Art Therapy Research for Art Institution

Institution Lab is looking for Art Therapy research interns and PhD students who are interested in helping us work with ALAN, our emotionally aware curatorial assistant. 

Institution is a cultural association headquartered in Tuscany and New York that promotes a new artistic institution model, aimed at combining research and experimentation with popularity and participation. The association aims, through mixing the arts and research on important social issues, to implement a kind of revolution in which the arts are seen as tools for understanding the world. 

In order to increase participation, we have created an AI companion that helps visitors to museums understand and appreciate the often opaque context of contemporary art. 

Now we are testing the emotional capabilities and nuance of our AI model and need art therapy students to help us create sets of questions related to contemporary art. 

Read our opening statement/manifesto here: 

https://beta.institution.art/en/base/articles/11

Some of the most important protagonists in the world of culture are involved, such as Nicolas Bourriaud, Maurizio Cattelan, Marina Abramovic, Cai Guo-Qiang, Bart de Baere, David Elliott, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mami Kataoka, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Meetings continue in the coming months on our new platform Institution.Art: a VR and AI powered digital platform to innovate the virtual experience of art launching in March 2026.

Institution Lab is led by our internationally recognized curator and director, Fabio Cavallucci

The volunteer period must last at least 4 months. Internship is remote but you are invited to our offices in Italy, New York and China. An official certificate describing your commitment to the activity carried out which may give you credit. Our interns will be given a chance to transition to contract and full time work when the physical institution opens and will be able to provide letters to any credit granting schools

Acceptance to the volunteering period is subject to an entrance test. We accept interns who speak English or Italian or Chinese. If you are interested, please apply on handshake.