision.
The ones who believe in their work with the intensity of a thousand suns.
The ones who show up to their own openings in a medieval tunic because it's part of the performance.
Dwight is every artist who insists on writing their own statement in an unreadable font and aggressively explains why their work is misunderstood.
And honestly? We respect it.
3. Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly: The Jaded Yet Hopeful Art Couple
Jim and Pam are the artists who started out bright-eyed and ambitious but have slowly accepted that they might never get a solo show at the MoMA.
Pam’s art-school dreams are painfully relatable (we’ve all been to a show where the biggest compliment was, “That’s really nice”).
Jim, on the other hand, is that cynical artist who pretends he doesn’t care while secretly sketching genius ideas in the margins of his notebook.
Together, they’re the indie artist couple who somehow make it work despite a shared bank account that’s mostly overdraft fees.
4. Angela Is Every Hardcore Art Critic Who Hates Everything Fun
Angela walks into a contemporary art fair and immediately says, "Predictable."
She has never been impressed by anything.
She exclusively writes essays about how everything has been done before. She doesn’t smile in photos.
She thinks NFTs are an abomination. And yet, she’s an important part of the art ecosystem because somebody has to hate things with conviction.
We both fear and admire her.
5. Kevin Malone: The Collector Who Buys Art for the Wrong Reasons
Kevin is the collector who doesn’t care about artist statements, provenance, or curatorial intent—he just buys what he thinks looks cool.
He owns a few pieces, but only because they fit his interior design.
When he talks about them, he uses words like "vibe" and "expensive."
He once spent a ridiculous amount of money on a neon sign because it matched his couch. And honestly? No shade, Kevin. The art world survives on people like you.
6. Creed Bratton Is Performance Art Personified
Creed is the artist who never applies for open calls, doesn’t update his website, yet somehow lands a major retrospective at the Tate.
No one knows how. He once did a residency in a cave.
His work is described as "post-post-post modern."
He has a studio, but no one has ever seen it. People whisper that he’s a genius. He is also possibly a fugitive.
7. The Camera Crew Is Social Media
The Office constantly shatters the illusion of reality, just like Instagram in the art world.
Every time Jim looks directly into the camera, it’s the equivalent of an artist subtweeting an absurd gallery contract.
The way Michael constantly plays to an invisible audience? That’s every artist who’s ever filmed a work-in-progress reel, whispering,
“Hey guys, just a little update on my practice…” We’re all just players in the never-ending performance piece that is the online art world.
Why We Can’t Stop Watching
At its core, The Office is about navigating a world of absurdity, whether it’s selling paper or selling art.
Whether you're an artist dealing with impossible curators, a gallerist juggling egos, or a collector trying to justify another impulsive purchase, these characters hit close to home.
At the end of the day, the art world is just The Office with better outfits and worse paychecks.
But beyond the chaos, it’s also about the connections—the friendships forged over late-night installations, the collaborations that make it all worth it, and the shared absurdity that somehow brings everyone closer.
And lucky for us, we get front-row seats to it all.