Emerging Art Leaders Internship - Ryerson and Burnham Library (Summer 2019, PAID)
Are you passionate about helping people access information and knowledge? Does creating and maintaining organized information systems excite you? Do the intersections of art history and information fascinate you? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, you may be a great fit for the summer 2019 Emerging Art Leader Internship hosted by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries and Archives.
Throughout the course of this internship you will be introduced to the variety of roles played by museum research librarians and archivists. You will work in a collaborative environment, with a hard-working, yet friendly, team of industry professionals to assist departments across the Art Institute with a variety of projects including digitization projects, creating metadata, researching art, and adding content to our new museum exhibition website.
INTERNSHIP OUTCOMES
- Mentor relationships with field practitioners
- Peer-to-peer relationships with fellow interns
- Awareness of the inner-workings of a large art museum with a global collection
- Experience in creating different types of metadata
- Critical thinking skills in analyzing books and art objects
- Hands-on experience with digitization of different types of material
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Investigate and research special collection material
- Write brief reports on research and objects
- Create metadata for different types of material including archives images and catalog links to images
- Research past museum exhibitions and write brief descriptions for museum website
- Digitize Art Institute of Chicago exhibition catalogs and create machine-readable text data with OCR; also work on digitizing exhibition images for online exhibition archive
QUALIFICATIONS
- Undergraduate or graduate student in the Chicago metropolitan area; recent graduates (within one year of graduation) with relevant experience will also be considered
- Committed to the goal of promoting inclusive, pluralistic museums
- Demonstrated interest in libraries or information science and/or an interest in art history
- Ability to execute tasks with attention to detail
- Experience with researching in a library and writing in a clear succinct style
- Skill in multi-tasking and working on many different projects
About the Emerging Art Leaders Internship:
This program is a museum-wide effort to provide students from diverse backgrounds, including those underrepresented in the museum field, the opportunity to gain experience, career awareness, networks, skills that will together position them to succeed as future art museum leaders. Those selected join an intern cohort and have access to a range of programs to support their development in addition to their specific departmental placement. Mentorship is provided throughout the intern experience. Interns are also encouraged to remain connected to the museum and to other interns as part of an alumni network.
The Emerging Art Leaders Internship is open to all qualified candidates, with priority to those who demonstrate commitment to the goal of promoting inclusive, pluralistic museums. Individuals from groups historically underrepresented in the arts museum field are particularly encouraged to apply.
The Emerging Art Leaders Internship is made possible, in part, through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative (DAMLI), funded by the Walton Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
APPLICATION
Application must include the following materials:
- Resume
- Cover letter that also includes answers to the following questions:
- What you hope to gain from this internship experience
- What you will contribute to this internship
- What challenge(s) or barrier(s) you face (personal, cultural, socioeconomic, educational, etc.) as you consider pursuing a career in the arts, and how this internship might play a role in helping to surmount those obstacles
Please combine all application materials into a single PDF for upload.
PRIORITY DEADLINE
For fullest consideration, applications should be submitted by March 12, 2019, 5:00 pm CST.
Intern Information
Length of Program: Summer Term (June-August), up to 35 hours/week
College Credit: Available
Compensation:Paid
The Art Institute of Chicago is an equal opportunity, equal access employer fully committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.