About the Internship
The Nasher Museum is one of 10 museums selected for a paid summer internship program for college students from underrepresented communities. This is the first year of the new paid internship program, which was launched by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) with additional funding support provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“We are thrilled to offer this exciting new paid summer internship,” said Julia K. McHugh, Ph.D., Trent A. Carmichael Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum. “Museums need young, talented people from different backgrounds and viewpoints to help build the next generation of art museum professionals. This internship works to diversify our institutions and removes a financial barrier that many students encounter when they begin to explore an art museum career.”
The intern will be placed in the Nasher Museum’s Department of Academic Initiatives where they will assist in researching the Art of the Americas collection in preparation for the re-installation of the permanent collection gallery, in addition to upcoming exhibitions. The intern will assist with provenance research, the selection of objects for display and the development of interpretation materials, online resources and public programs. The focus of these projects will be the museum’s extensive holdings of South American art, including artworks from the Inca, Moche, Paracas and Nasca cultures. As a culminating project, the intern will create a plan for an interactive wall in the museum’s Great Hall, an educational, experimental space that presents exhibition content to visitors in an accessible and engaging manner.
Internship Requirements
The program is only available to undergraduate students in their rising sophomore, junior or senior years, to provide opportunity for students who have begun to solidify their academic interests and potential career path. Applicants must reside in or attend college in the Triangle area.
The internship runs for 12 weeks from June to August 2019 and requires a full-time commitment (32 hours/week). A stipend of $6,300 will be provided, in addition to paid travel and expenses to two museum conferences for networking, professional development, and to meet their fellow AAMD interns. These include the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Conference in New Orleans (May 19-22, 2019) and the Association of Art Museum Directors fall meeting in New York (date TBD). The intern will be supervised and mentored by Curator of Academic Initiatives Julia K. McHugh, who will also attend the conferences with the intern.
Application
Applications are due by email to Julia K. McHugh, Ph.D., Trent A. Carmichael Curator of Academic Initiatives, at julia.mchugh@duke.edu by 11:59 PM on March 15, 2019, and must include:
1. Resume
2. Personal statement explaining the applicant’s career goals, interest and experience with art, art history and/or museums
3. One letter of recommendation from an academic or professional reference sent directly to julia.mchugh@duke.edu
4. Official academic transcript
A candidate will be selected by early April 2019. With questions about the internship or application process, please contact Julia K. McHugh at julia.mchugh@duke.edu
US museums are too white, and this paid internship programme hopes to change that
The Nasher Museum is one of 10 museums awarded a paid internship grant to give minority undergraduate students an opportunity to work in the arts.
view article on The Art Newspaper | Published October 31, 2018