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The Summer 2020 Diversity Internship was cancelled in response to concerns related to COVID-19. During summer 2021, the Nasher Museum plans to offer this paid summer internship for college students from underrepresented backgrounds who wish to pursue careers in art museums.

In 2019, the Nasher Museum was one of 10 museums selected for this internship program. Intended to increase the diversity of those working in our institutions to better reflect the diverse communities being served, the pilot program was first launched by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) with additional funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

A Transformative Gift

Additional funding was made possible by Duke graduate David Arthur (A.B.’88, P’21) that will allow this exciting paid internship to continue at the Nasher.

I am very proud to support the Nasher in its efforts to promote diversity through this internship.

David Arthur, (A.B.’88, P’21)

About

The Diversity Intern assists the Curatorial Department with research and planning for upcoming exhibitions, in addition to being involved in the day-to-day tasks of a university art museum. The internship runs for 8 weeks from June to August 2021 and requires a full-time commitment (32 hours per week). A stipend of $6,000 will be provided, in addition to paid travel and expenses to one museum conference for networking and professional development.

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.

Julia K. McHugh, Ph.D., Trent A. Carmichael Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum

New Perspectives

In the Summer of 2019, the internship was awarded to Gabrielle Tenedero, a rising senior at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who was born in the Philippines. She researched amazing objects for an upcoming exhibition and gallery reinstallation: a corn vessel used for drinking beer, a tiny carved tooth and a wooden mask with a moveable jaw that was once covered in feathers.

This has opened my eyes to what ancient Peru was like. She hopes the reinstallation will dispel preconceived notions about Indigenous people in Latin America. I want people to know how skilled, how creative, how colorful these cultures were and how they were more than just one culture.

Gabrielle Tenedero, 2019 Summer intern and rising senior at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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