Art Bridges is a new foundation, founded by Alice Walton, whose mission is to expand access to American art in all regions across the nation. Art Bridges organizes and administrates exhibitions of American art at public and academic art museums of all sizes. These exhibitions draw from Art Bridges growing collection and the collections of partner institutions. The exhibitions supported by Art Bridges are engaging, content-rich, and include in-depth educational and interpretive materials. They range from single-object loans to fully developed thematic exhibitions, and include support for programming, community outreach, audience engagement, and meaningful evaluation.
The Art Bridges Summer Internship offers the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a curatorial department and exposure to a variety of art museums across the United States. Art Bridges has a growing summer internship program across all departments, and the Curatorial Intern will be welcomed into this community of colleagues. Through orientation, discussion lunches, and meetings, the Curatorial Intern will gain knowledge of many aspects of the arts field. The Curatorial Intern will expand upon their academic training and work to apply their knowledge and skills in professional ways.
The Curatorial Intern works directly with a member of the curatorial team to assist with institutional research, loan sharing, exhibition projects, and collection research. The internship applies to the full scope of the collection, which currently spans from the 18th century through today in a variety of mediums.
This 8-10 week summer internship normally will commence on or about June 8, 2020 and will end August 7, 2020 or August 14, 2020. However, Art Bridges internships are contingent upon the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic. At its discretion Art Bridges may convert the resident internship into a virtual internship with work assignments and intern activities completed remotely, and in such case the standard intern stipend will be adjusted accordingly.
The anticipated number of hours per week is 35 work hours. The stipend is paid biweekly. Housing near Art Bridges is provided. One Curatorial Intern position is available for summer 2020. Interns will be provided a laptop during their internship.
Art Bridges is committed to a diverse workforce and to providing training for the next generation of museum professionals. Students representing ethnically underrepresented groups in the curatorial field are encouraged to apply.
Areas of Support:
The Curatorial Intern will actively participate and perform duties in some of the following functional areas:
Assist the Curatorial team in activating the Art Bridges collection:
o Potential partner research; identifying best contact person at identified institutions
o Writing and editing copy for various projects, including collection research.
o Assist with finding and/or developing content for the Art Bridges website.
o Assist with partner support. The needs of our partner venues vary, and this will require flexibility and problem-solving.
Meeting attendance:
o Attend All Staff and Curatorial department meetings
o Attend project meetings
o Collaborate with curators, program administrators, education/programming staff, registrars, web developers, and others
o Other duties as assigned
Internship Compensation (Stipend)
Up to $2,800 for undergraduate students
Up to $3,500 for graduate students
Housing provided
Timeline
Applications due May 15, 2020
Interns selected by May 29, 2020
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an intern to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical demands: In the work environment described below, position requires verbal and written conversation with others, work at a desk and utilizing a computer for prolonged periods of time, bending and stretching for filing.
Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment and museum spaces. The noise level is usually low to moderate.
Please submit a resume, cover letter and a writing sample (2-3 pages) to be considered for this internship. The application deadline is May 15, 2020 for the summer semester internship.
Basic Qualifications
Undergraduate: rising seniors and current seniors (class of 2020)
Graduate: first or second year graduate students
Interest in American art
Completion of at least one American art history course
Detail-oriented
Must maintain confidentiality of sensitive information
